Run Your Race | Robert Madu | Lakewood Church Service

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 You fight the battle. You get the glory. Here come the angels. 
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 The enemy 
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 Yeah. Come on. 
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 Thank the Lord for the day that he has made. Thank the Lord for his goodness and his grace. Thank the Lord that he always makes a way. Hallelujah. 
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 Oh, 
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 thank the Lord that he chose to take the cross.

Thank the Lord for the power in his blood. Thank the Lord for the wonders of his love. Hallelujah. Isn't he faithful? Isn't he good? Isn't he worthy? Somebody thank the Lord. Give him the honor. Give him the praise. All of the glory. Somebody thank the Lord. Isn't he faithful?

Isn't he good? Isn't he worthy? Somebody thank the Lord. Give him the honor. Give him praise. All of the glory. Somebody thank the Lord. Hey, thank the Lord. Somebody thank the Lord. Hey, thank the Lord. Somebody thank the Lord. Good morning, Lakewood. Anybody excited to be in the house of the Lord this morning?

Come on. I was glad when they said unto me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord." My name is Jeremiah Woods. I get the privilege and the honor of welcoming you to Lakewood this morning, both here in the room and watching live online. The Bible says in his presence there is fullness of joy and at his right hand there are pleasures forever more.

I believe that because you took the time this morning to come into his presence to make yourself aware of his presence to gather together in his name that his presence is available for you. There is fullness of joy available for you. Breakthrough is available for you. hope, healing, all of it is available to you because of the presence of Jesus Christ.

Amen. Because the Holy Spirit is here right now. You know, Pastor Joel says this often that we like to take time to worship the Lord at the beginning of every service. And this isn't a passive time. This isn't a time to sit down and drink some coffee and take a bite of your bagel.

This isn't just the opener to the service. This is a time where we intentionally engage the presence of the living God, where we can thank him for who he is, giving glory and honor to his name because he's worthy of everything we've got. Amen. Our God is worthy.

But I'll encourage you with this. Try something new this morning. Maybe you haven't clapped your hands before. So maybe today you try clapping your hands. Maybe you've never sung before in service. So maybe today you try opening your mouth and singing a little bit. Maybe you've never raised your hands.

So, try raising your hands this morning. Maybe you've never danced before. So, you know, maybe try a little a little dance move or two. Maybe throw out that dance move you've been saving for a rainy day. You know, try something new in this place this morning. Just make sure you keep it holy in the house of the Lord.

No club moves. Turn to your neighbor, say, "No club moves this morning." But I will say this, whenever we enter into new experiences with the Lord, we open up ourselves for a fresh encounter with the Holy Spirit. And one encounter with the Holy Spirit changes absolutely everything in our lives.

Can you agree with that? And it's all in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. So let's try this real quick. Is anybody excited to be in the house of the Lord this morning? Is anybody excited to worship God this morning? Can somebody just yell, "Thank you, Lord."

Thank you, Lord. Come on, say it like you mean it. Say, "Thank you, Lord." Thank you, Lord. Let's pray together. God, we thank you for who you are, for what you've done. We give you all the glory, the honor, and the praise. Lord, we pray that we would have a fresh encounter with your spirit.

That we would leave forever changed and that we would go out of this place wanting willingly to advance your kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven by the power of your holy spirit. We thank you for the opportunity to meet with you today to receive a word from you today and to go out as your church.

In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Let's worship together. Thank the Lord that the stone is rolled away. 
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 Thank the Lord 
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 Hallelujah. Isn't he faithful? Isn't he good? Isn't he worthy? Somebody thank the Lord. Give him the honor. Give him the praise. All of the glory. Somebody thank the Lord.

Isn't he faithful? Isn't he good? Isn't he worthy? Somebody thank the Lord. Give him the honor. Give him the praise. All of the glory. Somebody thank the Lord. Hey, thank the Lord. Somebody thank the Lord. Hey, thank you Lord! For your mercy endureth forever. All of heaven and earth shall proclaim.

Hallelujah, God be praised. For your miracle signs and your wonders. All the glory be unto your name. Hallelujah, God be praised. For your mercy endureth forever. All of heaven and earth shall proclaim. Hallelujah, 
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 praise. 
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 Somebody thank the Lord. 
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 Hallelujah, 
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 thank the Lord. 
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 This is my story. I testify the blessings on blessing poured on my life when I start remembering how good you've been.

Yes. Fear turns to worship. Tear turns to praise. Chains of depression broken by grace when I start remembering how good you've been. Yeah, you've been so so so so good to me. Yeah, you've been so so so so so good to me. 
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 Hey, here we go. The enemy's weapons fall to the ground.

Armies of heaven always around. When I start remembering how you carry my cross, call me my name. Love me like I was, but you didn't leave me that way. Was dead now I live. Yet that's what you did. Lord, you've been so so so so so 
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 you've been so so so so so 
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 the lows and the highs.

I look back on my life and all I that see that you've been so so so so good to me. When I say God is good, you say all the time. When I say all the time, you say God is good. When I say God is good, you say all the time.

When I say all the time, you say— When I say God is good, you say— When I say all the time, you say— When I say God is good, you say all the time. When I say all the time, you say—my God is so so so so good— Come on, let's sing it up.

Let's hear it! 
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 From morning to night, the lows and the highs. I look back on my life— From morning to night—
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 and the highs, I look back on my life 
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 look back on my life and all that I see that you been so so so so good to me.

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 A thousand generations falling down in worship to sing a song of ages to the lamb. And all who've gone before us and all who will believe will sing a song of ages to the lamb. Sing your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all.

All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions. Your name stands above them all. And the angels cry. Holy. All creation cries. Holy. You are lifted high. Holy, holy, forever. 
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 If you've been forgiven and if you've been redeemed, sing the song forever to the lamb. And if you walk in freedom, if you bear his name, we'll sing a song forever to the lamb.

And we will sing a song forever and amen. And the angels cry. Sing holy, all creation cries 
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 And you are lifted high. 
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 Holy forever. We your people and we'll sing. 
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 Sing holy to the king of kings. Holy. And you will always be holy, holy forever. Your name is the highest.

Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All thrones and dominions of powers and positions. Your name stands above them all. Jesus, your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. 
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 powers and positions. Your name stands above them all and the angels cry, holy.

And all creation 
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 holy forever. You're holy forever. 
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 Sing holy to the king of kings. Holy. You will always be 
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 holy forever. 
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 And you will always be holy forever. And you will always be holy, holy forever. 
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 Hosana in the highest. Let our king be lifted up. Oh, 
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 we sing 
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 in the highest, in the highest.

Let our king be lifted up. 
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 Hosanna 
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 Hosanna 
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 You are worthy 
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 Let our king be lifted up. 
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 lift our voices. Sing church. Hosanna 
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 We lift you 
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 Let our king be lifted up. 
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 in the highest, in the highest, in the highest. Let our king be lifted up. 
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 Be lifted—be lifted higher.

Higher. Be lifted higher. Jesus, you be lifted higher. Higher. Be lifted higher. Be lifted higher. Jesus, you be lifted higher. 
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 Be lifted higher. 
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 Jesus, you be lifted higher, higher and higher, higher, higher and higher, higher. Let our king be 
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 our king 
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 our king be lifted up. 
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 Our God is strong in battle.

Our God can never fail. Through him all chains are broken. In him the sick are healed. And it's in the name of Jesus, giants are defeated. Every single mountain has to move. He's faithful to your promise. You finish what you started. There is not as powerful as you, Jesus.

Oh 
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 yeah, we see the power of heaven setting the captives free. We are—we are the church of 
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 singing in victory. In the name of Jesus, 
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 every single mountain 
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 faithful to your promise 
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 in the name of Jesus, 
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 Every single mountain—every mountain has 
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 faithful to your promise. 
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 Be lifted higher.

We lift it higher. We lift the sound of your 
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 Every single mountain has to move. You're faithful to your promise. 
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 We say, in the name of Jesus 
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 Every single 
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 There is none as powerful as you Jesus. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Father, we thank you today. Oh, we declare that there is none as powerful as you.

Father, you are awesome. You're powerful. We thank you for this moment in your presence. We thank you that you are here with us. We thank you Lord God. Hallelujah. That you are everything that we need. Father, we thank you that your name is above all names. Your name is above every situation.

And when we call on your name, we magnify your name above all else. Hallelujah. Because you are all powerful. You're all knowing. Father, we love you today. We thank you for this wonderful opportunity for us to worship you. for this wonderful opportunity for us to come together. Hallelujah.

And just declare who you are. Father, I thank you, Lord God, for everyone that's represented here. There may be someone here that may be facing some difficulties and some challenges. Maybe someone here that may be needing answers. May someone here that that may need some some instruction and some wisdom.

Father, everything that we need, we can find in you. Find in your word. Find in your presence. So right now, Lord, we run to you. We turn to you. We come to you in faith, believing, Lord, that you know all things and believing that you're in control of all things.

We we declare that you are still yet on the throne and that all power belongs to you. Father, we just thank you, Lord, for for this moment to pray and there may be situations going. Lord, we just pray Lord for those that may be burdened down and may need to be that that have been uh heavy laden but just covered with with all kinds of situations and and circumstances that have weighed them down.

Father, we thank you that you are a burden lifter today. Father, we thank you Lord, hallelujah, that you are there with them and that you've never left them. You've never forsaken them. Father, we pray for those that are going through challenges in their body healthwise or in their mind.

And Father, we speak the word of healing. Father, we thank you that your word declares that by the stripes of Jesus, we were already healed. So we receive by faith that healing. There's somebody that is in a financial situation and you need provision. We call on you, Jehovah Gyra.

Hallelujah. The one who provides for us. Father, we don't know how. We don't know when, but we know that you hear us and that you're able to meet our needs according to your riches and glory. Father, we thank you that you are relationship healer, that you bind relationships together and you reconcile those, Lord God, that are at odds against each other.

Father, we pray for unity. We pray for strength in all of these areas. Father, we just love you and we thank you, God. Hallelujah. For those that may feel like they've made wrong decisions or bad decisions, Father, right now, we just come to you. You said to come to me, to come to me, to come to me.

I will receive you. I will forgive you. And we thank you, Lord God. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord God, that we can come to you and find forgiveness and mercy and grace. So, Father, we thank you for everyone that is here. We declare that this week is going to be an amazing week.

That the time that we have spent in your presence that we will be transformed in every area. Father, we declare Lord God, hallelujah, that everything that we touch will be blessed. And we declare in the name of Jesus, Lord God, that your favor will be upon us, Lord.

We give you glory and we give you honor and we give you praise. We believe you and we trust you and we trust your way. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If you believe that, somebody say, "Amen." Come on, a little bit louder. Come on. Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord.

Amen. It's so good to see you. Praise the Lord. Well, at this point within our service, we have the wonderful opportunity to make declarations, to speak statements of faith into the atmosphere. How many of you know that the power of life and death is in the power of the tongue?

It's in your tongue today. So, we're going to speak life. We're going to do this. We do this every week. So, of course, are the Lakewood family members and those that are online, if you could join with us. And all the visitors, we want to welcome you to do so as well.

All right. Here we go. says, "I am blessed, prosperous, redeemed, forgiven, healthy, whole, talented, creative, confident, secure, disciplined, focused, prepared, qualified, motivated, valuable, free, determined, equipped, empowered, anointed, accepted, and approved. Not average, not mediocre. I am a child of the most high God and I will become all I was created to be in Jesus' name.

If you believe that, come on, give the Lord a great shout of praise. Hallelujah. I receive that from myself. Hey, pastor. Praise the Lord. We are so grateful for this moment that we're about to enter into. This is our time where we we invite all of you who are really wanting to you have something very specific that you would like for someone to pray with you about and to agree with you about.

And in a few minutes, we're going to release our prayer partners to come to the front of every one of your sections. And they will pray for you. They will touch and agree. Um but before we go to that, I really want to share a scripture with you.

Something that the Lord placed on my mind and in my heart. It's from Philippians 4:6 and it says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition and with thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God." Okay, I said, "And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I just want to encourage you today that as you come to present your petition or your request to God that you come with a gift of thanksgiving. And I know some of you may be wondering, I haven't asked him for anything yet. He hasn't done it yet. Aren't I'm supposed to thank him afterward, right?

Like no, this is the principle based on the scripture. The Bible says to present them with thanksgiving. All right? And that thanksgiving can be something that he's done for you in the past that gives you a point of reference knowing that if God has done it before then you know that he's going to do this for you again.

Amen. And it also if if you're looking forward that thanksgiving is an expression of faith because it's saying to God because I know who you are and your word says who you are and I've experienced you in the past. I know that I can trust you and so I'm coming to you already expecting you to work it out.

As a matter of fact, my faith says that it's already worked out. So I'm going to go ahead and thank you in advance for it. Then the Bible says that this peace, this is a supernatural kind of peace, right? This is not a normal kind of peace that it is the peace that will come into your life to guard your heart.

Guard from what? from worry and stress and bitterness and all kinds of things that will kind of keep us on this roller coaster ride. It will guard our hearts, all right, in Christ Jesus. So today, if you want prayer, I see all of you lined up. Y'all ready?

So prayer partners, would you please come to the front? For those online, Pastor Steve Austin is is going to pray with you. And uh here we have our team and Deborah Orta will be leading us in worship. God bless you today. Amen. Good morning, Lakewood family. We're so glad you're joining us on this beautiful Palm Sunday from wherever you're tuning in from all over the world.

This is the time in the service when we pray for your needs. And I want to encourage you if you have a prayer request, you can drop it in the live chats or you can always visit our 247 online prayer community at joelosteen.com/community. But I want to before I pray for your needs this morning, I want to just stir your faith up.

I've been a pastor for 26 years and I've seen God do so many crazy miracles, um, healing miracles of every everything you can think of. I've seen tumors vanish. Um, marriages put back together. I've seen people even get divorced and get back together. I've seen weward spouses and children come back.

I've seen financial miracles. I've seen million dollar hospital bills cancelled. And not not just every now and then, not just once in a blue moon, but I've seen many, many miracles. And I want to remind you that God is a big miracle working, mountain moving, waymaking, promisekeeping God.

And nothing is impossible with him. He spoke the whole universe into existence. He parted the Red Sea. He raised Jesus from the dead. There is nothing you're facing that's too hard for God. So, I want I want to join my faith with you this morning because Jesus said in Matthew 18:19, "If any two of you agree touching any matter on this earth, it shall be done."

So, I'm going to join my faith with you this morning, and I believe that this is going to be a miracle moment in your life. God has a miracle with your name on it if you just believe for it. But before I pray, I want to share a couple praise reports from the comments.

Uh Sherry shared that she got a new position while she that she applied for at work. So, praise the Lord for new jobs, new positions, promotions. Tiana shared that God blessed her with a new grandchild. So, praise the Lord for children and grandchildren, their reward and heritage from heaven.

And so, you know, God is moving in people's lives and he doesn't love other people more than he loves you. What he did for others, he'll do for you. And so, right now, I want to just pray for some of our needs. Um, we have a couple of healing requests in the comments.

Angie said that her best friend is battling brain cancer. Monica is praying for healing. Uh, she she fell and fractured herself in and uh fractured her foot in six places. So heavenly father I just lift up every person who needs healing in their body and soul. God I thank you Lord that you heal us everywhere we need healing.

You are Jehovah Rafa the God who heals us. Lord I ask you to touch every person who needs healing from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet. Touch every organ, gland, tissue, blood, cell with your miracle working healing power right now. Father, do miracles, Lord.

I ask you, Father, to wipe out all sickness, all disease, cancer. Lord, put those broken bones back together, Father. Lord, we thank you that you're a mighty healing God in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, we have some uh job and financial requests. Uh Karen is asking for a new job and I know this is always a big a big area.

You know, people need jobs and finances. And so Lord, I just lift up every person who needs a job, who needs a financial miracle. Thank you, Lord. Your word says in Psalm 23:1, "You are our shepherd. We shall not lack." Lord, your word says in Philippians 4:19, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus."

So, Father, I ask you to pour out your financial blessings and abundance upon everybody under the sound of my voice. Father, I pray for financial miracles and breakthroughs, Father, and good jobs. Lord, I ask you to open the right job opportunities for people with great pay, great benefits, great people to work around, and a job they love and look forward to going to every day in Jesus mighty name.

All right, I'm going to pray right now uh for family situations, uh families and marriages. Carol said that her younger brother is in recovery from addiction. So, praise the Lord that he's in recovery. I have a family member right now who has been an alcoholic her whole life, her whole adult life, and she has been free from alcohol for 60 days.

Praise the Lord. I saw a man here at Lakewood. He was addicted to crack cocaine for 24 years. He had gone to every rehab there there is, every addiction recovery program, and nothing worked. But one touch from God and he was set free. And so I want you to know that God can touch your situation and set you or your family member free in an instant.

So Father, I just lift up everybody who needs freedom from addiction. Lord, I ask you to set them free. Father, I just break every chain of addiction off of them in Jesus' name. Lord, I ask you to restore every marriage, every family that needs restoration. Father, I ask for forgiveness, peace, reconciliation, and unity in marriages and in families.

Father, I pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Well, we love you here at Lakewood. We believe your best days are ahead of you. And I just encourage you to come back next week for Easter Sunday. It's going to be amazing and I just hope you have a blessed and wonderful week and just know that God loves you and he has great plans for your life.

God bless you. We'll see you next week. 
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 Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? Jesus. Oh, there's only Jesus. Only Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? Yes. There is no one. Only you Jesus. There is no one. Only you Jesus. Sing it. There is no one.

Only you Jesus. Only Jesus. Amen. What a wonderful presence of God that's here today. As we come into this most holy week of Christianity, some two billion people who calls themselves Christians will be preparing this week, preparing meals and preparing outfits, preparing activities. It's all in the preparation for this incredible week that we call Resurrection, the Holy Week.

And rightfully so, because Easter is always been about preparation. While the very first Passover was a time where the children of Israel prepared, carefully they prepared the meal. Carefully they prepared the bread, the wine, the lamb, the blood to be posted on the door at midnight when the death angel would come by the blood and through the blood the death angel would pass over the firstborn male male child.

And from that moment, they would be freed of 400 years of slavery and walk into a prepared promised land that God had promised them. Then years later, Moses, the leader, would be taken up to the mountain to have an encounter with God. There a beaming light would shine.

A light so bright that he had to veil his face to keep the radiance of it from reflecting and hurting those that would would look upon him. And in that great light, it cast a shadow. That shadow was revealed in a tabernacle in the wilderness. We call it types and shadows from that light.

Essentially, it was about the size of a half of a football field with curtains as its gate. And there was a protocol. Part of the protocol was to enter in. There would be a leavenven of water the priest would prepare by washing his hands and then to the altar and there on the altar was the sacrifice, the body, and then the blood.

Ultimately, the high priest would enter in what's called the holy place. The holy place, commonly called the holy place. Only once a year and only one priest could dare enter into the holy place. And that was after everything had meticulously been set in order and prepared. And this would go on for 1500 years until Jesus came.

And Jesus began to throw hints and to throw bits of light on his purpose of coming for he was to be the fulfillment of all the types and shadows. John the Baptist said it first. Well, here is the lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.

And Jesus throughout all of his time with the disciples would throw out hints of what was about to happen. He talked about the Holy Spirit. He breathed upon them. They felt it. But it could not yet be dealt because he had not yet been glorified. He talked about this Holy Spirit coming and that it would be so wonderful that even David who said, "Oh, in his presence is fullness of joy, his right hand, pleasures forever more."

Even David could not even imagine what was about to be released on the earth. And Moses, yes, the bright light, why what we were about to experience, Jesus was predicting and prophesying is not even worthy to be compared. And so on this Passover when history would meet destiny, divinity and humanity would meet in a prepared room, an upper room.

And the 13 of them gathered together. There was the basin of water. Yeah. Like in the old covenant, in the old tabernacle, there was the picture of the water. There was the body, the bread, and there was the wine. The Bible calls wine the blood of the grape.

You would think that the apostles and the disciples were putting the pieces together. Oh, this is it. This is going to be that moment. But no, they were troubled. They were perplexed. They were confused. All through the supper, there was arguments and debates. James and John arguing over who's the greatest in the kingdom.

Simon Peter had several emotional outbursts. There was a bit of shock and a bit of disappointment. A lot of fear and confusion. The room was thick with doubt and fear. When they should have been anticipating they had been come overwhelmed by the trouble of the day, the meal now being over, Jesus rises up and he says the most important words.

Words that were set in motion before time began. Words that in fact would be an answer to the cry of humanity when they lost communion with God in the garden. When Moses was trying to show them the type and shadow of how God's presence worked. And now the light of creation.

Now, the light that Moses saw was about to break through the veil and step on center stage and change world history. Would the disciples miss it? I'm afraid they did. They just let the troubles get to them. They just let the circumstances crowd it all out. And Jesus rises and he says, "Let not your heart be troubled, guys.

I know you're concerned. You You're hearing me about I'm leaving and you hear a lot of different things that I'm going to be crucified, all these things. But don't be troubled. You believe in God, believe in me, for I am going to go away. Watch to prepare a place for you, that where I am, you may be also.

For in my father's house there are many dwelling places. The King James version calls them a mansion. For in my father's mansion, in my father's house are many dwelling places. And if it were not so, I would tell you. But the disciples missed it. They didn't grasp the moment and all of the preparation. and they had not really prepared themselves for what God had prepared to give them in just a few days.

I'm afraid we ought not judge them too harshly because I'm afraid we have missed it, too. This will be my 70th Easter this year. And throughout all of the resurrection celebrations, I never understood the power of the moment when Jesus said, "I'm going away. I'm going to prepare a place that where I am, you may be also."

I thought he was talking about heaven. And I missed it. It was only recently that I recognized that it was all about him preparing a place that where he is, we could be also. He said it so plainly and once you see it, you can't unsee it. I go to prepare a place, the water, the body, the blood.

I will break through the veil and we will make our home with you. Wow, what a moment. Not a moment that would be delayed for 2,000 years, but a moment that we would have access to that house of many rooms. Ah, when you see it, you see it.

Down the hallway, the Holy Spirit leads you. There are the gifts of the spirit on call, on demand. The word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, the gift of faith, the gift of discernment, the gifts of healing, the working of miracles, the gift of faith. All of these things, they're in the house.

They're in the room. It's been prepared for you. Oh God, let us not miss this Easter week, this Holy Week. Let us not miss the opportunity we have to enter in to the father's house. And where he is, we can be also. This is the purpose of it all.

Jesus said, "You want to talk about prayer? I won't even be praying for you anymore. You will now pray and your heavenly father will hear you." You want to talk about miracles? I never did any miracles. Jesus said, "The Father did it through me." And because I'm making a place for you to go and be like I was with the Father, greater works than these shall you do.

Oh, and you want to talk about peace. Oh, I know there'll be trouble. I know there'll be war. I know there'll be so much anxiety. But I tell you, if you come into my Father's house, if you'll open up your heart where I've come to make my home with you, I'll give you a peace that the world can't give you, and the world can't take it away.

How about taking the elevator to the second floor? Jesus said, "And you talk about joy, I'll give you joy. Not the world's joy, my joy shall I give you." Does anybody here need some peace today? Anybody here need some joy today? So this week, don't be troubled. This week, don't do life by yourself.

This week, don't struggle with your kids and with your money and all of the hectic and craziness. This week, say, "Come, Holy Spirit. Give me access. Guide me into all truth. Holy Spirit, be my counselor. Holy Spirit, be my compassion. Holy Spirit, be my convincer, my confidence. Holy Spirit, be my convvictor.

Holy Spirit, lead me and guide me. Friends, Lakewood Church was birthed in the Holy Spirit move. And we are about to step into another reset of the Holy Spirit like we've never seen it before. How many's ready for that? You have access to that. The Holy Spirit is ready.

I love what James said in Acts. When the church was caught up in politics and racism and struggles and arguments and debates, James stepped up and said these words, "It seems good to me and the Holy Ghost that this is what we shall do." Listen to me this week.

I want you to learn how to say that several times before you make a decision. Go into that quiet place. Go into that secret place. go into that prepared place and just ask the Holy Spirit to give you a little gut check. You know, if you're Holy Spirit filled, gut checks rarely bounce.

And then say, "It seems good to me and my precious Holy Spirit that God has given me." And when you live that life, you open yourself up to a whole beautiful world. Friends, let me pray. Let me pray. Those of you watching and those in this room today, don't do life alone.

Don't do life on your own strength. Don't go through all the preparation of meals and activity and all the things we're going to be doing and not recognize that he has prepared access for you and I. Not according to your righteousness, but his. Not according to your works, but his.

I'm asking you this week. Go to your room. You ever heard your parents tell you that when you get in trouble? Well, I want you to remember this week that when you get in trouble, when you don't know what to do, when you don't how know how to handle your kids or you don't know how to handle your parents, go to your room and in just a few seconds you can find that sacred space, that sacred place where the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit bid you to come.

For he has come to make his home with us. Would you take your hands like it's your heart? Would you do that right there? Just put them out there in front of you. And today, I want you to make room for the Holy Spirit. Say these words with me.

I receive. I receive the Holy Spirit. Spirit. You see, you have the Holy Spirit. It's what got you here. It's what led you here. No man can come to the Father but by the Holy Spirit. You can't say Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit. But Holy Spirit, come now and let me know that secret place, that prepared place.

Show me your will, your way. Do your work in me. Come the trouble, calm the storm. Bring your peace, your joy, and your righteousness. Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit. We are here. You are with us. We are now preparing our hearts for what you have prepared for us. In just a few moments, Pastor Robert, who I believe today is going to speak like a prophet, and he's going to set the pace for this week.

Wednesday night, we have our 1-hour service. It's going to be very special. And then Friday night, we'll be taking communion and worship. And I'll take you back and animate the story of the last supper. It will prepare your heart for the celebration of Good Friday. Saturday, an incredible time for the community.

And then next Sunday, we expect not only great crowds, but we expect a great move of the Holy Spirit. How many's ready to take advantage of that which God has prepared for you? Come on and give them praise right now. It's going to be the week of all weeks in Jesus name.

Good morning Lakewood Church. I'm Lisa Stringer with Somebody Cares America, Somebody Cares Houston. And I see t-shirts on your staff and volunteers that say giving hope to the world. That is exactly what we do. We give hope to the world thanks to Lakewood and all of your partnership allowing us to come in and serve with you.

We receive millions of dollars of tangible gifts to reach people in need not just in Houston but beyond. Today we were given the privilege to have two different teams come serve with you all. Jesus Image from Orlando, Florida and Dwelling Place Church from Houston, Texas. They're actually working uh packaging undergarments right now.

These students have traveled from all over the world. We have students from Germany, students from China, and from all over our country. I feel like this is this is the love of Christ like to giving out of self to give to those in need like just as he he gave to us.

Like it's a it's a bigger purpose than ourselves. Also knowing how grateful people are when they just like having the normal things that we all have at home like a shirt that's like for us it's nothing like we're just grabbing it out of our closet. for them they don't have it and they're so grateful.

The purpose of it is to embody what the Lord has uh wanted us to represent which is unity and love loving one another. So I really believe that that's what is being um expressed through this action. I was on the streets and I had some of these packages of undergarments that these students are packaging up and I handed it to someone and that opened the door for me to allow to pray with them and that prayer led to salvation, a prayer of salvation.

So something so simple like undergarments makes a difference. Thank you for allowing us to partner with you. Thank you for believing in the church of Houston and the church of the world. God bless you, Lakewood Church. Well, that all happens because of you. Thank you, Lakewood, for your generosity and being so supportive of the ministry.

You're impacting lives all over the world. We want to take a moment today to worship the Lord with our tithes and our offerings. and always want to express our gratitude for your generosity as I mentioned before. But thanks for being consistent, being faithful, your ti, your donations. And I think about what the scripture says.

Says when you put God first place that you live under the open windows of heaven, that God will pour out blessings that we cannot contain. And that's my prayer for each one of you cuz I know you're generous. I know you give. I see your support even just being here and being online watching being a part of the ministry you are putting God first place just believe 2026 the open windows of heaven in a new way and you know that's wisdom that's creativity that's good health and that's blessings in your finances so you can be a blessing to others so you can fulfill your destiny so when you give give in faith you know knowing that the economy is not our source our jobs not our source source.

God is our source. You're keeping him first place. You are connected to a supply line that will never run dry. And we just speak his blessings over each one of you. And again, we thank you for being so consistent and generous. Let me pray. Lord, I thank you for all the great givers here at Lakewood in the building watching and listening.

We don't give because we have to today. Lord, we give because we want to to honor you, to put you first place. We recognize everything good in our life has come from you. Lord, as we give, I thank you for what you promise. That you will open the windows of heaven.

That you will pour out blessings that we cannot contain. But I just thank you for creativity and ideas and contracts and opportunities, the right people tracking us down so we can become all you've created us to be. Be a bigger blessing wherever we go and build your kingdom.

Lord, we love you and we give in the name of Jesus. God bless you today as you give. Here are some ways that you can give. Using your smartphone, scan the QR code located on the screen, then select the online giving option that is the most convenient for you.

Go to lakewoodurch.com/give. Text give hope to 77977. Mail a check to P.O. Box 27450, Houston, Texas 77227 or call us toll-free at 888-567-Joel. Church, can we stand and worship together one more time? 
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 What an honor to have you at Lakewood today. We love you. I know I'm looking at mighty, strong, talented, prosperous, victorious people. Thanks for being in the house of the Lord. When you're planted in the house of the Lord, you will flourish. I believe you will have a flourishing this week.

So honored and so blessed to have you here. If you're a visitor, you're our special guest today. Thanks for being a part. And guys, don't forget next week we've got Easter coming up. Easter Sunday. Hope you'll come out. Bring some friends and family members with you. How about starting it off on the Friday Good Friday service on this Friday night starting at 7:00 on Friday.

Have a time of communion. My friend, Pastor Phil Muny, all the team will be here. But what a great way to start off the resurrection weekend by taking communion, be an atmosphere of praise and worship. That's Friday night. Then how about parents? Saturday morning, we'd love to bring your little kids out.

We have tens of thousands of Easter eggs we're going to put all over the building. It's very organized. Plus, we have all the the fun things in the lobbies. You're welcome to bring your your friends and your family members, children as well. It's a great safe place. I mean, God gave us this building so we can be a blessing to the to the world and to the community.

So, come on. I'm looking forward to seeing you Saturday with all your kids down here at the KidsFest. A real great time of community and fun. Then don't forget, last thing, the Sunday uh 8:30 service, we'll start it at 8:10 on Easter Sunday morning just cuz there's so many people.

So, if you come to that 8:30, come a little bit early. You're going to be blessed. We love you guys. How about today? One of our favorites of all time, Pastor Robert Madu right here in the house back with us again. Come on, Lakewood. You got to stand up and welcome Pastor Robert Madu.

Good morning, Lakewood Church. Come on, anybody love Jesus in this place today? Come on, let's give Jesus the greatest standing ovation of praise today. Come on, somebody. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let's rejoice and be glad in it. Are you glad to be in God's house?

Do you like who you're standing next to? If you don't, change your seat. Change your seat. Come on, give somebody a high five and tell them it's going to be good today. It's going to be good today. Amen. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord, but don't get comfortable.

You might be back up again. Come on now. Come on. How many you know if there was ever a Sunday for you to get crazy and radical with your praise, this is the Sunday. Come on, y'all. It is Palm Sunday. And if you're new to church, you're like, "What is that?

What is Palm Sunday?" This is the week that changed the world as we know it. Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey and they tore off palm branches and threw it at his feet and shouted, "Hosana! Hosana! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

How many know you don't got to get a palm branch today, but you do have some palms. Come on, somebody. So, you just clap your hands, oh you people. and bless the Lord. Today is going to be a good day. I am uh I'll say what I always say.

I'm espresso elated uh to be back here at Lakewood Church. This is not my first time here. I've had the honor and privilege of coming here several times over the years and I feel like I'm at home. Uh I I've adopted myself into the family. Y'all are stuck with Robert Madu from Dallas, Texas.

And uh my wife and I, we pastor a church there, Social Dallas. and I love my church, but if they start tripping and don't treat me right, I know where to come. Amen. I'm coming here to Lakewood. And I hope you know how blessed you are to be a part of this house.

I hope you know how blessed you are to have two of the greatest leaders and people on the planet, Pastor Joel and Victoria Ostein. Can we thank God for who they are? Come on, y'all can do better than that. Can we let them know how much we love and appreciate them?

My wife and I love them so much. I love people that have been consistent, not for just days, but for decades. Decades. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Anybody can show up with some intensity. I love when you have some consistency over the years. And I'm thankful for their consistency in the kingdom.

Hey, I'm ready to preach the word. If y'all are ready to hear it, y'all ready? I'm telling you, if y'all feel like hearing it, like I feel like preaching it, something's going to happen in here today. And if you don't like it, come back next Sunday. Pastor Joel will fix everything.

So, we're good. We're good. It's a win-win. Uh I'm going to share a message today that is not a random message. It is a life message for me. Uh this is something that I have to preach to myself all the time. And I figure if I have to preach it to me, uh somebody else might need it too.

And I want you to go with me to Hebrews chapter 12 today. Hebrews chapter 12. I want to look at verses 1 and 2. And then I also want to look at 1st Samuel 18 verses 5-9. Hebrews chapter 12 starting in verse number one it says therefore since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith let us strip off every weight that slows us down especially the sin that so easily trips us up and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Lakewood family, what an amazing thought to consider that God has set a race before each and every one of us and we are required to run that race. Right? How do we do it? The writer of Hebrews tells us we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

Can you say amen? Amen. And then I want to jump into a narrative in 1st Samuel chapter 18 right in verse number six. It says, "As they returned home after David had killed the Philistine, the women poured out of all of the villages of Israel singing and dancing, welcoming King Saul with tambourines, festive songs, and loots.

In playful frolic, the women sang, "Saul kills by the thousand, David by the 10,000." Oo, this made Saul feel some type of way. This made him angry. Very angry. He took it as a personal insult. He said, "Huh, they credit David with 10,000s, me with only thousands. Before you know it, they'll be giving him the kingdom."

And from that moment on, Saul kept his eye my on David. I don't want to preach before I preach. So don't count this as my preaching time. But I do want us to look at these two passages of scripture in parallel. Because here you have the writer of Hebrews who says, "Hey, there's a race that's been set before each and every one of us."

And we run the race by keeping our eyes on who? Jesus. On who? Jesus. But here you have Saul because of a comparison that these ladies made between him and David. No longer is he focused on his assignment and on his race, but comparison caused him to shift all of his focus and all of his attention on to David.

Lakewood fam, my assignment is clear today. I want to help somebody get your eyes off the life of the people in the lanes beside you and get your eyes on the race that's before you and fix your eyes on Jesus so you can run your race. That's my title today.

Run your race. Normally I would tell you to tell your neighbor something, but some of y'all been looking sideways so long. You don't need to do that. Just declare it for yourself. Say, "Run your race." Come on, somebody. Father, speak to us today. Let us lead different than the way that we came in.

Amen. Run your race. Speaking of running, how many would say just by a showing of hands that you like to work out? You enjoy exercise. Can I see your hand if you like to work out? Oh, come on. That's a lot of hands. Keep it lifted. Healthy church.

Let's go. Like to workout. Okay, you can put it down. How many would say by a showing of hands that you do not like to work out? You don't enjoy exercise. Let me see your hand. Come on. Don't lie in church. Uh, amen. Great. You can put it down.

Those of you who lifted up your hands the first time, the first time. Talking about you like to work out, that you actually enjoy exercise, you are officially dismissed from this service. Okay. No, for real. You can leave. As a matter of fact, run home. Okay. Because I have finally found my people at Lakewood Church.

That's the people that lift up your hands the second time. Y'all are my people. Come on, somebody. I will lift up both hands and a foot. I do not like to work out. There is absolutely nothing in me that finds pleasure in going to the gym. Now, I do work out.

I do work out. And the reason I do what I hate is just because of what I love, which is to eat. Amen. So, I I do work out. When I go to the gym, I love to lift weights. I'm cool with weightlifting. I love that. There's something manly about putting on Old Spice and lifting iron.

Okay? I like to lift. I like to lift. Lifting is not my issue. Lifting is not my problem. My problem is with an evil threeletter word called run. This is my issue, y'all. I hate to run. I hate cardio. I don't have enough words to articulate how much I hate to run.

I hate that run rh runs with fun because there's nothing fun to me about running. Okay, whenever I run, I convince my mind I have asthma just so I can stop running. Okay, I'm serious. And so it takes a lot for me to get on the treadmill. And when I get on I I've developed uh this mechanism for motivation to keep running when I want to throw in the towel.

Here's what I'll do. As I'm running on the treadmill, just wanting to give up, I will stop first and I will just look to the right and I'll look to the left and I'll just start looking for somebody else who is running on the treadmill. And once I found that random person, I will lock my eye on that person and I will say something to them.

Not out loud, but in my mind, real loud. I will say to them, you don't want none. Now, let me explain what just happened. When I said, "You don't want none." When I said that, unbeknownst to that person, we just entered into a race. Okay? Like, this thing just got real and they don't even know it.

We just entered into a serious race. And the rules are simple. The first person to get off the treadmill loses. The one that stays on the longest is the strongest is going to get the gold and win. And I'm going to win cuz I'm a child of God.

All we do is win win no matter what. Can I get a witness up in here tonight? I'm telling the truth. And it really it really helps when the person is like right next to you cuz then you can see their screen and see exactly how fast they're going.

You know what I'm saying? So it's even. So if they're on an incline, I'm on an incline. Okay? If they stop and take a break, I'm going to stop and take a break. Oh yes. I'm not going to keep running while they stop and take a break. That's cheating.

You can't cheat in a race. If they're on level six, I'm on level six. Point one. I I will just watch whatever they do. And then I'll wait for it. And if they get off of the treadmill, I will just speed mine up to the fastest level. You got to sprint to the finish line and then I'll jump off in excitement cuz I beat them that day.

I'm being so honest with y'all. I do this all the time. All the victories that I've gotten, the people had no idea that I beat them. They were in a race that they didn't even know existed. And uh you laugh because it's it's funny. It's it's comical when you talk about comparing yourself to other people in the gym, comparing yourself to other people when you're doing exercise.

But how many you know it's not so funny when you talk about comparing yourself to other people in life. What I'm afraid today's message mandates is that we all get real honest today and ask oursel a critical question and that is who are you racing? Who are you racing?

I'm just wondering who in your life have you set your eye on and you are running your race according to their pace. Instead of doing the thing that God has called you to do instead of chasing after the purpose and the assignment that God has placed on your life, I just came to warn you today that the comparison game is a dangerous game to play.

I I don't know whether you noticed this or not on a treadmill, which is another reason why I hate running. Have you noticed on the treadmill you're doing a whole lot of movement, a whole lot of energy, but you ain't going anywhere. I don't care how many miles the screen says, you're in the same place the entire time.

What a beautiful metaphor for comparing yourself to other people. Because whenever you compare yourself to somebody else, all you end up doing is exerting a lot of psychological and emotional energy, trying to keep up and compete with somebody you were never called or created to be. And at the end of all of it, you realize I'm in the exact same position I was when I first got started.

Oh, I got more message than I got minutes today because I'm doing something that a great mentor in my life told me that I'll never forget. He said, "Robert, whenever you preach, don't preach from your place of strength. Preach from the place that you still depend on God."

He said, "Because you'll never lack for material to preach." And that's what I'm doing today. I'm preaching from a place that I'm still depending on God because I have found in my own life, in my life, as I'm running the race God has set before me, I have this in inner tendency to start looking at the people in the lanes beside me.

I am convinced that comparison comparison is the number one destroyer of destiny. I am convinced that comparison is the enemy's number one weapon of mass distraction and mass destruction. He is always trying to get you to compare your life to somebody else. Cuz after all, that's what really got him kicked out of heaven.

It was pride, but it was some comparison, too. You know, he was created to be a conduit of God's glory. But he starts comparing himself to God and said, "I will exalt my throne above the most high. And that's what got him fired and dismissed. And now his job is to kill, steal, and destroy from you and I."

And that is exactly what comparison will do. It will kill your joy. It will steal your peace. It will suffocate your sanity. Comparison is the thief of joy. Comparison is like cancer to contentment. Never allowing you to live in peace and always eroding your joy. Comparison is a dangerous dangerous game to play.

Maybe that's why the Apostle Paul all throughout the New Testament felt the need to speak to different churches about the danger of comparison. In 2 Corinthians chapter 10:12, Paul says this, "For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise."

Paul says, "You are stupid. You are crazy if you are playing the comparison game." Even in Galatians 6, he says, "Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others.

Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life." What is Paul saying? One of the quickest ways to have confusion about what God has called you to do is to consistently compare yourself to what other people have been called to do.

I I love our church. I love leading our staff. And one of the things you always hear in organizations is, "I need clarity." Can you just give me clarity? I need some clarity. You want to lose clarity on the call of God on your life? Then just start comparing yourself to what other people have been called to do.

But first of all, let's just establish today that there has been a call that has been placed on your life. I hope you know that today. I hope you know there is a call that God has placed on your life. Not a random call, but a call that is so unique, a call that is so specific that only you can do the thing that God has put you on this earth to do.

I hope you know there's a call on your life. That Jesus got up from the grave not just to save us from our sin. How many know he called us into something? That's why he sent the Holy Spirit to empower you. There's a call on your life. He didn't die and get up from the grave for you just to come to church and sit on your blessed assurance and sing songs off a screen like it's Christian karaoke and hear a cute little TED talk and go home.

No, there is a call on your life. There is a purpose on your life. Guess what? If you got a pulse, God's not through with you yet. Why? Cuz you got a call. A call on your life. A call that is so unique that only you can do the thing that God has called you to do.

Come on. Your mama can't do it. Your daddy can't do it. Your sister can't do it. Your crazy cousin can't do it. Only you can do the thing that God has called you to do. Furthermore, God has already given you everything you need to accomplish your call. Come on, Cy.

That's shouting stuff right there. To think that everything I need to do what God has called me to do, it's already in me. He already gave it to me. I don't have to be jealous of anybody. I can do what he's called me to do. Because if I don't have something, that means God in his sovereignty and wisdom knew that I didn't need that to do what he called me to do.

Hello. That means if you were supposed to be taller, guess what? He would have made you taller. If you were supposed to be faster, he would have made you faster. If you were supposed to sing, he would have given you a voice. If you were supposed to dance, he would have given you some more rhythm.

Hello. If you were supposed to be black, he would have made you black. If you were supposed to be white, he would have made you white. If you were supposed to be Latino, Buenos Diaz, he would have made you Latino. You got everything that you need on the inside of you.

Stop complaining to the master about the pieces you didn't get and just start praising him that you're a masterpiece. That you are wonderfully and fearfully made. You're a masterpiece. I feel like preaching in here today. You're a masterpiece created by the greatest artist who is God. I want to interrupt this regularly scheduled sermon so you can engage in a verbal exercise.

Would you say this? Say, "I I am a masterpiece." Say it like you believe it. Say, "I I am a masterpiece." Say it one more time. Say, "I I am a masterpiece." Woo! I'm telling you, if that got in your heart and not just in your head, that would change the way you walk into a room.

That would change the way you show up to work tomorrow to know that you are a masterpiece created by the greatest artist who is God. Oh, some of y'all just take some velvet rope with you to work tomorrow and just put it around your cubicle. And when people look at you say, "Why you got that velvet rope?" say, "Oh, you didn't know I'm a masterpiece.

There is a God that created me. I am wonderfully and fearfully made." Are y'all recording this? I'm gonna watch it later. It's blessing me. You're a masterpiece. Be happy to be who God uniquely created and called you to be. When I say you're a masterpiece, hear my heart today.

That is not feel-good phrasiology. That's not preacher height. That is the word of God. If you don't believe me, Ephesians chapter 2, verse number 10 says, "For we are God's masterpiece." He created us a new in Christ Jesus so we could do the good things he planned for us long ago.

That God is a strategic God. And he's already marked out a path and a lane for me to run in. And all I got to do is stay in my lane and keep my eyes on Jesus. All you got to do is stay in your lane and keep your eyes on Jesus.

That is my sermon in a sentence right there. Stay in your lane and keep your eyes on Jesus. I came all the way from Dallas, Texas to Houston, Texas to tell you two things. Stay in your lane and keep your eyes on Jesus. When you at lunch today and they're like, "What that preacher talk about?"

You know, the one that was up there cuz Pastor Joe wasn't there that was shouting all the time. What did he talk about? Tell them he talked about staying in your lane and keeping your eyes on Jesus. And that sounds so simple. It sounds so elementary, but I'm finding that is the most difficult thing for people to do.

Just to stay in your lane and keep your eyes on him. That is difficult for people to do. Come on. I' I've driven in this Houston traffic. That's hard for y'all to do just practically. Stay in your lane. You know how it is when you're in traffic. It always feels like always feels like the lanes beside you are the ones that are moving faster.

So, what do you do? You almost wrecked your car trying to get in somebody else's lane and you would have been better off and gotten to your destination safely. Just staying in your lane. God told me to tell you, don't wreck your life trying to get in somebody else's lane.

Stay in your lane. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Your lane. Your lane. Your lane. Your your lane. I I love lanes because to me a lane I see the two lines. two lines and to me it's a picture of like two destinies. Two destinies over my life. One line is the destiny that is for every believer that is to become more and more like Jesus every single day.

To become more and more like him, to think like him. To walk like him. To talk like him. If you're in this room going, "No, what am I supposed to do with my life?" I just told you become more and more like Jesus every single day. But there is another destiny and that is I want to become unlike any person God has ever created.

Because when God made me, he broke the mold. Everybody else is already taken. You may as well be you. Be you, boo boo, and do you. Be you. And and that's what I'm doing. I'm trying to keep my eyes on him and be more and more like Jesus and unlike anybody he's ever created.

Because the day the day you start running your race like this, the day you start running your race like this, let me just prophesy to you. There is a crash in your future, Celi. And no wonder Saul had such a huge crash because comparison caused him to shift all of his focus and all of his attention on David.

Now, make no doubt about it. There was a season in Saul's life that he was in his lane and he was running his race. Oh, don't get it twisted. Saul was the first king of Israel. He was anointed and appointed by God to be king. It's funny, actually, he was appointed in a climate of comparison.

Cuz remember, the children of Israel wanted to be like all the other nations. They said, "God, we want a king. We mean we know you are king, but we want a king we can see." And God gave them Saul. And I love when the Bible talks about Saul because it uses picturesque language.

It says that he stood a head and shoulders above any other person. In fact, the Bible says he was good-looking. Come on, somebody. When the Bible says you good-looking, okay, nobody call you ugly. Okay, you'll tell him, read the word, you already know. Saul was chosen by God and God blessed him to be king.

But you got to be careful with the blessing of God. Because if the brightness of the blessing ever blind you to the blesser, it is no longer a blessing. It has become a burden. And the brightness of the blessing blinded Saul to the blesser because he was more concerned with being the king than he was with worshiping the King of Kings.

He was more concerned with keeping his position than he was with going after God's presence. So God removed the kingship away from him. But there was this young boy out with some sheep, worshiping God, just singing praise songs to God. He didn't care about a title. He didn't care about a position.

He's out there with stanky sheep just worshiping God, talking about the Lord is my shepherd. And all of a sudden, God says, "I found somebody." And I love how he set it up. You know, David, he brings the cheese and bread to his brother on the battlefield just thinks he's doing a Uber delivery and not realizing it's a destiny moment.

And he sees a giant when he drops off the delivery that's big enough to eat hay and dumb enough to enjoy it. And he says, "Wait a minute. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that dare defy the armies of the living God? Oo, that's Christian cussing right there. Uncircumcised Philistine.

Who is this? You going to talk about my God? No, no, no. Is there not a cause? I'm about to knock him out. Somebody let me know. What do you get for killing that giant? And said, Dave, you want to know what you're going to get for killing him?

You're going to get the king's daughter in marriage and you will never pay taxes again in your life. David said, "What?" Somebody hold my heart. He said, "You come at me with sword and spear, but I come at you in the name of the Lord, the God of these armies.

This day I will cut off your head and feed your flesh to the wild beasts of the field and the birds of the air." Y'all know the story. Releases that rock from his slingshot, hits Goliath in the forehead. He comes crashing down, cuts off his head, cuz sometimes you just got to be sure.

And from that moment, everything changed in David's life. Think about that. He went from obscurity to notoriety in a moment. Everybody knows David's name. He's going viral before going viral was a thing. Kids are re-watching the fight on YouTube talking about mama, I got to get those David sneakers.

They drop next week. You know they going to be sold out. This is a big moment from David. He can't go anywhere without people saying, "Can I get a picture with you, David? I can't believe you did." This is a big moment. You understand that? Like when he defeated Goliath, he became a rock star.

Literally rock. Y'all going to get these good dad jokes today. This is a big moment for David. He's finally arrived. He cut off his head. Everybody's singing. Everybody's rejoicing and everybody's loving it until Saul heard them sing this. Saul has killed his thousands. David his tens of thousands.

And when Saul heard that, he went from running his race like this to fixing his eyes on David. Yes, sir. Therefore, Saul is a case study of the downward spiral of what unhealthy comparison will do to your life. Did you hear that? Unhealthy comparison. Because we can't act like there's not a healthy level of comparison because sometimes I got to compare to get better.

There's a healthy level of comparison. Some comparison is good so you can grow. Okay? It's like what I do when I watch Pastor Joel. You see me moving all over the place and the camera. People are probably like, "Well, he just be still." I watch Pastor Joel to get better to grow.

And you know, he just he's laser focused right there in the middle. And so I can compare to a certain level to grow, but to the point that I feel like I don't have a purpose anymore. That unhealthy level of comparison that causes you to get bitter and the inability to celebrate the successes of other people.

That's Saul. He was on a downward spiral of unhealthy comparison. And I started asking myself, are there some blues clues that we can look for in the life of Saul that would help us today to not end up like Saul? I don't think it was the lady's fault who sang the song.

I think it was his response to what they sang. Let's look at it in 1st Samuel 18:8. Did you notice what he said? He said, "They credit David, David with tens of thousands, but me with only thousands." You see it? They credit David with tens of thousands, but me with only thousands.

You see it is in our caps. David's got a but me problem. He but me. He but me. David can't separate so I'm sorry. Saul can't separate David's life from his life. Nor can he separate David's success from his success. He immediately connects what's going on with David back to him.

He but me. Uh but is a conjunction. Conjunction junction. Oh, y'all watch what I watch. Schoolhouse rock. What's your function? Hooking up phrases and clauses and making them sound right. That's what some people do in life. They always connect what's going on with somebody else back to them.

Have you ever met a but me person? That no matter what's going on with somebody else, they will find a way to connect it back to them. Oh, that's good for you. But me. What about me? Did they think about me? Is there a seat for me? What about me?

Are they going to invite me? What about me? But me. Oh, but me. Okay, y'all need a visual. Y'all know every time I preach at Lakewood, I try to give you a visual. Do you'all mind? These lights are just so bright. Um, you ever seen somebody who is blinded by butt meat?

This is a horrible way to live when everything in your life you see it through the lens of you. Your eyes aren't fixed on Jesus. Your eyes are fixed on you. That is a horrible way to run your race and live your life. But me. Now, if I fall on this stage, please don't laugh cuz I can't see anything right now because I am completely blinded by but me.

And this is what some people look like in life because the focus of your life was never supposed to be on you. You're supposed to have your eyes so fixed on Jesus because the writer of Hebrews says that's the only way you can run your race. Get your eyes off of you.

Get your eyes on him. But me. Saul has on the butt me glasses. But me people, these are the worst people to tell a success story to. Don't tell a bummy person about your praise report. You know why? They cannot celebrate what's going on with you without connecting it back to them.

You'll tell a bummy person, "Oh, God is great. I finally got that raise on my job. Isn't he great?" And they go, "Yeah, that's great. Lord, are you for real? How does she get a raise? She don't even lift up both her hands in worship. I know her, Lord.

I hadn't gotten a raise yet." All but me. This is a horrible way to live. This is a small way to live when the focus of your life is always on you. Saul's got on the button me glasses. And I'll be honest, when I read this text, I kind of empathized with Saul.

Cuz I asked myself, who started the comparison? Who started it? It wasn't like David started it. Come on. We can understand if Saul felt some type of way. David came in and said, "Guess what? I'm taking your spot, Saul. I'm next." David didn't start it. Saul really didn't start it.

The The ladies started the song. So then I started getting mad at them this week when I was studying. I was like, "Man, they should have switched the song. They could have gone into praise the Lord." Why would they make up a song saying killed us thousands? David, it's tens of thousands.

They started it. But then I started realizing they weren't even comparing Saul's number to David's number. I I started realizing what happens in Hebrew poetry. They would almost always amplify the second number mentioned cuz what did they say? Saul, you killed your thousands. David, your tens of thousands.

So it sounds like they're comparing the numbers. But that's not what they were doing. We see this throughout the Bible. Psalm 91, a thousand may fall at your side, but 10,000 at your right hand. One will chase a thousand, but two will chase 10,000. We always amplify the second number, not for the numerical value, for literary impact.

You do the same today. I can say, don't ask me for money, ask him for money. He's got hundreds and thousands of dollars. I wouldn't say he's got hundreds of cents. I didn't even give you an amount. I'm using it for literary impact. That's exactly what these ladies are doing with the song.

Do you know what they're really saying? Here's all they're saying. Saul has killed a bunch and David's killed a bunch. We're just glad they all dead. That's all they're saying. So Saul, why have you made this about you? Why are you blind to what they're doing? Why do you think they're comparing your number to David's number?

Oh, it's because you're all about you. And when the focus of your life is on you, you'll get offended when you shouldn't get offended. You'll think things are about you when they had nothing to do with you. And I'm begging somebody today to take off the button glasses, fix your eyes on Jesus, so you can run the race he set before you.

What are some signs you got on the button me glasses? I think there's a few. If you can't celebrate the successes or the blessings of other people, right? You probably got on the button glasses. If you are quicker to complain than you are to praise and give God thanks, You probably got on the button me glasses.

If there is anybody in your life that secretly you would find joy or pleasure in their failure. That's who you're racing and you got on the button me glasses. It's quiet and hit. But can we be honest? It's so easy to put them on, isn't it? I've done it.

Especially in this day and age of social media, social media, because you can see what everybody's doing with the click of a button. One click of a button. You can see what everybody's doing where everybody's going on vacation. It is so easy to live with a spirit of discontentment in this day and age.

You got notifications on your smart device that's making you dumb cuz you can see everybody's life. Can you imagine how happy you would be if you just didn't know? But once you see it, it's easy to put on the button glasses. Come on. You know, you were so happy with your trip, your vacation to Paris, Texas.

Weren't you so excited? You're like, "We're about to go to Paris, Texas." Y'all, come on, kids. It's going to be a good spring break. You were so excited. Did you see how your family was going to Paris, France, and there they are eating their croissants? You're like, "Ah, Batman, you were so happy with your Ford Focus, weren't you?"

Like, God, thank you for my Ford Focus. I'm focused on my Ford Focus. I was walking. I got a for focus until your new friend that doesn't even go to church pulled up in their new Mercedes Benz. You're like, "Ah, but me." But what do we do? What do we do in this culture of discontent?

We're always looking to see what somebody else has. And I'm wondering if the screens on our phones have now become mirrors by which we constantly look for reflection to see if we measure up to somebody else. And like a scene stolen from Snow White, we quietly echo the words of the wicked witch, who by the way checked every day.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all. Only today, it's mirror, mirror on Facebook. Tell me how my life should look. Mirror, mirror on Instagram. Tell me who I really am. And we keep checking every second. Every minute in church. It's a good sermon. Just wonder what our lives would look like.

We put our eyes on him. ran our race. Can I tell you when God started dealing with me about this? It was years ago. I'll I'll land with this years ago. I was invited to speak at a youth conference in Sydney, Australia. I'll never forget it. I was so excited.

I said, "Woo, your boy going to preach in Australia and see some kangaroos. It's going to be a really good week." And I was invited just to speak to the young people at this conference. And it's going to be a couple of thousand young people there. And in conjunction with the young people having their conference, there was also the general conference.

And for the general conference, some 30,000 people gathered in an arena in Australia for that part. And I was so excited to go and preach the gospel. And there I was. My wife was with me. And I knew something in that arena that the other 30,000 people didn't know.

And that was although I had just come to speak to the young people that year, I actually got invited for the next year to speak to the general session which was going to be 30,000 people in the arena. And so I'm sitting there knowing that I'm going to be speaking at it next year, taking everything in.

And all of a sudden, they start showing the promotional video for next year's conference. And there I am nervous cuz all these big names on the on the docket. I mean big name, huge net, massive. Abraham Lincoln was one of not Abraham, but all of the Jay's all of the Jays.

I mean, speak at this. The Jays, you know, TD Jake and Joyce Meyer and Joseph Prince and Pastor Joel Ostein and just all of the Jays. All of the Jay's. And I'm not job, I'm Robert. So I'm like, ah. So they show the promotional video and then after the video, the visionary and the leader of the conference gets up, I'm telling the truth, right out the video and goes, "There's one name you probably didn't recognize on the list.

It's it's Robert Moo and he'll be preaching for the first time in the general session next year." And then he pauses and goes, "And you know what? I think I might let you get a preview of his preaching this week in the arena. says that after the video.

I see him after the service. He goes, "Did you hear my announcement?" I said, "Yes, I did." He says, "I'm thinking tomorrow after Bishop TD Jake preaches, you can maybe get up and preach for like 10 minutes as a preview for next year." He goes, "What do you think about that?"

I went, "Yeah, that would be great." I don't know if you ever been so nervous that your voice goes in the Mickey Mouse range and your heart goes down into your foot. I'm in the fetal position, overwhelmed by intimidation. I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do it.

I told my wife, she's the best. She's my CEO. She's my chief encouragement officer. She's like, "Babe, you can do it. You can do it. You can do it." I said, "No, I can't. No, I can't." Called my dad. I'll never forget my Nigerian dad, I must add.

And he said, "Son, you can do this. You can do this. Before the foundation of the earth, God knew you would be there. You can do all things through Christ who strengthened you. Don't be afraid. You can do it. Y'all clapping. I was like, "No, I can't. No, I can't.

I'll never forget it." Was getting ready to get on stage. I'm 30 years old, getting ready to get up there in that arena. And I paused and I had a moment of clarity and a conversation that I often have with myself. I said, "Uh, who opened this door?"

Who opened this door? God did. I said, "Who did they ask to preach? Me. I can only be me." Amen. So, I got up there for 10 minutes. I was me. And I got off the stage. Immediately, I felt like the Holy Spirit was asking me a question.

Felt like the Holy Spirit said, "Robert, would you like to know the real reason why you fell on the ground in the fetal position, nervous and intimidated?" To which I said, "Real reason? No, I know the real reason. there were 30,000 people in the arena. Holy Spirit said, "No, that's not the real reason."

The real reason you felt that weight of intimidation is because the whole time you were listening to all those other speakers preach. You weren't listening to the word of God. You were comparing how they run their race to the way I've called you to run your race. And that's why you felt that weight of intimidation.

So, let that be the last time tears come down your face because you are playing the silly comparison game. And I want you to start resting in the fact that I have given you a grace to run your race. A grace to run your race. I don't know who this is for today, but God sent me to Lakewood, Texas to tell you there is a grace to run your race.

Can I make a closing announcement that I'm so glad to make today? I am a horrible TD Jake. I am the worst Pastor Joel Olste you've ever seen in your life. I'm not a good Joyce Meyer. I'm not a good Joseph Prince. I've never been a good Rick Warren.

But there's one thing I know beyond a shadow of a doubt. I'm the best Robert Moo II you have ever seen in your life. Come on, somebody. I got to be me. You got to be you. This is your season to get in your lane. Fix your eyes on Jesus and run the race.

God is set before you. Is there anybody in here that's ready to run your race? Give God some praise in this place today. Run your race. Run your race. Run your race. Everybody stand the cam. Run your race. Fix your eyes on Jesus. And run the race he set before you.

I'm going to ask every head be bowed, eyes be closed. I know this message is for somebody today. Somebody who's losing your joy and your peace cuz you keep looking at the people in the lanes beside you. For some of you, this has been years trying to be your sister, trying to be your brother, trying to be the person that was in the position before you got to the job.

And God's word for you today is to rest in the grace to run your race. There's an old school song that says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. look full in his wonderful face. The things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

So with heads bowed and eyes closed today, if you be so honest, some of you need to take the first step of running your race and that is surrendering your life to Jesus. He came from heaven to earth, lived the life that we were supposed to live and died the death that we were supposed to die.

Got up from the grave. And today he wants a response. Give him your life. Fix your eyes on him and run your race. So with heads bowed and eyes closed today, if you be so honest, say, "Hey, Pastor Robert, I've never surrendered my life to Jesus." That's the first step. to say, "God, I'm yours."

If that's you and you say, "Today's the day I need to give Jesus my life." Would you just lift up your hand high enough and long enough to where I could see it today? Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Hands are going up all over this place today.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Anybody else? Somebody watching at home, watching online, you don't have to get yourself together to come to this savior. He's a savior. You come to him just as you are. Anybody else? I'm going to lead you in this prayer. We're all going to say it, but especially those of you who responded, would you say this from your heart?

Say, Jesus, Jesus, I need you. I need you. I cannot do life without you. So today, I surrender. Jesus, I believe. That you are the son of God. You are the son of God. That you died for me. You died for me. You got up from the grave for me.

And you're coming back for me. So today, so today I give you my life. Forgive me of my sin. Make me brand new. From this moment forward, from this moment forward, I'm walking with you. I'm walking with you. I will stay in my lane. I will stay in my lane.

And keep my eyes on you. Keep my eyes on you. To run my race. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. And amen. God bless you, Lakewood family. love you so much. Powerful. Let me bless you before you go. Let me bless you just for a moment here. But I do want to say this.

Those of you that have prayed that prayer today or maybe you prayed it in the past, something very important happens after every service in our new beginnings class, which is right over here in the lobby. We have our pastors ready to spend a few moments with you. This is so important to seal the deal.

Don't just walk out, but walk there. Pastors are there to pray with you. It'll take about 10 15 minutes and all of the traffic will clear so you won't have to be stuck in traffic. Very important for you. Please do that. It'll get you on the right track.

And then also those of you watching online, you can begin to type. You can put begin 777377. All this is so very very important. And now as I get ready to bless you, I want to remind you, make this a holy week. Make this a special week. Break up the routine.

Do things deliberately to honor this incredible week. Wednesday night, the 1-hour service for everyone. It'll be wonderful. Friday night, Good Friday. No better place to be than worshiping, honoring the cross, taking communion. It's going to be a glorious night. Saturday, let's open up to the community, to your neighborhood.

Let's use this as an opportunity to introduce people to Lakewood Church. And then Sunday, 8:10 in the first service, 11 the second. And I'm going to believe that God's going to lead you to the right people to invite the right people. How many would like to wake up Monday morning knowing you brought somebody and their life forever changed because of your obedience?

Wouldn't that be a beautiful gift? Amen. And so now, let me bless you. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord show his favor and have mercy on you. May the Lord watch over you and give you peace. We love you. It's going to be a great week.

God bless you in Jesus name.