Start the year with the right question: Who’s really in charge?

In Part 1 of our new series Under His Rule: Living Under the Authority of God, Pastor Talaat McNeely opens 2026 by confronting a tension many believers live with but rarely name. We want God’s blessing, but we resist His leadership. We trust Him with eternity, yet hesitate to trust Him with our schedules, finances, relationships, and decisions.

Drawing from Colossians 1:15–18, this message centers on one clear truth: Jesus is not a consultant, an add-on, or a backup plan. He is Lord. Supreme over creation. Head of the Church. First in everything. And that reality demands a response.

This sermon sets the spiritual foundation for what Purpose City Church is discerning as a year of multiplication. But before growth, there must be order. Before increase, there must be submission. Pastor Talaat challenges listeners to examine where control still sits in their lives and why surrender is not loss, but alignment.

You’ll hear:

• Why increase without authority leads to instability
• How control disguises itself as wisdom
• Why God’s “no” is often protection and preparation
• How surrender positions you for real growth
• Why fasting and prayer are about releasing control, not just skipping meals
• riverside_WsBfbcS1IAMCIhg=_Scri…

This is not a motivational talk about doing more for God. It’s a direct invitation to realign your life under His rule and live like Jesus is actually in charge.

If you’re starting a new year with big expectations, guarded hope, or quiet exhaustion, this message will help you reset the right way.

Because multiplication follows obedience.

Because growth follows surrender.

And because you can’t reign in life if you refuse to live under God’s rule.