The interview almost ended there. But THANK GOD it didn’t!! Mr. Purkett was kind of quiet in the beginning, but once he started talking, I wanted to find him a mic!! I’m telling you, this young man has a calling on his life and message that needs to be heard. Get a taste of what is yet to come here:
MS: [On JP] He is going to reach a people that I can’t reach. And that’s the whole point of a team. You know, and I think God wants us to build a team because I’m afraid if you do it alone you might think you deserve all the credit. You know and that’s something, that’s the importance of the team, that’s the danger of being alone, is that you’ll feel like, “Wow Look what I did.” So, Jeremy is a huge, huge part to this movement. Jeremy is an actor, he is a singer. So, like I was telling you about the arts, all of those, all of those instruments and gifts and talents can be used to impact the world. Like I said the prayer mission was just one facet. And we don’t want to be, when people look at ICare, we don’t want them to think event. We want them to think ministry. We don’t want to be event oriented. We don’t want to just be doing stuff just to say we’re doing stuff. We want to be purposeful. And I think that’s the beauty of my mentor. After the event, he’s like, “Ok, no time for high fiving. What’s the next thing?” Because you don’t want to get the point, you’re just event driven. You want to, you know, it’s no time to do whole a bunch of celebration. And there’s a time for that, but you can’t do it for too long. You know, you got to be moving on to the next thing. [Ask yourself] What is God saying is next? So Jeremy is a, he’s going to be a leader, a mighty man in this movement, mighty, mighty man. God is stretching us. He’s stretching me. I know He’s stretching him [Jeremy]. If you’re not in a position where you’re being stretched you’re at a dangerous place. God has to keep you in a place where you’re constantly being, you know, [you’re saying] “God, I don’t know if I want to do this.” (laughing). No, God is like, “No I got to put you here to stretch you.”
Me: Then you get to see Him [God] work. If you’re comfortable all the time and you like where you are, how is He working in your life, other what you already have? He wants us to have life more abundantly. So we can’t get more if we stay with the first abundance. (laughing)
MS: (laughing) My mentor was telling me this the other night, He’s like, “Mike unfortunately, some people can only be used by God one time. That’s because God uses them and they’re like, “Wow I’ve plateaued.” He’s like, “No Mike, your ceiling has to become your floor.” You know if you do something and God blesses you and it’s a huge success or anytime type of success, you know, ok cool then the ceiling is now your floor. Now what is God saying.
Me: There is no place of arrival.
MS: There is no, we won’t arrive until we take our last breath. There is no arrival place. So there’s really not a whole, whole lot of time to celebrate. There’s no arrival.
Me: Me and my mom had that conversation, there is no place that you get to and say, “I’m finally here.” You’re constantly learning, constantly evolving. *hint, hint: EverEvolvingEnlightnement* J
JP: There are always new levels, you know, you hate to look at it as a game, but in that same aspect you have to realize that, you’ll never be able to conquer the game. You’ll never be able to conquer life. You know, there’s always new levels, there’s always new places He’s expecting you to go. There’s always new heights He’s trying to take you to. But, with each level there’s a task. Its own problems and people look at in as in, “I’ve gotten my own mega church, and I’m there. You know I’ve got a consistent membership I’m there.” No, it’s besides that. You know it’s more to life then just big. You got to go greater. It’s another word besides big, there’s grande, there’s mucho, you know.
MS: I like that.
Me: Muy mucho
JP: Yea. Right. You know, it’s always something to add to it, you know.
MS: Can I say this too, like we have to be careful what we call success. One thing that I’ve learned is that real success is that, I heard God and I obeyed God. Not that I did this, and a lot of people responded. The success comes when you hear God and you obey God. If nobody stops, if nobody recognizes you, I mean, if we stood out there and nobody came by or stopped to get prayer, the fact that we heard God and obeyed, that was the reward; that you can hear God and actually obey God. That’s the reward.
Me: Because even if nobody stops, you don’t know that you still could have affected a lot more people then just the ones that stopped. You don’t know who you are affecting by people who are just watching you in whatever you do throughout your day, or how you talk, and what you speak, how you react to things.
MS: That’s right. And people are always watching you, always watching you.
JP: And people look at mistakes. They’re always watching the mistakes that you make. Once you make a mistake, people whole that against you.
MS: Oh yea.
JP: That’s why you have to be so careful when you’re professing and, you have to be so careful to not allow your sins or your struggles to get in the way of what you’re trying to do, what the whole purpose of your life is. You know, a lot of people get caught up in their sins, [saying] “Well God, you know I had this problem first”, but when you profess the name of Jesus, you know, He wrote in the scripture, “I can do all things through Jesus Christ.” So people allow their sins or use them as an excuse like, [saying] “Oh God, you know.” You know what you are doing; you made the choice whether or not to do it.
Me: And another is like, when people say, “If God brings you to it then, He will bring you through it.” And it is a scripture, but it’s like, you know God, [like] He told you to go out there and stand out there to do the prayer. So if something was to happen [an accident], you know God is going to bring you through, because He sent you there. Not if you marry an abusive man, God doesn’t want you to get a divorce; you can’t leave because God sent this man to me. I can’t. I can’t go along with that. No.
Everyone: Laughing
MS: I’m going to tell you, you need to leave.
JP: He suffered all the beatings. Why do you need to keep getting beat on?
Me: That really does something to me.
MS: He’ll bring you to it and He’ll [God] will tell you to leave it.
JP: He’ll show you.
ME: That is one thing, I’m telling ya’ll, I can not stand when people blame God for things. We have to take responsibility, because He gave us all free will.
MS: Yes He did.
ME: So when we’re operating in our own free will, we can’t blame God. I think that’s one of the hardest things to for people to understand.
MS: Self control and taking responsibility of the decisions, that comes to relationship and really, I mean, I know that anything can happen. And that’s why I don’t, I mean one of the things I try to tell people [is] coming to Christ does not mean that you’re going to have this glorious no struggle, no problem, no.
Me: Looking through rose colored glasses.
MS: No, no.
JP: You go through more hell.
MS: You go through more hell. You may come to Christ and, I know that sometimes this westernized Christianity can paint such a false picture. Man, you can come to Christ and you can loose your life doing the Christ thing. And that doesn’t mean you’re going to walk out here on a four lane highway and start yelling, “Jesus”, that’s not what I’m saying. But I don’t know, there may be situations that….
JP: He gives you sense.
MS: Yea, he gives you common sense. But I don’t know, there may be situations that your life is in danger, so I don’t know. I can’t tell you come to Christ, you’ll get you a big house, you’ll never be sick. I can’t promise you that, but I can promise you eternal life. That’s what I can, if you come to Christ, I can tell you that you will have eternal life. That’s what means the most.
Me: Our minds can’t completely wrap around eternal. Never-ending.
MS: (laughing) Yea.
Me: Have you ever just sat and tried to comprehend eternal?
JP: And people need to focus on the internal, and not looking at the external. They see all the glamour, but the scripture says, “What prophets a man to gain the whole and world but loose his soul.” You know all these houses, it’s not saying that a Christian can’t be prosperous on earth, but what it’s saying is, what’s the point of chasing after all these things, and I’ve given you all these things, and you still don’t honor [God]Me. You still in the end, end up going to hell, burning for the rest of your life just because you want a five bedroom house, you know, all this money, all these cars, it’s not worth it.
Me: And a lot of times, people have all those things and they’re still not happy.
JP: And they’re still not happy. They’re still committing suicide. Still going out and doing crazy things.
MS: Most miserable still. Jim Carrey he said something, it stuck with me since he said it. He said it, Jim Carrey a rich man, very wealthy. He said, “I wish everyone could be rich and famous and be able to get everything they want, so they can see that it was not enough.” You know I can say that, and you’re going to be like, “Boy you ain’t never had nothing like that”, but if a man who has had it all say it, I’m telling ya’ll, what ya’ll chasing won’t satisfy you. It won’t satisfy you. And I think that if you understand that, when you get it, you’ll be able to handle it. If God blesses you to get it, you’ll be able to handle it.
Me: That is so awesome. It has been awesome talking with ya’ll. And how old are you [to JP]?
JP: 21
*Please excuse this public service announcement: There is a religious revolution on the way. We have young people storming through religious bondage to bring Jesus back to the forefront. Allow me to reintroduce, Jeremy Purkett!*
Me: Only 21 [years old]What message do you have to give to our young black men, who sometimes get caught up and can get lost out there sometimes? I know it [life] gets hard for our young black men. What is your advice for them?
JP: My advice, which has been my biggest struggle, don’t worry about the denial.
MS: Mmmm, that’s good!
JP: I’ve been denied. But God confirmed to me that that’s not the final answer.
Me: (GOOSEBUMPS) Wow!
JP: Denial has been around, denial will take you to the place where you want to say, “God I want to give up, God I want to go back to the world. I don’t want to be apart of this no more.” But if you’re not, if you’re being liked by everyone and you’re not being denied for some things, something is not right. You have to be willing to be turned away in order to get to where you need to be.
Me: That is awesome [otherwise speechless].
MS: So good. [Looks at me] 21, right?
Me: [Mouth dropped] Yea. You need to be up in a pulpit somewhere! That’s like a message. Like I got chills when you said that. All you said was, “Denial”, and I was like Wow! That is powerful!
MS: Mmm, yes.
JP: Accepting denial. That’s been, that’s been my message. For real like that’s been my walk, daily walk, lately.
Me: That is awesome.
JP: That’s, you know, that’s what God has been bringing to me. He’s like, “Don’t worry about denial.”
Me: That is so powerful.
JP: Don’t worry about people not accepting you; I [God] didn’t call you to be accepted
Me: That is so powerful.
MS: Come on, Man
JP: You know, and God had to really open that up to me. ‘Cause I’m like, “God, no I want to be liked, I want to be this.” And He is saying all along, “I didn’t call you to be like the world.” You wonder why you get in certain situations and these predicaments, and you wonder why you feel uncomfortable. It’s because you can’t get comfortable in doing something that’s not you.
MS: Uh huh.
JP: That’s not meant for you.
Me: WOW!
MS: So good!
Me: [looking at MS] You need to get him a platform somewhere out there with a microphone, a bullhorn…
MS: It’s coming. It’s coming. I don’t think he even understands, like what’s inside of him.
JP: I been trying to run from it for so long it’s, you know, you can’t run from it but for so long. It’s hard accepting, you know, if people ever get passed the phase of accepting that they’re not different, things would become a lot easier. Not the struggles, not the trials, but within themselves, a different peace will come up in them.
Me: Because you’ll have understanding.
JP: Because you’ll have understanding of why I’m not, why I’m not, you know that’s my biggest thing. Now Lord help me to accept that I’m not accepted.
MS: Mmmm, that’s good.
JP: Help to accept that I’m not accepted.
[Shaking our heads in amazement of that revelation]
MS: That is good Man.
Me: You completely threw me off with that one. When you said, “Denial”, I was like Wow.
JP: Honestly,
Me: You need to be speaking to every senior class that’s coming through [graduating high school]. The guys ……
JP: I mean, ‘cause it’s amazing, ‘cause I had a friend of mine, a girl, call me last night. And we were talking about what she went through in the military, and how with denominations and the religions now days, she’s struggling. And I told her, I said I been suffering with that same thing, because I’ve been in a certain denomination being taught in certain ways, I never understood why I didn’t, I wasn’t really feeling it. Not that it’s the denomination that’s making it so bad, it’s the people who are instructing it, the people who are leading, and I’m like you know what, I’ve never really been comfortable even inside my own church. You know the bible says, “A prophet’s not even welcomed in his own home.” But when looking at that He [God] doesn’t, you know, God will allow some people to stay home, but a lot of people he’ll make homeless. Because if you get comfortable with being able to come back home and preach to these people, speak to these people, you know talk to these people, they’ll never, He said, “They’re not going to even be able to accept you in your own home.” So, He’s making people homeless in order to show them, look you’re not going to be just here. 
I’m not going to have you just there. I want to be able to use you where ever you go. When you walk in the presence of people they’ll be able to know, something is about that person. Not for their sake but for the sake that God is going to do something different in these people. He is raising up a generation of young people who are going to be radical. We’re going to be without walls, without limits, without hesitation. Who like, I literally stayed on the phone last night for 4 or 5 hours just talking about how us as young people, we need to break the bondage of religion. Because religion is a bondage, it’s a spirit. It is its bondage. Not saying that the church is bad or the people, but we’re saying stop having so many beliefs that are not contrary to the word of God. You’re not following God; you’re following the beliefs of what a church has made. But where is God in the mix of it? You wonder why churches are without members, churches are, people are leaving, people are going back to the streets, preachers are falling because they have not established the fact that, it’s not them, it’s not the religion, it’s the relationship. They’re relationships are broken. It’s broken homes. How can you expect your home, your house, or church to be within tact if your home is not in tact, because if your body, the living temple, the temple of yourself. How can you expect a church to be in tact, if your temple [body] is not in tact?
ME: Yeah, how can you teach it to your members so that they can live it, if you’ve lost it in your life? You have to constantly be in it. As soon as you stop and feel like I have enough sermons saved up
MS: laughing
JP: That’s the moment you fall.
Me: Yea, and you take everybody [your congregation] with you.
JP: Because God, I’ve heard Prophet Bryant say it so much, “God is the only boss that will let you keep your job, but the whole time you’re fired.”
Me: That is awesome.
MS: Right. Isn’t that crazy?
Me: That is awesome.
JP: The whole time you’re fired.
MS: And don’t even know it.
JP: And don’t even know it. He’s still using you to preach to people or to keep people in the church, but the whole time He’s saying, “You’re not my child, you’re not doing what I called you to do.”
Me: Because, He won’t take your gift back.
JP: He won’t take back your gift. You still have your gift.
MS: He [God] said, you can keep your gift, right.
JP: You can keep your gift. But if you don’t have no anointing, no power, if you can’t humble yourself….., that’s the most important part. As a young person, God teach me to be humble. Please allow me to, where ever you take me; I do not ever want to be outside of Your will. Because so many people fall short. [saying] “No, God, I don’t want to fall short.” It’s time out for excuses and I’m not perfect, I’m not perfect is no longer an excuse.
Me: Because you have to still keep going.
MS: Gotta still keep going.
Me: Gotta keep that fire going. It’s never over. But doesn’t it feel good when you feel like you’ve figured out your purpose?
JP: It’s amazing.
ME: And you’ve come into that understanding of, this is why I wasn’t getting to the next level.
JP: This is why I wasn’t, you know, hanging out with these people. This is why I won’t, and all the time we’re asking God to show us our purpose. And the entire time
Me: It was right there.
JP: He was showing you. But it wasn’t what we wanted to accept. So what do we do?
Me: Walk right over it. Still looking for everything else.
JP: We ran over our purpose. We ran over it, back and forth so many times. It’s like it’s a speed bump. We don’t, we know it says caution. We know it’s right there to slow us down, to focus us that you know you can’t be speeding in this zone. But the whole time we don’t care, because we’re just running back and forth, back and forth, saying, “This ain’t it.”
MS: How many people died and never knew their purpose. I mean live years and never knew why they were created.
Me: It’s sad. Or the people who have so much zeal for God and are always talking about God, but they missed their purpose.
MS: They missed their purpose. And I was telling one of the guys at my church over the weekend, I think every church should have like, after someone becomes a believer, every time someone gets saved, the next part should be, “Why was I created.” You’re not coming here to just to sit.
JP: That’s the first thing they need to work on. Besides them living right, they need to know their purpose so they’ll know why they are suppose to live right for God. A lot of people will live right. They’ll say this is how you’re suppose to live right, but the whole time they feel like they’re dead. Or the feel like they’re zombies because they don’t know the task that they are assigned to.
Me: And you see people around you who don’t believe, and it seems like they are prospering more [than you], and its like, “Well, what am I doing wrong. Why aren’t I getting blessed?” But it’s because you need to find your purpose. You have to find it and then you have to give it out.
MS: I’m trying to be quiet. (laughing) I am done for the night.
ME: (laughing at MS) Bout to break out into a praise dance up in Muddy’s. I’m going to have to stop this recording so I can record the dance.
MS: (laughing) I’m trying to be quiet.
JP: It’s just amazing to talk about God. It’s, I used to be scared to just, I would only talk about God to certain people. People I was comfortable with, people who brought it up first, where the only ones I would talk about God to. And you know, people are not, the generation that I’m growing up in, they are not looking for people to bash them in the head with God. They want a simple, “I love you”, a simple, “I’m thinking about you”, a simple, “How’s your day going.” They don’t care nothing about, you got to do this or you got to live this way. They care nothing of that, nothing of it. The way we grew up, the way we were brought up in church with the falling out and speaking of tongues, they don’t care anything about that. All they want to know is, “Am I loved, does somebody think about me, does somebody really care enough to reach out and see my hurt?” And the thing about it, if you’re a man of God and you’re sitting in your pulpit and there’s somebody hurting …If you’re truly a man of God, you should be able to, now God won’t show you everything, but you should be able to discern what’s going on in your congregation, within your congregation. If it’s not meant for you to see it, the person that’s in there should be able to pick up it’s not something that’s right about that, somebody need a hug, some body. People want you to reach out. A lot of times we miss people because we go to instantly bashing, instead of just simply loving on the person
Me: Love is the most powerful thing.
JP: And the bible says, “And the greatest gift of them all is love.” Prime example: The guy that just died on campus, he will forever be remembered, not for how he looked, not for what he accomplished, but because he was known to love. He didn’t care who you were, he would make sure, [he’d say] “How you doing today?” He would speak to you. If you didn’t know it, if you didn’t know him, you wouldn’t know nothing was going on wrong with him. People were touched by just the love he showed.
Me: That was his purpose.
JP: That was his purpose. And by him dying it brought the campus closer than it’s ever been.
MS: Wow.
JP: Honestly. I sat back and watched students cry, hold hands and pray together. When normally they’re worrying about twerking or doing something else. They came together for someone that was showing love. And they showed love with all of these things going on, on that campus.
MS: Wow
Me: That is awesome. That’s what it’s about, the action.
JP: Not just talking.
Me: Not to have it [the word] and hold it inside. Or like you said, go up to people and just talk about it. You have to have action.
MS: Right.
ME: Well we need to have some sermons going on with you (to JP)
MS: We’re going to. There’s a lot that God is doing. Man, you can’t wait until you’re 30, 40, 50, 60 to decide; ok, now I’m ready. God. Naw, man 21. (looking@JP)
JP: That’s what I was trying to do. [saying] God, I ain’t finish yet.
Laughter
JP: I got a few more things to try. God, you’re still going to be working on me, but God
MS: Come on.
Me: Gotta have some war stories to tell.
Laughing
Me: But it’s not about that.
JP: But I’m getting better at it. And that’s my whole thing. God, I’m not going to make excuses that I’m not perfect, because if do it, then I intentionally did it. But God I’m getting better at doing your will.
Me: And that’s what it’s all about, drawing that line. My mom would always tell me, “I know you’re not going to always do like I told you to do, but you’re going to hear my voice in the back of your head saying don’t do it. But always draw a line. You know, hanging out with the wrong people, doing whatever it is that you’re doing, always draw a line and say, “Well I’m not going to go that far.” Always stand your ground.”
MS: And people will respect that. And at the end of the day, even if they don’t like you, they will respect you, that you have a standard for you own life.
Me: You have to, because nobody can do it for you.
MS: Absolutely. So good.
Me: Yes. Oh my. I am so glad I saw ya’ll out there that day. I’m glad I got to meet you, [JP] and that you got here in time. Because you (smh)
MS: It was a good word. (laughing)
Me: Ummm [touching JP shoulder to get some anointing] You and that denial…that is your message.
JP: That is my message, living through denial.
MS: Wow
Me: You can just get up there and say, “Denial” and drop the mic.
Everyone: Laughing
Me: I’m telling you, the people are going to be like, “Lord!”
Laughing
MS: Come back next week for more.
Laughing
Me: This has been awesome!
MS: Thank you for your time.
Me: Thank you for sharing your gift.
Faithful Enlightenment 