Touré Roberts - Ready For Whatever

I’m going to talk to you for a moment. I believe with all my heart that God is raising up a generation of people who are ready for whatever. That’s why David, when he wrote his songs, would say things like, «The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?» When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart will not fear. Though war should rise against me, even in this I will be confident. If you study the Psalms, the sentiment of the psalmist was, «I am ready for whatever.» He talks about, «Though the earth be shaken, though mountains be cast into the sea, because God is my rock, I’m going to be okay.» I don’t have a sermon tonight; I want to talk to you. I believe that what God is doing in this season is trying to develop believers in such a way that they will be ready for whatever, and they will be whatever God needs them to be in a moment to bring to pass what He is trying to do in the earth.

What I want from you tonight, and what I believe God wants for you tonight—and I mean you—is that I believe what God wants you to bring to the altar tonight is your dream. It’s your dream; it’s what you want. God wants what you want, and He wants to exchange what you want for what He wants from your life. Oh, it’s going to get juicy tonight! I believe that. Man, I sat back, so you know, I’m up early in the morning, and it’s just been a crazy season. This has been like the best season and the craziest season all in one. Does anybody know what I’m talking about? Like, on this hand, «Wow!» On this hand, «Whoa!» Have you ever had a «Wow!» with a «Whoa!» all at the same time? Have you ever had a «Wow!» and a «Whoa!» in the same day?

So, of course, this crazy thing took place today. Last night, over in Thousand Oaks, just ten minutes from my house, there was a college night at a bar called Borderline. Young people from a church this size more than likely had, if they hadn’t visited this church, surely knew about this church or were connected. Many of them were from Pepperdine University and Cal Lutheran, both of which are Christian universities. This is our community; these are our people. This is our generation; it’s our demographic, literally. And you know the story; this guy comes in there and kills people. He kills the first responder. The first responder was on the phone with his wife on the way to the scene. «Hey baby, I’ll see you; I got a call. Love you very much.» He goes into the fire and loses his life, probably saving lives, as he diverted some of the gunfire to himself, allowing the young people to break out of windows and escape.

What’s crazy is you’ll have all this debate. Of course, I’m heartbroken about it for a number of reasons. Isn’t it funny how, when it hits closer to home, it makes more of a difference? I felt really convicted personally, to be honest with you, because my heart goes out anytime I hear about anyone killed senselessly. I’ve been involved in praying and supporting in any way that I can for just about every mass shooting over the past ten years or so. But there was something different about this one. I don’t know, maybe it was the proximity. I don’t know, but it just meant something. It was in my backyard, and it was really heavy. I felt convicted because sometimes, when something is not close to you, we treat it as normal or common. But what happened with this incident pricked my heart. It really began to emphasize the craziness that’s happening all around the world every single day, from people going into yoga studios and blowing things up to people going into churches or synagogues. It is just absolutely crazy.

And let me tell you something: with the best of intentions, the worst thing to do in a season like this is to start sending letters to the NRA. Now, we’re going to have a real conversation today. Everybody wants someone to blame, so we start blaming the NRA, or we start blaming gun control and other things. I’m not saying that there isn’t a place to address some loopholes and various issues, but at the end of the day, what we’re talking about is people who need Jesus—people who need their hearts touched and their minds changed. The reason I’m saying this is that I want you and me to understand where the real solutions lie. The real solutions are sitting in these chairs right now because, let me tell you something: a law cannot change your heart. Oh, we’re going to come down and talk about that today. A law cannot change your heart. Laws were never intended to; Jesus didn’t say, «Seek first the law.» If you seek first the law…