John Gray - The Power of Proximity
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Hey, I need everybody’s attention. If you’ll do me a favor, if you have the physical ability to stand, I need you to join me in prayer. Pastor Robert Gray, who is our director of pastoral care, had to leave the service. Apparently, his brother was in a car accident yesterday and was found unresponsive in his car without identification. He has been in ICU since yesterday, and they didn’t know who he was until today. So, he is at the hospital right now, and his brother is experiencing multiple seizures.
So here’s what that tells me: he’s alive. There’s so much more to the story. God is not done with him yet. I need ten people to join me right now in prayer. What is his name? Keith. All right, Keith Gray. I need everybody that has faith to stretch a hand. Everybody that has faith, stretch your hand and say, «Keith Gray, be healed. Be healed. Be made whole. Be made whole in the name of Jesus, by the blood of Jesus.»
Okay, that was a nice practice. Now I need five intercessors, six people filled with the Holy Ghost, and seven crazy prayers. I need the loudest ones. I need the ones who were told to be quiet when you were little, the ones who have been told you make way too much noise. I need you to elevate your voice and say it again: «Keith Gray, be healed. Be made whole by the blood of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, right now. Right now, right now, right now, right now, right now.» In Jesus' name, amen, amen, and amen. I need everybody that believes God to lift a praise. I said lift a praise!
Do me a favor, high-five somebody next to you and tell them, «I believe God. I believe God. I believe God. I believe God. I believe God.» Put it in the chat feed, «I believe God.» Put it in the chat feed, YouTube family! I’ve been watching you all text for the whole service. Text «I believe God.» John Gray Ministries Facebook page, text «I believe God.» The Love Story app, «I believe God.» And find one more person, get on their nerves, and say, «I believe God.»
Now, who’s ready for the word of the Lord? I said, who’s ready for the word of the Lord? If you get a doctor’s report in the middle of the service, you come right here and let me know. I want to know if his seizures have ended. I want to know if he has clarity or if he’s awakened. I want to know if he’s awake, if he’s speaking, because he was unresponsive, which means they have low expectations. But I serve the God who defies expectations. I said I serve the God who defies expectations!
So all of our children, sixth through twelfth grade, I want you to head to my left, your right. You’re having service today with Minister Brandon. Sixth through twelfth grade, let’s love on our kids as they go to their service. If you are a visitor and you’ve got kids, where are you taking my kids? Just be glad somebody wants to take your little kids for thirty minutes. Hush, they’re protected! We’ve got security waiting on somebody who tries something. They’ve been wanting to pull triggers. Y’all don’t understand. Our security is like, «Who said something?»
I just be saying something like, «Somebody hit me in the face.» I’m like, «I’m just playing. I’m just playing.» Sixteen in the clip and one in the hole. Love Story security will make your body turn cold, but the good thing about getting shot in church is that we’ll pray for your healing. Huh? Don’t mess around in here. What’s crazy is some of you love Jesus, but you got one in your purse. She raised her hand. You are not supposed to be carrying concealed weapons in the house. Please watch her; it’s a lot of kids going into that service. Now that’s a beautiful thing!
All right, let’s get to the word. Luke chapter 23. Let’s move quick. Let’s move quick. Luke chapter 23. Today’s service has been a beautiful and unique experience. If the Lord tells you to sow a million dollars, then do what He says. I don’t know if that’s for the person in here or the one watching. Just do what He says. I’ll never forget the seed I sold, the largest seed I had sown up to that point in my life to Apostle Hillyard. I was on the highway, and I was listening to the word, and the Lord said, «Sow $110,000.» I was like, «I know that’s the devil. That has to be the devil.» But what I realized is that Satan will never tell you to sow into anything Kingdom. That’s how you know it’s God.
But my life shifted from that seed. I’m talking about houses I couldn’t afford, opportunities that I couldn’t knock on that door. Y’all missed that; God will put you in a room you didn’t even have the ability to knock on the door of. You’re a witness, Elder. Listen, the service will shift if I keep going down that road. Luke 23. Stop it, Elder Brian; I’ve got to get to this. I want you to go to the 26th verse.
But I need to tell somebody: If He speaks to you in this service to sow, do what He says. Because it’s not like He needs it; He needs you to release it so He can get to you what has your name on it. Yeah, y’all need to understand how Heaven works. Yeah, God’s not on the corner with a sign asking for your money because He needs it. He just needs to know if you have enough faith to release what’s in your hand so He can give you what’s in His heart. Oh my God, I’m talking to a debt-free church that is the lender and not the borrower. You’re so blessed when you lend it; you’re not asking for when it’s going to be returned because you don’t need it back. James, you and your house have just stepped into the overflow!
All right, all right. QH, you just stepped into the overflow. Lintons, you just stepped into the overflow. Williams, your overflow has already begun. Greyhouse, we’ve stepped into the overflow. I told one of the employees today, I said, «Y’all have no clue what we give, what we’ve sown. You just don’t know what it cost spiritually to stand in this moment, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’d give my life for anybody in this room and anybody who’s a part of our family online; that’s the God truth. I’d take bullets for mine.»
CU, I’m not a hireling; I’m a shepherd. Shepherds will leave you and give you two weeks' notice. Hirelings will leave you and give you two weeks' notice. Shepherds kill lions and bears and fight for the sheep. Shepherds say, «I wish you would; I’m him!» Don’t let this suit coat fool you; I’m from the hood. I can get savage if I need to. Don’t play about mine! This is my family-everybody here: the chocolate ones, the vanilla ones, and the ones in the middle-all the colors! All the colors! I’ve got family from different backgrounds but the same blood. Oh, somebody say, «Same blood, same blood.» Put it in the chat feed-"Same blood!» BL, everybody say «Different shades, same blood!»
Luke, what chapter? 23. What verse? 26. Now as they led Jesus away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country. On him, they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. What an honor to carry the cross of Jesus! Simon of Cyrene, another scripture says, the father of Alexander and Rufus-you know he was Black; he got a son there. Hey, proof is, «Sit down, sit down somewhere! Xander, sit down! I said, I got to carry this cross for Jesus!»
I’m laughing, but the truth is Cyrene is on the northern tip of the coast of Africa, and during the Passover, Pilgrims and Jews from every nation would come to Jerusalem because that’s where they gathered. So there were people who were Hebrew that did not look like the Hebrews that you see on TV today. There were Hebrews of many different shades. I need that to be clear because Jesus did not die for a color; He died for a kingdom. Simon of Cyrene, a man of color from the northern tip of the coast of Africa, was the one that the Roman soldiers compelled to carry the cross of Christ.
Now I have no empirical scientific data for this, but I believe every time Satan sees a man of color serving God, he is reminded of his ultimate defeat because a man of color took the cross and carried it for Jesus to His ultimate destination. And anytime the enemy sees a man with my shade lifting his hands to God, he remembers that it was a man of color who carried the cross who ended up being his all-time defeat. Satan hates to see the men of God lifting up the praise of God, carrying the cross of Christ, carrying their cross, and living a holy life. The enemy can’t stand it.
And I love it! I’m only in the first verse. I’ve got to hurry. He was coming from the country, and a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. Watch this now. Jesus is dying, but Jesus turning to them said, «Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren wombs that never bore and breasts which never nursed.' Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us, ' and to the hills, 'Cover us.' For if they do these things in the green wood, what will they do in the dry?»
Pastor, what does that mean? I would like to understand. I want to know what you’re saying, but I don’t know what «green wood» in the dry means. Here’s what it means: If they can kill me — I’m in physical form, the living Son of God, and I am God-if they can kill me, what will they do when they can’t see me? If they could kill Jesus, what do you think they’ll try to do to you?
There were also two other criminals. Tell somebody, «I’m guilty.» Tell somebody, «I did it.» I need a couple people to be honest. Look at somebody and just start shaking your head at somebody. «I did it.» Matter of fact, point to yourself. «It was me.» And part of it, I liked it! How many people liked the sin when they were committing it? Don’t front- you’re like, «This sex is terrible!» You’re lying; you liked it! «I don’t want to smoke; I don’t want to be this high. I’m too high. I can see the tops of buildings.» You liked it! «I drank three Long Islands. I heard it’s a type of iced tea.» I wouldn’t know; I only drink sweet tea. Somebody over there lying about me too-be the main one at the family reunion with a red cup! Where them dominoes at?
There were criminals led with Him to be put to death and when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified him and the criminals-one on the right and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, «Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.» And they divided His garments and cast lots. They were gambling for His clothes. When you are crucified, they strip you naked, nail you to a tree for public display, while you slowly suffer the most agonizing death imaginable. Not only are you dying, but you’re exposed. Jesus did that so you wouldn’t be dead or exposed.
Some of y’all missed that! He didn’t just die for your sins; He died so you wouldn’t be exposed-to the elements, to the haters. Listen, let me tell you something: People are cruel. That’s why when God was dealing with David, when he took a census of the fighting men of Israel, God says, «I’m going to punish you; choose one: You can run from your enemies for a certain amount of time, or I send the plague.» David said, «Let the plague come, CU. I’d rather fall in Your hands because You have mercy.» Men have no mercy, and some of us in this room know people have no mercy. They will smile and act like this, and as soon as they can, they’ve been watching to see your weaknesses so they can expose them. Ain’t that a shame? You got that much time to try to study me, and everything you’re doing, God’s right behind you taking notes. And the grave you digging, you’re about to be in yourself!
I don’t know who’s been messing with you, but they’ve got about 24 hours to leave you alone. And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, «He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ, the chosen of God.» The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering sour wine, saying, «If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.» An inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: «This is the king of the Jews.»
Pastor, why are you still talking about the crucifixion? Resurrection is over! Resurrection is over! When I say it’s over, it’s not over! That’s the problem with the church; we think Easter is an event. That’s why we get dressed, show up, and then don’t come back for a year! Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, «If you are the Christ, save yourself and us.» But the other answering rebuked him, saying, «Fool, do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we deserve it, for we receive the due reward of what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.»
Then that criminal said to Jesus, «Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.» And Jesus said to him, «Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.»
Title of this message is «The Aftermath: The Power of Proximity.» You may be seated. This service can’t be like any other service. This message can’t be like any other message. This moment can’t be like any other moment. So if you will do me a favor and lean in for about 20 to 25 minutes, I need you to literally sit up and lean in and receive this word.
And I want the mighty women of God who were at Relish, if at any point you feel like releasing that Relish sound, because the sound of Relish worship was unlike anything I’ve ever heard. For those who don’t know, I’m going to just say this: Where’s that Relish sound? The women that were at Relish shifted the culture of this church. They propelled us forward. Aventer, I cannot say again how much this conference changed me, changed the women of God. I am so proud of you! I’m so proud of your leadership and your vision and your faith and your dedication and hard work. You birthed something that changed the world, and it changed me. I thought I knew you, but I learned some new things about your capacity. You’re an amazing, incredible human being, and I honor you today.
Just to be close to you, just to be close to you, just to be close to you is my desire. How many people want to be close to Jesus? Ooh, just to be close to you, oh, just to be close to you. It’s my desire! What would you do if you had front-row seats to the crucifixion-the singular most important event in all of human history? What if you were able to observe the King on a cross, whose charge was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic above His cross: «This is Jesus, the King of the Jews»?
And some of the Pharisees asked the Roman government, «I need you to put on the inscription, 'He said he’s the King of the Jews.'» Pilate, prophetically declaring without knowing what he was declaring, said, «What I have written, I have written,» because anything that’s written is established.
I’m trying to help seven people who are already listening. I’m going to preach it as best I can. Jesus was on that cross. Y’all know Jesus died? Who knows He died? He died! It wasn’t metaphorical; He died! He died a physical death! He died! He died on a cross! It was an unjust death; He did not deserve it. He didn’t deserve it. We deserved it, but He felt like you deserved another chance. So He took all your sin so you could get all the chances.
See, this is why I worship like I do! This is why I lift my hands! This is why I do this every single week! And it’s hard because sometimes I’m like, «Lord, are they listening? Is anybody growing? Is anybody changing?» Thank you for letting me know! Can I be honest? Sometimes it’s discouraging because there are so many people that go to buildings every Sunday, but they have no intention of changing and no intention of growing. And there are times when I’ve asked the Lord in my heart, «Lord, you know what? What is it? You know we’ve got room and space.»
And He said, «Everybody doesn’t want the truth.» If I started preaching a clown gospel, this place would be packed in one week! But I’m not going to cater to a low level of spiritual living that is rooted in a lie to get a crowd. Whoever is assigned to this house will show up to this house. Amen! I want to be close to Jesus! I want to be more like Jesus!
Pastor, I want to bear His character. I want to carry His name, and I want to carry it the right way. When I die, I want people to say, «I watched him evolve. He became more like Jesus every single day.» That’s all I want. And when I see the Lord face to face- 'cause y' all, we’re all going to see Him! — I do want to hear, «Well done, good and faithful servant.»
Imagine three years, three and a half years, walking with twelve men, pouring your whole life into them, and at the moment you need them the most, they all leave you. They all abandon Him. The title of this message is «The Aftermath: The Power of Proximity.» The week after Easter, I talked about the aftermath. And then, of course, we had our unbelievable Women’s Conference, and Pastor Glenn came in here and wrecked us.
«Let Jesus!» I don’t know what Holy Ghost she has, but I want that one. She took them shoes right off! I don’t even know why she brought them up here. She wasn’t going to wear them. So we’re back in the aftermath because I don’t want us to leave the resurrection moment. Jesus was not just a Savior; He was Rabbi. His disciples called Him Rabbi. Everybody say, «Rabbi.» Rabbi means teacher. And so what they understood is, «You have something I don’t have, and in order to really get the full effect of who you are, I need to be close.» Somebody say, «Close!»
Let me help you understand. I hear a lot of babies crying in here. I’ve held two babies today. One was four months old. She’s asleep now. That means she’s going to be a deacon because only deacons sleep during the word. That’s funny! There are a lot of babies in here, which means there was a lot of slow dancing and grown folk being grown somewhere. The baby is evidence that there was intimacy.
We don’t have to wonder if intimacy occurred because the evidence is there. I’m getting ready to help you. When you’ve been walking close to Jesus, when you’ve been in intimate, close proximity with Jesus, I don’t have to wonder if you’ve been with Him because the evidence will speak for itself. This won’t be a long word, but it’s going to be a good word. I need eight people to run with me real quick. Tell somebody, «Get close! Get close! Get close to Jesus!»
Yeah, just in case you’re next to somebody, «I will get close.» I’ve been looking at you the whole service. No, sir, you didn’t take your medicine! It’s not to me, sir! Get close to Jesus, sir! Don’t get close to me; you blink too hard, sir! Tell somebody else, «Get close to Jesus!»
In this season, proximity is everything! Let me help you understand. I have taken people who have been assistants to me or were serving me in ministry into rooms that they were not invited in. They couldn’t even get in the door if they went on their own, but because they came with me, they got access! Proximity is everything in this season. Who you’re connected to in this season matters because if you’re connected to the right person at the right time, they can walk you into doors; they can open up opportunities.
This is why you’ve got to have a humble heart, a servant’s heart, and a willing heart. Don’t be prideful in this season! Don’t walk around like you’re the bees' knees and you can do it all by yourself. You need to humble yourself, identify where you can serve, and where you can sow because where you serve and where you sow is going to open up your future!
In the next seven days, I need a thirteen- second praise break! Hurry up! Tell somebody, «Get close to Jesus! Put it in the chat feed! Get close to Jesus!» Jesus is saying to you, «No more distance! Stop playing me! I’ve been trying to wake you up early in the morning. You know that’s me!» Who am I talking to? You know it. You don’t even like «more» like that; He wakes you up at 3:08, 4:26. Who am I talking to? I mean you’re dead asleep and you just suddenly hear the breathing of your spouse or your stinky- breath kids and the birds, and God’s saying, «Come spend time. I want you to get close.»
Here’s the thing: This may not make you run and shout, but if you catch it, it’ll change your life! In this season, God is not yelling. All right! I’ll come over here! In this season, God is not yelling. All right! I’ll come over here! Can I come over here? In this season, God is not yelling. All right! I' ll give y’all a chance!
Y’all say, «How come they got a chance? I want a chance!» Center section, in this season God is not yelling. Balcony, you okay? It’s your turn! Spoiled balcony! In this season, God is not yelling because yelling normally implies correction, adjustment, judgment, anger, and He’s not dealing with us with those issues right now. He’s dealing with you as a father deals with his child.
He’s giving you final instruction before He releases you into the thing you were created to solve. So He’s not angry at you; He’s doing finishing work. You need to know that. Every other previous season of your life-I’m in prophecy mode now; somebody pray for me! Intercede now! This is the moment, elders, pastors-intercede for your pastor! This Holy Ghost speak through me!
God says, «I’m doing finishing work before I present you to the masses for consumption; I’m not sending you out for people to look at you; I’m sending you out for people to dine on what you speak.» That means you have to have a word in season, and it has to be a seasoned word so that when you speak, people immediately know, «That ain’t flesh, that’s God. That’s not foolishness, that’s God. That’s not somebody reaching, that’s God!»
Okay, somebody say, «Stay close! Stay close!» In this season, you need to be as close to Jesus as possible. So what’s going to happen? What does the enemy do? If the mandate is to get close to Jesus, what is the enemy going to do? Somebody talk to me! Let’s talk strategy! Say it again-distraction! Put it in the chat feed; guard against distraction!
Watch this: Inside of the word «distraction» is a part of the word «attraction!» So be aware of the distraction of attraction! What do you mean, Pastor? The enemy can only distract you with the thing that you are drawn to. You can’t distract me with crack; I don’t smoke! You can’t distract me with liquor; I don’t drink! But there are other things that I’m drawn to, and so I’ve got to know my weaknesses in this season more than my strengths, because His strength is made perfect or complete in my weakness.
But I need to know what my weaknesses are so I can lean on His strength to keep me in those places. I’m preaching better! I’m preaching to you! Tell somebody, «Beware of the distraction of attraction!» There are things that you are attracted to in your flesh that serve your spirit no purpose! You’ve got to be honest with your attractions! You have to be honest with your appetites! And watch this: You also need to be honest with your triggers, because the truth is you want to serve God, but if you get triggered, you revert to the thing that you are attracted to to distract you from the pain or distract you from the uncomfortable.
I need you to embrace the discomfort and say, «Devil, I’m not going back to that! I’m not going to taste that! I’m not going to touch that! I’m not going back because it dishonors God!» Somebody say, «Holiness over everything!» Say it again, «Holiness over everything!» No, we don’t talk about it no more, woman of God! People don’t like that word because that means that you can’t do what you want to do. That’s right! You can’t go just wherever you want to go. That’s right!
Because holiness means that you are separated to God and you’ve made a decision to live for God. That means some people that you used to hang with, you’re not going to be able to hang with in this next season! Some people that you thought might be in your dating pool are so beneath who you are and where you’re going that if you started dating them, you’d be a lesser version of yourself! And that woman you graduated from seven years ago, so don’t date who you would have dated seven years ago!
I need eight people to get up and just touch five people on the shoulder to tell them, «Don’t be distracted; don’t be distracted! Don’t be distracted! Don’t be distracted!» You cannot afford to be distracted-not this season! Thank you, Brian; I sense that you’re praying for me.
The Lord told me to pray a prayer over your wife and you because you’re stepping into supernatural harvest. Unexpected increase is going to continue to multiply in your house! I don’t know, did you sow today? Whatever you sow today is coming back a hundred thousandfold! God says, «I know what you sowed! I know your heart for service! It’s coming back a hundred thousandfold; pressed down, Brian, shaking together and running over!»
No one knows what you’ve had to endure, what you’ve had to walk through, but God does! And today God declares over you supernatural return on your seed in the name of Jesus! Tell somebody, «Don’t get distracted because your word is next!» Tell somebody, «Your word is next!» Put it in the chat feed, «My word is next! My!» Oh, there it is! Now go ahead-don’t even encourage nobody, encourage yourself! «My word is next! My promise is next! My deliverance is now, but my promise is next!»
Something is breaking in this service! I said something is breaking in this service! Jesus, you need to stay close to Jesus. You need to make a choice: are you rolling with Jesus or with your crew? And by crew, I mean those that like you. They think they know you, but they’re content for you to stay where you are, because as long as everybody’s comfortable, as long as you’re there, we’re good!
See, what you don’t know is your anointing has been keeping everybody connected! Uh-oh! Tell somebody, «I’m the plug!» See, here’s the thing: That’s why everybody wants to plug into you because you’re the one with the oil! You’re the one with the anointing! You’re the one with the word! You’re the one always encouraging other people! You’re the one always lending to other people! You’re the one always helping somebody else!
And God says, «I love you, but I didn’t ask you to be me to other people! I need you to step! I need you to get out of the way! Let me be God to them!» I’m getting ready to take you higher! I need a couple of praisers in here. Let that thing go! Let it go! Get loose! Get loose! Get loose! Get loose!
Jesus! I’ve got to stay close to Jesus! I’ve got to be close enough to hear Him, and I don’t need to be far enough where He has to yell to get my attention. I need to be close enough that if He whispers, I heard Him! All I need to do is just lean my ear in a little bit! Oh, y’all don’t hear me! The Lord told me that this house is going to be a house of miracles where miracles will happen here on a regular basis.
When you have a house like that, that’s going to attract those who are truly in need and those who are demonically influenced because wherever the anointing is, demons show up. Elder, I wish I had a couple more people that have slapped the fool out of this altar when-because everybody wants peace, but when you really start dealing with the real anointing, demons show up!
In the Old Testament, nobody cast out a demon. The only time we see demons getting cast out is the New Testament because Jesus is the walking embodiment of the fullness of Heaven and the anointing. The enemy was deeply nervous because Jesus was on the earth. So wherever He was, they were-you sitting around talking? I feel like something is watching! You’re anointed!
Of course, the enemy’s after you! Of course, he’s going to try to distract you! That’s why you need to have some resurrection power in your mouth, and even while you’re walking, you stop. «Satan, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus! Come out of here, devil! I see you! You’re not getting in! I’ve covered that door! I bind every spirit from coming into my house!»
You can’t even come in my house if your spirit ain’t right! And if your spirit’s not right and you come in my house, you won’t be comfortable enough to stay in my house! You can’t stay in my house, stay in my life, stay in my money, stay in my mind, stay in my emotions! I bind anything that’s not like Jesus from having access to me! I had to encourage myself. Y’all excuse me, because every now and then I forgot who I was.
And when you forget who you are, that’s when the enemy comes in and tries to define you. That’s when the enemy comes in and tries to wreck your marriage. That’s when he comes in and tries to wreck your manhood, wreck your femininity, wreck your job, wreck your business. But when you come into agreement with what Heaven has said about you, no devil in hell will be able to stop you!
Carla, stand next to your husband. While you were gone, I pronounced a hundred thousand-fold blessing over whatever you sowed today. So whatever you sowed, multiply it by a hundred thousand! Now hear me: If I were you, I’d get in on that thing! Service ain’t over! Get another $5! That’s half a million! I ain’t playing! If He said it to me, I’d empty my pockets, I’d walk around here, I’d start buying sunglasses. I wouldn’t even look at people.
Excuse me! I’m wealthy beyond belief! No, I wouldn’t! Tell somebody, «Are you plugged in? Plugged in? Are you close? Close?» Oh, help me, Holy Ghost! Help me, Holy Ghost! Somebody say, «Proximity!» Proximity: who has access to you in this season matters! It’s going to mess you up. Don’t pick up the phone for everybody! Baby, did you hear what I said? Stop picking up the phone for everybody!
Stop responding to every text the moment they text you! Immediately stop what you’re doing! Almost crashed the car trying to respond! Let that thing sit in the air because no one should feel like they can immediately have your time except for Jesus! Did you hear what I said? I don’t have no help in here! Yes, I do! I’ve got all the help in here! That was one of them churchy things: «I ain’t got no help!» I’ve got all the help in here because I’m at Love Story Church and we understand who we are and we understand who Jesus is and we understand the finishing work of the Holy Spirit!
Let me get in my notes. Tell somebody, «Get close! Close!» See, here’s the thing though: Proximity doesn’t mean that you can treat me any kind of way! There are some people in your life that have proximity, but they don’t have honor! There are people that I’ve had to train by my absence, my silence, and my stepping back. «Heen, I man, you’ve been real funny-style the last couple of months! Man, what happened? Man, you flip mode!»
Yeah, well, you know what? The truth is you haven’t handled me the proper way. I don’t owe you anything! You’re not going to handle me how you think you want to handle me! You’re going to handle me the way I deserve to be handled-treated, respected, spoken to, addressed! I’m not regular! You’re not going to treat me like some regular whatever off the street! I’m an anointed man of God; you’re an anointed woman of God!
Why are you letting people treat you like you’re nothing? So since you don’t know who I am, I’m going to teach you by not being available. That way, you can go out here in these streets and see if you can find anything like me anywhere else! You want to train people how to respect you? Cut them off! I’m about to give you three things to write down!
Get Close, but Don’t Get Comfortable. Write it down! Get close, but don’t get comfortable. Let me tell you something: Proximity doesn’t mean you can just be comfortable. You can’t just say whatever you want around me! You can’t just do whatever you want! No, no, no, no! Get close to Jesus but don’t get comfortable! Don’t treat Jesus like He’s common!
Why did you read that long verse of scripture, Pastor? I wanted you to see the whole context of Jesus' crucifixion. And as He was dying, there were two people close to Him; neither one of them were churchy! I’m getting ready to help you! In your greatest moment of supernatural availability to God, it ain’t going to be in no church! God needs you to be anointed in the marketplace! He needs you anointed at that job! He needs you anointed at the bank! He needs you anointed in school! Uh-oh! He needs you anointed for TV, for movies, for books, for art, for entertainment, for commerce, for trade, for academics!
God needs you anointed when there is no church service, no drums, nobody else who knows how to eat, none of that! You need to be anointed when you are around criminals, when you are around crooks, when you’re around-when you’re in them streets-is your oil really oil, or is it counterfeit? The only way to know if your oil is real is if it’s not around other oil. God is saying, «I’m getting ready to release people in Love Story Church into positions of influence!»
And God says, «You gonna worship Me or the opportunity?» Oh Lord, help me! Get close, but don’t get comfortable! Those who have proximity to you need to respect who you are, what you carry, and your boundaries. And let me tell you, the people who will disrespect all of those quicker than anybody else-good night! -your family! You know why? Because they see you with your shoes off! They see you when you take your clothes off at the house, and they think they can say whatever they want or look at you any kind of way!
That’s why it took so long for Jesus' own family to believe He was the Son of God! «Man, we grew up with you!» Now you’re the Son of God? «Oh, for real? Three years later, my brother is the Son of God!» There are people in your family that think they know you! God’s about to hit y’all with the «Allow me to reintroduce myself!» Baby, your sister don’t know you; your brother doesn’t know you; Auntie don’t know you; but she’s about to! And let me tell you something: It’ll be on them to reverence you at the level that God has honored you!
And if they don’t, God’ll even remove them! You ain’t got to-just because we’re blood don’t mean we’ve got to talk every day! If you can’t respect me, and respect my anointing, and respect who I am, I will lovingly see you at the reunion, but we don’t have to talk! I mean, we won’t! Get close, but don’t you ever get comfortable. You’re not going to treat me any kind of way. Next one, I’m almost done. This is good preaching!
Get close, but don’t get complacent! Hey, Elder Linton, this is good, man! Get close, but don’t get complacent! See, CU, sometimes when you have proximity, people just kind of start coasting. «Oh, I’m good! I’m next to the girl! I’m next to the man!» Don’t you ever get complacent when it comes to Jesus! I’m looking for those who will pursue Jesus no matter where He goes! Where are those who say, «Jesus, if You’re in the streets, I’ll be in the streets! If You’re in the suburbs, I’ll be in the suburbs! If You’re in the boardroom, Jesus, I’ll be in the boardroom!»
I need you not to be complacent! Yes, you’re saved now; you’re filled with the Holy Spirit! Yes, you’ve been active! But now God’s saying, «Do some more!» Don’t get complacent! Don’t ever think you’ve arrived! Always posture yourself: «Lord, what’s next? How do You need me? What else do You want me to do? God, I love You! I’m available! Lord, I’m available to You!» You understand what I’m saying?
Get close, but don’t get complacent! This is what fascinates me about my mom. She’s about to be 82! Every day, she’s in her word in the morning and at night, and she’s in prayer! I can call that house; she’s not answering! And I am a son of no faith! I am Pastor O, ye of little faith Baptist Church! «Oh, ye of little faith! Because if my mama don’t answer, I’m like, 'Lord, my mama! She fell on the ground! ' God is like, 'Shut up! I kept her from in-stage cancer! ' And now she don’t answer the phone one time and you think she gone? Shut up!»
Lord, then 30 minutes later, my mom says, «What did you want?» «You didn’t answer! I was talking to the Lord!» Oh, help me! I know my mama loves me, but that don’t have anything to do with her relationship to God! Everything takes a back seat at 81. I’m like, «Ma, you done read the Bible 633 times all the way through!» I know, «But I get something new every time I read it!»
«I’m close, but I will never allow close to become complacent!» Somebody tell them, «Read that word!»
The last one: This is super important! Get close, but don’t get common! It’s big! Get close, but don’t get common! Just because you have access to me, you can’t just be common with me! Anybody have dry clean only garments? Let me see your hands! How many people have put a dry clean only garment in the washer? Let me ask, how’d that work out? Took it out looking like a Gordon Garra from the Cosby Show!
Just because some things you have to handle with care! Now, I don’t know if they sell this anymore, but when I was young, they had this stuff called Woolite. That’s for those of us who couldn’t go down to the dry cleaner, but we could put a stopper in that sink with some lukewarm water, put the garment right in there with a little cap for Woolite, and then you hang it to dry! Oh, I’m trying to help somebody!
Watch this: Some stuff can’t handle the heat of a dryer! If you put it in the dryer, it’ll shrink! That’s why some people don’t fit you anymore! It’s not that you got bigger; it’s that when the heat hit, they shrunk! I need you to know God is about to shrink the people that have been counterfeiting like they really are part of your life! He’s about to expose them! They can’t handle the heat or the holy that’s coming! You get close, but don’t you get common!
Jesus is not to be taken lightly! Jesus isn’t someone who’s optional! As I close, Jesus is the center of the Father’s plan, His creative will, His expression of love for all of His creation! Get close, but don’t get clingy! Don’t cling to me! Jesus told Mary Magdalene when she saw Him, she said, «Lord!» She hugged Him. She said, «Don’t cling to me! I haven’t gone yet to my Father.»
«And your Father, my God and your God!» Don’t cling to what you think you know! Don’t cling to who you thought I was or who you want me to be! I have to be who I actually am-the Savior of the whole world! You can’t hold on to me, Mary! I’ve got to go and pay for the sins of everybody-including the demons I cast out of you!
Don’t allow people to make you less than what God has made you! If there’s anybody in your life that treats you less than what God called you, remove them from influence in your life! Everyone is standing. Normally, right here, I’d go to the end of the notes and start, «Ah!» But God-no, no, no-we’re done! We ain’t got time for all that! You’ve got the word! Get close, but don’t get comfortable; don’t get complacent; and don’t get common! You need to take your time with Jesus as sacred!
Married couples, y’all set? Y’all set up the romance? I know that there are some people who have to go to work and they’ve got to leave. If that’s you, I understand. God bless you! If you don’t have to leave, please just remain! We’re going to go out together! Ain’t no big traffic jam; it’s Greenville! You talking about wait a minute? The point is the little traffic jams you have on 85 is during work hours; it ain’t on no Sunday afternoon!
So just relax! She was offended! Don’t talk about my city; it’s my city too! And ain’t no traffic jam in that parking lot! I’m not saying this to people who are currently leaving, but sometimes when you think you’ve gotten what you need, then you leave-which defies what this is! This is a corporate moment! We’re in it together!
And God wants something for us together! You don’t leave a movie early! Yeah, you’ll stay to the credits! You know what, Pastor Aventer, now I got the mic, but you just said something real good! She said sometimes you stay to the credits to see if there’s more because a lot of us have gone to superhero movies, and they’re like, «Hey, don’t don’t go anywhere, man! Because right after the credits, this is amazing scene for the next movie!»
So cool! And some of y’all leave early and miss that. Everything God did may come down to the last two minutes! Oh, it’s the two-minute warning! And let me tell you something-no, never mind! There were 275,000 people standing outside in Detroit on Thursday to watch their teams draft new players-not to watch a game! None of them got a contract! They’re outside in Detroit, where you can get robbed!
They stood out there with the jersey of their preferred team and they stood there — no chairs stood for hours waiting for their team to choose a player that they’ll never meet for a team that they’ll never own or have an ownership stake in! They braved the weather, the elements, and their own physical pain! And in church, we can’t even sit up here for two hours, two and a half hours before we’re ready to go!
You can sit most of the time! All I’m saying is if you treat the unholy as sacred, why would you treat the holy as common? To my beloved sister who shouts, «Jesus,» God sent her and her husband for me because what I need is encouragement! I know I’ve got one sister who I know is going to encourage me to keep going! You don’t know how much that means to me!
Last night, about 3:00 in the morning, I was like, «Lord, why am I doing this? I feel like I’m fighting alone! I’ve been hit from every angle! I’ve given every single thing I have! I’ve given it to You!» And I didn’t get an answer, but what I did get was peace that I’m in the middle of His will! And I’m going to keep serving Him!
And Love Story Church is going to continue to grow and thrive and expand! In fact, our church is about to grow right now! If you’re in this room and you know the Lord is calling you to be a part of this house, listen to me! You might already be saved, but you know that this is where you need to get planted! Or maybe you’ve never given your life to Jesus.
The last point that I have to make about proximity is that it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been wrong and how much wrong you’ve done; if you can just get close to Him before you die, He can change everything! The thief on the cross-the thief on the cross-was in paradise the same day he died from his crimes because he was close enough to Jesus to whisper two words: «Remember me!»
Jesus said, «Today you will be with me in paradise!» It was proximity that brought him eternity! Today, if you’re out there and you know this is where you need to be, come close! The altar is proximity! Make your move right now! Make your move right now! I bet if you clap, somebody will make a move! And here they come! Is there anybody else? Is there anybody else? Is there anybody else?
Heck yeah, we got some more! Is anybody else moving? Somebody say, «Proximity!» Are you coming down, sir? Is it? Come on, Elder. Walk with him! I want to thank you, Love Story Church, for your love and your commitment to this moment! You’re a veteran of Desert Storm, sir. Thank you for your service to this country! We salute you, sir!
Hey, handsome boy! I’m very proud of you. He’s got a wonderful spirit, that boy! If you all will repeat this with me, your new family behind you wants you to look around. You’ve got family! Turn around! That’s your family! That’s your family! That’s your squad! You need to feel connected to this house! Church is not about perfection; church is about truth! Church is about truth!
That’s right! I need some more men of God up here around my brothers! I see a sister with some tattoos! My wife got about 10 or 12 of them. She wants some more! I’ll be trying to, you know! No, she talking about she got a lot of them! I love it! I like that kind of stuff! I didn’t want to marry no first lady; I just wanted to marry a fly chick who loves God and who can get down with the vision!
So your tattoos don’t scare God! Everybody repeat this prayer: «Lord Jesus, it’s me! I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that Jesus is Lord! Thank you for the blood that was shed for me! I receive the free gift of salvation not through my works but the finished work of the cross! The blood is enough to pay for my sins!
Now Holy Spirit, come live inside and teach me how to be more like Jesus each and every day! You are my Savior and my Lord! In Jesus' name, amen!» Welcome home! Welcome home! Welcome home! Your new chapter begins today! Elder James! Minister James, excuse me! Elder, I could teach on that. You can be an elder who ministers, an elder who pastors, an elder who bishops.
But Minister James, 'cause you know everybody turn this way! We’re going to follow him and the size 13 things he’s going to sow into me! Bye, bye, buddy! I’m proud of you! I see you next week! Angie, any updates? No update yet? All right, listen to that!
I love that! That’s the sound you make for people who are going to Heaven! Anything I need to announce? Get all your pre- orders for Love Story merch! We need to sell that out immediately! And Relish Women’s Conference 2025! You need to register for that today 'cause it’s going to be sold out in about ten hours! It’s going to be 3,500 women in this room acting a complete fool! And, if it gets too big, we’re going to go ahead and take (unclear)!
Hands lifted! Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before His presence with exceeding joy. To the only wise God be glory, majesty, dominion, and power both now and forevermore. Amen! Amen! Amen! Love y’all! Stay close to Jesus! Have an amazing week! We’ll see you Wednesday!