Keion Henderson - From Applause to Amen

God told me to preach a message today. He says, «I want you to tell the people online and in the house: I want you to go from an applause to an amen.» I’ll make it make sense in a minute, but give your neighbor a high five before you sit down and say, «From applause to amen .» You may be seated in the presence of God. Is anybody ready for the word of God? Everybody say this scripture because I want it to be embedded in your mind: say Genesis, Genesis chapter one, verse 27. This is one of the most important scriptures you will ever memorize in your life. We remember the ones that say, you know, «Press toward the mark for the prize of the upward call.» We remember a lot of those verses that help bring us out of depression, right? We need those, but this one you need to know. The Bible says in Genesis 1:27 that God created man in His own image and after His likeness. Nothing exciting happened; you see, the fireworks didn’t even pop off, and nobody went crazy in praise because this has nothing to do with your enemies. This doesn 't have anything to do with rebuking the devil; it’s just for you to know that when He created you, He created you in His image and after His likeness. «Imago Dei» is the original term for image or likeness. It’s like, how many of you have an iPhone? Who doesn’t have one? Prayer warriors, I need you to stand in the Samsung section, okay? I’m sorry! I know, I know, the camera is better, okay? She said it is! I know, I know. But did you ever notice that every Apple product has its image on it? You can see from a distance what an Apple phone looks like because they make sure that it always bears the image. And that image says that at any time this phone malfunctions, you can take it to be repaired or replaced at an authorized dealer. But if you take it to one of those stores in the strip center that says «You Break It, We Fix It,» they can fix it. The problem is you’ve allowed somebody to work on the phone who isn’t an authorized dealer. Whenever you allow something that has the image of an image -bearer to be handled by someone who wasn’t authorized to touch it, you invalidate the warranty. So when you come talking about, «God, touch my life,» God says, «I’m not responsible for what’s happening in your life because you let someone other than me touch you. You tried another god because I wasn’t moving fast enough. You tried another religion because I didn’t move the way you wanted me to move. I’m not responsible for that fix.» But here’s the great thing about God: even when we break His commands, He has a backup plan called grace and mercy. Before I get too deep in the sermon, is anybody in here ever been the beneficiary of God’s grace and God’s mercy? Just me and her and her? Okay, what does that mean? That means I didn’t get what I earned, and I also got what I didn’t deserve: grace when God gives you what you don’t deserve, and mercy when He keeps from you what you had coming. Does anyone want to thank God that you didn’t get what you had coming? There are at least three things that God is, and that we can be. We can’t be everything that He is, even though we’re in His image and likeness; we can’t be everything that He is. God can be perfect, but can you? I know some people think they are; but let me tell you, you’re not. God can be just; He is just. We can be just conditionally, but we’re not always just because when it doesn’t fit our own agenda, we tend to be selfish over just. But there are three things that God is that we can consistently be. Number one: we can be rational. Okay, what is rationality? Rationality is the ability to look at a circumstance and dive deep enough to recognize that I can override my instinct to do what’s necessary. So when a dog wants to bite, he’s coming full force; he’s getting ready to bite. He doesn 't even know he bit you until after he bit you. Some of you have pets right now; they use the restroom in the house. They know they’re not supposed to, but when instinct kicks in, they do whatever they have to do. We, as rational beings, have the ability to have an urge but override it. So God is rational, and we can be rational. The second thing that God is that we can be, temporarily or sometimes, is moral. Everybody say «Moral.» That means that despite my instincts and habits, I have a morality inside of me. Paul said it this way: «When I want to do good, evil is always present .» So my morality tells me that even though sometimes I feel like doing it, I won 't do that because I am a child of God. Oh, you didn’t say anything right there! The third thing that God is, and that we can be, is that God is spiritual. Everybody say, «Spiritual.» God is spiritual, and they that worship Him must worship Him how? In spirit and in truth. So what does that mean? That inside of you, right now, is the spirit of God, which means that you really never die.