I Am Somebody

Wilson, Tiffany / General

Walk in God's Will /

Giving Honor to My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is the Author and Finisher of my Life, To the Shepard of this House, (Pastor Pugh) to Reverend Graham, Reverend Merritt, Reverend Hall and Reverend Shaw and all other clergy with us today, To the Officers and Members of Island Creek A.M.E. Church, to my Family and Friends and the Love of My Life, MY Husband Steven, I Greet You with the Love of our Savior Jesus Christ.

It is with Great Honor and a Humble Heart that I stand before you on this Morning. It is not my intention to stand before you long. I am shaking in my shoes, not because I am afraid to be before you, but because I am standing before my Father in Heaven, Honoring Him. It is truly surreal.

We are going to travel in Scripture today from and then to . I’ll be reading from the New American Standard Bible.

It reads “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantel of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So, they will be called oaks of righteousness, The Planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

And now and it reads: “

41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven ." 42 They were saying, " Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ' I have come down out of heaven '?" 43 Jesus answered and said to them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 "No one can come to Me unless e the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 "It is written in the prophets, ' AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD .' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.

Please Go with me in Prayer.

My Topic for this afternoon is “I am Somebody.”

When I heard the voice of Jesus say, my name, I was frightened. I had a few not so good things going on in my life at the time, and I was surrounded by people who were too happy to tell me all about my flaws. So, I tried to ignore it. No matter what I did, I began to feel condemnation. I knew there were things that needed to be changed before I answered Him.

I was not sure how to answer, but he knew what to do to capture my attention. “ I heard Him.” My life changed instantly.

I was not a habitual sinner; I was not a drunkard, or a fornicator or anything like that. But you’d better watch how you spoke to me, or I had no problem letting you hold it. I had a sharp temper and no time for foolishness. I truly believed that we are supposed to handle God’s business like He was writing our paycheck ( How many know that He is writing our Paycheck. that finale paycheck) I had no time for half did work or rushed through mess because He never did that to Me.

So now that I am working for his Glory, I see things differently. In the scripture reading, Isaiah the Prophet was writing as Jesus was already here and Jesus was explaining who he was. I want to tell you about Isaiah. He was a Prophet. We all know how exciting it is to meet a prophet. We can’t wait to hear what they are going to share. But in the Book of Isaiah, it was bittersweet. You see in the first thirty chapters of the Book; He was all Gloom and Doom. Scary reading, but, the last forty or so chapters, He gave hope, and He told of the coming Messiah. Now to me, that’s like life. Before we accept Christ, it is a lot of Gloom and Doom, but once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we immediately have hope. There are no guarantees in life, but with Jesus, we will not suffer more than we can bear.

When God gave me these scriptures I knew, then he wanted me to tell you who I was. Not what you think you know, but who I am. See in , The Priest and the Holy people, just knew that they knew who Jesus was. You know how we talk, “Ain’t that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph’s Boy?” Won’t we do it? May not have seen or heard anything about the Man in years, but they have already made up their minds about who He is. So, allow me to introduce myself, I am Tiffany Boney Wilson. I am the Daughter of Anthony (Rock Boney and Georgia Cooper Boney. I am the wife of J. Steven Wilson and the Mother to Justin, Gabriel, and Laken Wilson. I have four siblings, Corey Boney, Daphne Boney Miller, Anthony Boney Jr. and Loy Boney. A host of nephews and nieces, and multiple family and friends. I am a second-year college student at Carolina College of Biblical Studies, where my major is Biblical Studies and Theology.

I got saved in May 2006 at The Church of Christ in High Point. Even with that, I did not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit until the fall of 2015. I have attitudes galore, but I love the Lord, I am not sure why He called me. I’m just sure that He did. I came by here today to tell you, that I am somebody.

There was a poem Written in 1950 by Reverend William Holmes Borders, Sr. (1905-1993), Senior Pastor at Wheat Street Baptist Church and civil rights activist in Atlanta where he campaigned for civil rights and distinguished himself as a charismatic spokesperson for the city's poor and dispossessed. 1 In 1971, a bold and apologetically Pro-Life Jesse Jackson 2 recited his version of the poem on Sesame Street to emphasize the individuality and significance of all people, regardless of size, appearance, race, or economic status.

The poem is titled: I am Somebody, and it goes "I am Somebody! I am Somebody! I may be poor, But I am Somebody. I may be young, But I am Somebody. I may be on welfare, But I am Somebody. I may be small, But I am Somebody. I may have made mistakes, But I am Somebody. My clothes are different, My face is different, My hair is different, But I am Somebody. I am Black, Brown, or White. I speak a different language, But I must be respected, protected, never rejected. I am God's child!"

Now for those of you who think you know me because someone told you something, please be reminded you were probably told about Tiffany BC (Before Christ), now Tiffany AC (After Christ), is entirely different from Tiffany BC. My Mother explains to me my change was not bad or good, but different.

I had found freedom, in knowing who Jesus was. I spoke my mind, and I still do, and My facial expressions have no filters. But when it came to my relationship with Jesus, my whole being was different. I sang. Differently, I pray differently, and I would not say anything to anyone I could not or would not repeat. These are signs of deliverance and freedom. The Glory of the Lord was and is still resting on me and see I heard somewhere the anointing destroys the yoke and sets the captive free. I received that anointing, and I am free.

I have now been called to do the will of God, which is to guide others where He so eloquently brought me. It is my charge to share the same Good News to the afflicted, the loss, the captives. I am called to bind up the brokenhearted and to show the imprisoned freedom.

1. We are all given the charge as soon as we are saved to open our hearts and minds to those who do not know the Love of Jesus and share the pure uninhibited love of God. Charles Whitley Pinned:

2. A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify, A never-dying soul to save, And fit it for the sky.

3. To serve the present age, My calling to fulfill: Oh, may it all my pow’rs engage To do my Master’s will!

We are all called as disciples for Chris. We are all supposed to fight the Good Fight of Faith….draw others to the Knowledge of the Lord.

I’m somebody trying to tell anybody…no, everybody about somebody who can save anybody.