Keion Henderson - Amazing Grace

I want to use a subject that everybody knows, but I don’t want you to ever forget it. Just do me a favor: tell your neighbor, «Say, neighbor, neighbor, don’t ever forget, never forget about God’s Amazing Grace.» That 's what I want to talk about-Amazing Grace. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. There is something called pattern interruption. Everybody say, «Pattern interruption.» Pattern interruption is used in psychological marketing, and it is a method that advertisers use to influence and disrupt a person’s automatic thought assumptions. It 's their way of marketing and communication; it’s a way of changing the autopilot, the automatic thoughts that arise when a situation occurs. For instance, if you’ve been in a situation where racism, classism, or sexism has been a factor, then every time something happens to you, you automatically think, «This happened to me because they’re racist,» or «This happened to me because they’re sexist.» There 's an autopilot — a recurring thought. Marketers have realized that by employing pattern interruption, they can create a positive association with something that might typically be seen as negative.

For example, we’ve been told all our lives that we shouldn’t drink soda, right? We’ve been informed about how much sugar is in it, but it doesn’t matter because when you see a polar bear drinking it — that’s pattern interruption. You take something people say isn’t good for you, and you see everyone enjoying it. There 's another drink that gives you wings, and I don’t even need to say the name because you already know; that’s pattern interruption. You 're not thinking about the caffeine; you’re focusing on the benefit of that particular product. I’m not going to mention the name, but you get my point about pattern interruptions. That’s what they do in marketing.

I thought about using this as an introduction because, for the most part, most of us have patterns. We have patterns. If a person says something to us, our temper flares up, and we curse them out, then we ask for forgiveness later. Raise your hand if that’s your pattern. All right. Let me go a little deeper because maybe you’re a little more aggressive: when someone says something, you smack the taste out of their mouth. Whatever it is, there is a pattern. I just want to see if I can identify anyone in the room who will admit they have a pattern. Just raise your hand if you do. You have a pattern that when it gets tough, you run. You have a pattern that when it gets tough, you shut down. You have a pattern that when it gets tough, you lash out. Whatever it is, you have a pattern. You try not to do it; you try to take another path, but that pattern has a grip on you. It’ll take hold of you, and no matter how hard you try, the pattern always overtakes your knowledge. Why? Because it is always easier to do less than you know. Everybody in here knows more than they do, but the pattern takes over.

And lest I hold you too long, that’s what I want to talk about today. If you don’t know it better than any marketer, God is a pattern interruptor. He’s a pattern interruptor. He’ll step into your life, knowing exactly how you’re going to respond to a situation, and then put you in a position where you have to do something different than you normally would. You 're going to feel uncomfortable; you’re going to feel weak; you’re going to feel taken advantage of. But my job today is to show you that there are benefits to breaking the pattern. There are benefits to breaking the pattern. God was the first pattern interruptor the world has ever seen. Remember when Moses was shepherding the flock in Midian? All of a sudden, God breaks the pattern. He’s leading sheep around, and then God speaks to him out of a burning bush. This is because God is a pattern breaker. Everybody say, «He’s a pattern breaker.» Pattern breaker. Saul was on his way to kill Christians when God showed up on the road to Damascus, shining a light on his face and changing him from a murderer to a minister in the blink of an eye. That’s because God is a pattern interruptor. Elijah was hiding in a cave when God whispered in his ear. God is a pattern interruptor.

I don’t know who I’m speaking to, but there’s a pattern in your life that God is trying to break. He’s trying to break a pattern in your life that leads to destruction, frustration, and anger. But God is going to break that pattern. I know you may not realize this, but old habits die hard, right? It 's not easy to break a pattern; there’s a certain diet you have, and God says, «I’ve got to break that pattern.» There 's a certain way you think, and God says, «I’ve got to break that pattern.» You keep saying things like, «Diabetes runs in our family,» or «Hypertension runs in our family.» It runs in the family because the diet everybody eats runs in the family. Talk to me, somebody! You cannot pass diabetes down a generation; it’s the diet that you pass on.