Touré Roberts - Rising Above the Storm

I think this whole idea about rising above the crowd, rising above the storm rather than getting caught in the cloud, could perhaps be summarized in one action that encompasses all those benefits: staring at Jesus. He wants to make Himself known to you; He is absolutely beautiful. I want to pray for you right here, right now. I have a whole other point with points about the point, but I feel like you’ve gotten the message, and I want to pray for you. I’m telling you, Jesus is the storm stiller. As I mentioned last week, He doesn’t have to still the storm; all He has to do for you to move forward is to still your storm. There are people watching me right now who have never opened their hearts to the Lord, to Jesus. He is everything I have described and more. The thing is, He won’t just be that for me; He’ll be that for you too. Maybe you’ve had an encounter with Jesus, or perhaps you’ve heard some things about Him, but what I’m describing is a personality you have never experienced before. I’m talking about the real Jesus, the One who loves you, the One who cares for you, and the One who wants to walk with you and have you walk with Him. So I want to pray for you. The Holy Spirit is touching you. Maybe you know the Lord, but you have grown distant, and you feel far apart from Him. Well, I can’t say you are far apart because even when we drift, He is always near; He is just a turn away. But maybe you believe you are so far away from the Lord that you are at the point of no return, or you think you have to jump through all these hoops, and that is not it at all. This message is about Jesus drawing near to you, and you have an opportunity to receive the closeness He wants to bring. Jesus is measured and merciful; He is patient, He is kind. He loves you, He understands you, and He accepts the real version of you. So if that is you, if you say, «Pastor, I want to open my heart to Jesus,» or perhaps, «I want to rededicate my life to Jesus,» I want to let Him back in. I want to return to my first works. I feel this is for someone; when you were younger, you had childlike faith, and somehow your connection with God got broken. Jesus is saying, «Come home, come home, come up here, come home!» You were born to live in the clouds; you were born to fly high with me. Someone knows exactly what I’m talking about. I just want you to type in the comments right now; our prayer team is there, our pastors are in the comments. Say, «I’m coming home,» just type that in right now. We will connect with you and agree with you. This is a homecoming. This is a homecoming. God would send a storm just for you; He would send the whole thing just for one person to awaken you, to snap you out of your rhythm and bring you into God’s rhythm. So I want you to come home. I want to pray for you and for everybody else. Let’s rise above it; let’s remember who we are. Let’s remember what surrounds us. Let’s get above the storm. Let’s not meditate on the negatives; let’s not dwell on the what-ifs and how we are going to make it. Let’s look at Jesus; let’s stare at Him afresh. I want to pray for you. Father, I thank you so much for those who are connected, for those You allowed me to speak to this morning, for those You spoke to through me. Father, I pray that You would bless them and touch them. I pray, God, that something broke today—something that has held them back. Hallelujah! As You illuminate them, as You remind them of who they are, and who is on their side, the things You started breaking off of them, they didn’t even realize were weighing them down. They didn’t even know they had that heaviness until You came in and gave them the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Thank You so much for what You’re doing, God. I pray for those giving their hearts to You today, either for the first time or those rededicating their lives to You. Fill them, God, and in the midst of the storm, they found You; in the midst of the storm, they got reconnected to You. I thank You for the incredible journey of blessing, protection, power, and progress that is coming to them and their families. We love You, and we thank You. Thank You for what You’ve done, thank You for what You’ve done in this word, thank You for what You’ve accomplished in this time. We will never be the same again. Thank You for victory, and I pray this in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus. Family, I love you so much; I’m on your side, I’ve got your back. My wife and I are praying for you; our entire staff is praying for you. We are with you. We’re going to keep words and experiences coming. I’m going to do something on social media to share that fifth point I believe is important. I just want you to walk in this; don’t let it be just a word.