Part 4: It Won’t Always Be Like This 

Posted on November 29, 2024 by growintheword

Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III 
November 24, 2024

Ezekiel 37:1-10 NKJV 
The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. 9 Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

I.            INTRODUCTION

  1. Whatever your current situation, understand the importance of perseverance. Don’t give up.
  2. Sometimes, in the midst of a situation, we forget that God is in control.
  3. Your life is a book being written and have seen that people will give up on you during certain chapters of that book. Know that God is in control.
  4. God is always at work behind the scenes, making moves on our behalf. God is turning it around for you.
  5. Things look rough right now but know that it won’t always be like this. God has a plan to get you out of it.
  6. The hand of God is moving in your life like never before. God is going to protect that which concerns you.
  7. Everyone has heard this story about Ezekiel in the valley of the dry bones. His name alone means strengthen.
  8. He was born in a priestly home in Jerusalem. He was taken captive by Babylon. In Chapter 1, we see that was 30 yrs old. Ezekiel 1:1 says1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.- This scripture indicates that Ezekiel might have been 30 yrs old when he started his ministry. This is the same age Jesus was when he started his ministry.
  9. Ezekiel calls himself a prophet of God. He has these visions. He is known as the photographic prophet because of his vision driven descriptions.
  10. The first vision Ezekiel had was of storm winds, visions of angels, and vision of a Divine Throne. This would symbolize the presence of God being with them during their captivity.
  11. He was living by the river in Babylon. The role of a prophet was to watch over the people. He kept telling them that they had brought the captivity on themselves with their disobedience to God.
  12. He even predicted the fall of Jerusalem. Ezekiel began to prophesy the restoration process after the fall of Babylon. A lot of us have chapters of our lives that we are not proud of, but God still loves us and doesn’t give up on us.
  13. Ezekiel sees this valley full of dry bones. It represents the despair of God’s people. It also shows:
    1. Restoration – No matter what it looks like, God will restore.
    2. The Breath of God (ruach, spirit, wind). – Represents the power of the Holy Spirit.
    3. The is Visions – God can raise you up, when people say it is over.

II.            WE ALL HAVE BROKEN SEASONS

  • You will go through seasons of brokenness. You will have seasons where you will experience, loss, pain, and many other things.
  • Sometimes you might even experience seasons of financial setbacks. Brokenness can happen in a variety of ways.

A.   Broken Season Are About Disconnection 

  1. When you think about it, these bones were broken and disconnected in the valley.
  2. The valley represents a place of isolation.

B.   Broken Season Are About Despair 

  1. It just takes a second to break a leg or arm, but it can take months for it to heal.
  2. When you break something, you don’t get to choose when it heals either. We try to carry weighty things, but we have not healed yet. God will not trust you with weighty things when you have not healed.
  3. When you break an arm or leg, they will give you a s cast or sling, so that you can keep it still. You got to be still so you that you can heal and know that He is God.
  4. The enemy wants you to think you will be in this valley forever. Stop making excuses and admit that you need God to breath on your situation.

III.            I NEED GOD TO BREATH ON MY SITUATION

  • Genesis 2:7 says 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. – God made Adam, but Adam didn’t have life until God breath life in him. You are the breath of God (ruach). Your body is just a shell.
  • Your flesh cannot enter into immortality or heaven. We are spirits and therefore must worship God in spirit and in truth.
  • Wherever God breaths, this is where the spirit of God is. 2 Timothy 3:16 says 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, – All scripture is breathed on by God. This is what makes Gods word incorruptible!.

A.   You Must Speak God’s Word Over Your Situation 

  1. There is no breath without the word. There is no wind without the word.
  2. God tells Ezekiel to speak to the bones. You should never underestimate God’s word. When you speak his word, you are coming into alignment with every purpose of God.
  3. We like Ezekiel, must speak those things that are not as thought they were. When you speak Gods word, things happen!
  4. When you speak God’s word
    1. This Represents Our Faith. – We know that God will take care of us.
    2. Spiritual Focus – We are intentional about God’s will.
    3. Secure Future – His word does not return unto Him void. His words have power!
  5. God’s word was so powerful, He created everything with His words. If you understand God’s word, we will stop worrying ourselvesto death.

B.   You Can’t Make It Without Him 

  1. You have to request the wind. The bones couldn’t be what they were supposed to be, unless God’s wind comes.
  2. We have concluded that we can’t make it without Him. In him we move and have our being!

IV.            GOD IS ABOUT TO BRING THINGS TOGETHER SUDDENLY

  • Ezekiel prophesied and something happened. Faith without works is dead. We do what we can do, and God will do what we can’t do.
  • God will do it and when He does, He will do it suddenly.
  • How do you know God is moving?

A.   God Had To Shake Things Up 

  1. There was rattling and a shaking. Before your breakthrough, there will be rattling and shaking. This allows you to get yourself right, before the breath of God gets there.
  2. If you remember every breakthrough you had, you will remember that you had a shaking first.
    1. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas chains came off, after the shaking. God is shaking stuff both away from you and towards you.

B.   God Works From The Inside To The Outside 

  1. Ezekiel said he saw bone come to bone, sinew come to sinew (which is muscle), and flesh come to flesh. God starts on the inside first. He is not worried about the look on the outside. God is worried about your inside.
    1. What good does it do to be a name brand hat, when your head is not right.
  2. Skin and tissue covered the bones and muscle. What does this represent? This is decomposition in reverse. Synthesis is decomposition in reverse.
    1. What looked like it was decomposing, came back together. God wants you to know that it is all about to come back together!
  3. When the word went forth, the wind blew. Wind makes things go looking for stuff. God made sure everything got where it needed to be.

V.            IT’S TIME FOR THE BRIGADE TO STAND UP

  • The bones were dead in the valley. God reversed the decompose process.

A.   It’s Time To Get Up 

  1. When they came back to life, they were informed to stand up. Why? Remember when Lazarus was in the grave? When God told Lazarus to wake up, he had to come out of the tomb.
  2. Lazarus woke up, but he was still in the tomb. You can be woke, but still be in a dead situation. You have to stand up and get out of that dead season!
  3. Time to stop complaining and whining. It’s time for you to get up!!

B.   Never Forget Who You Are 

  1. This is the children of Israel. They were a mighty army. You are not a push over! You are God’s child! You are a soldier! You are a warrior! You have survived most things that others could not have!
  2. God gave you his wind and all you have to do is give him his wind back! Let everything thing that has breath, praise the Lord!
  3. God is about to bring you back to where you used to be. God is about to give you your passion back. You have too much to do for God, to be lost in the valley! It won’t always be like this!

 

 

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Part 3: Don’t Breakdown—Breakthrough 

Posted on November 22, 2024 by growintheword


Synopsis of 11.17.24

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III 

Lamentations 3:19-25 NKJV 
19 Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall. 20 My soul still remembers and sinks within me. 21 This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. 22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

I.               INTRODUCTION

  1. Have you ever come to end of your self or questioned if the good you did matters? Have you been to a point where you questioned your capacity to go further? Have you ever felt like you were set up by God meaning He called you to something and then changed the rules?
  2. If said yes to any of these questions, then you are at the right place at the right time. God has called us to something amazing, but it doesn’t come without
  3. Many people have come to this point and they wanted God to find someone else? Know that the enemy would love nothing more than to see you break down.
  4. Today we are talking about a spiritual breakdown. When you have a spiritual breakdown, you feel like you have no more strength to give to this.
    1. This makes the enemy frustrate others and discredits your witness. When they see how you reacted, they will not walk in their purpose either.
  5. This word is here to encourage you not to break down. Instead of breaking down, break through!
  6. There is a breakthrough on the other side of what you’ve experienced.
  7. This is a book of Lamentation. First prenatal destiny. It says before he formed you in the womb, he knew you. Jeremiah was called before he was born.
  8. In the scripture today, Jeremiah wants to resist his calling. In Lamentations 3:6, it says 6 He has set me in dark places Like the dead of long ago.- At this point, Jeremiah begins to pull back.
  9. We believe Jeremiah was between the ages of 18 and 25.
  10. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. He wrote both the book of Jeremiah and Lamentations.
  11. The book of Lamentations is a result of what happens in Jerusalem. The Children of Israel had been taken over by the Babylonians, because of their disobedience.
  12. The psalmist explains that the captors tried to get them to sing the songs they used to sing praises to God, but they hung up their harps and asked how they could sing their songs in a strange land.
  13. Lamentations provides insight on what the people went through.
  14. Lamentations helps us morn and create an opportunity for us to cry out to God.
  15. Lamenting is broken down in 4 areas.
    1. Expression of Pain – It is saying to God, “This hurts”.
    2. It is Your Petition to God – Asking how long this thing will endure.
    3. It’s about Questioning God – Asking God why He couldn’t have picked someone else?
    4. It’s about Trusting and Hoping in God– When we lament, it shouldn’t be the end of our situation.
  16. No matter how much pain we experience, we have to remember that God is up to something. God will show you his work right in the midst of what you are going through.

II.               THE PROBLEM OF ROMANTICIZING YOUR PROBLEMS

  • Verse 19 says 19 Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall.
  • So many of us find ourselves romanticizing our pain. We are attached to the pain of our past.
  • Wormwood and gall represent turmoil. Jeremiah uses the phrases Jesus used when addressing the people.
    • Remember on the cross, when Jesus said, “he thirst”? In Matthew 27:34 it says “they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.”- Gall was a numbing agent. Jesus resisted it, because he wanted to endure the pain of the cross without numbing.
      • This also teaches us that like Him, we can go through our situation without trying to numb it out.
    • Jeremiah said I may look like I’m together, but internally I am broken. Don’t think that a person isn’t broken, just because you see them carrying their well!

A.    You Stay Attached To Suffering 

  1. When you remain attached to your suffering, you will miss out on what God is trying to do in your future. You can become a person drawn to pain and bad situations.
  2. This can also make you too afraid to walk into a new thing. You begin to rationalize with yourself saying stuff like, “But atleast this suffering is familiar. I don’t know what I might encounter in the new thing”.
  3. It is never God’s intent for you to be so attached to drama, you begin to normalize it. At some point, you’ve got to come through.
  4. Normalizing is the idea of going back to the pain we once had. What God wants us to do is frightening sometimes.
    1. Remember when Moses and the Children of Israel got to the Red Sea and they said, “Maybe they should go back”? Remember Lot’s wife looking back when they were escaping, and she turned into a pillar of salt?
  5. This is why we press towards the mark. You can’t spring forth, if you are clinging to something else.

B.    You Develop A Distorted Perception Of Self 

  1. Sometimes we wonder if we are crazy. These distorted views of ourselves, can cause us to miss out on God’s Promise for us. Remember God knew all about you, when He called you.
    1. Remember Gideon and his army? Gideon thought his army was too small. Moses thought his stutter would stop him from doing what God wanted him to do.
  2. We often don’t see God being able to use us. We have to know we are who God says we are. We are fearfully and wonderfully made!
  3. Jeremiah goes through a period of lament. He reminds the people not to cling to the trauma of our past.
  4. How do we know that Jeremiah didn’t cling to his past? It is because he had the power to recall his promise.

III.               THE POWER TO RECALL HIS PROMISE

  • To remember is different than to recall. Recall means a specific action is required for you to bring it back. When I recall something, it means I go and grab it and place it where it needs to be.
    • Jeremiah says in Lamentations 3:21, 21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.
    • David says in Psalms 119:11, 11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. When you get a word, it might not apply to your situation right now, but God wants you to store it, so at the right time, you can recall that word back.
  • When you recall that word, it is what will get you through your current situation. This is how the word of God works.
  • Jeremiah has gone through trama, suffered loss, and experienced bitterness, then he says, “This I recall to my mind”. Know that God kept your mind while you were going through what you were going through.

A.    Don’t Let Your Frustration Be Greater Than Your Foundation 

  1. This is the idea of foundation. When you walk with God you have a foundation. You cannot expect your children to believe everything you believe. You have to be the foundation for them.
    1. You have to lead them in the direction they need to go in order to establish a good foundation.
  2. Foundation creates coping mechanisms that people without foundation won’t have. Unless the Lord builds the house, they that build, build in vain. An example of this is the example given about the house built on rock and and the other being built on sand. The reason why people give up, they are like the house built on the sand. They don’t have any foundation.
  3. When you are built on rock or solid foundation, you will learn how to fast and pray through your rough situations.
  4. What will be your family’s foundation? My foundation defines my strength and my ability. Things that used to break me, don’t break me anymore! My serenity says you can’t even destroy my peace! My stability says I am not swayed by culture!

B.    God Will Give You A Renewed Hope 

  1. A foundation will provide hope for you. The devil is always attacking your hope. Don’t ever lose your hope!
  2. Hope is the thing that can keep you trusting in God, when you don’t know how it is going to work. You have to give God glory for the role hope played in your life. The Hymn Writer says my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and righteousness…
  3. Old people used to say to the preacher after service, “You hoped me”. We used to think they were just speaking wrong and meant to say, “You helped me”. We discovered that they were saying what they meant. “You hoped me” meant, “I was about to give up, but now my hope is sustained”!

IV.               THE PERSPECTIVE TO REALIZE WHAT HE PREVENTED

  • It is because of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed. They are renewed every morning.
  • Mercy reflects Gods’ nature in humanity. Hope is the next step beyond forgiveness.
  • Mercy is essential through the Bible. Psalms 103:8-10 says 8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.– This suggests that God’s mercy, blocks stuff on our behalf.

A.    Mercy Prevented The Consequences Of My Failure 

  1. Gods’ mercy is renewed every morning. Yesterday’s mercy is not good enough for today. Can you thank God for what mercy blocked?
  2. We are not consumed. Jeremiah had lost a lot. The Temple was destroyed, and the people were in captivity. Jeremiah recalls God’s word to a sound mind. Now he has hope, regardless of what he sees.

B.    Mercy Prevented A Breakdown 

  1. If God is still at work, how does it happen? His mercy is new every morning. Our existence is a result of God’s mercy, which held back what we deserve.
  2. Because I’m here, I’m going to praise God in response of his provision!

V.               PRAISE IN RESPONSE TO HIS PROVISION

  • I’m going to choose to thank God for his mercy
  • What can I see that will give me glory? God’s mercy is new every morning! Great is his faithfulness!

A.    The Lord Is Faithful 

  1. Jeremiah says great is his faithfulness. Imagine me standing with Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes. Tony the Tiger says the Frosted Flakes are great! In other words, like the Frosted Flakes over the Corn Flakes, faithfulness has a little something extra about it.
  2. What makes the other great? There’s some stuff in your life that’s good or faithful, but it doesn’t compare to God’s faithfulness. You know you pouted, but He was still faithful to you.
  3. You ought to give God glory for His faithfulness!

B.    The Lord Is Good 

  1. Just in case you might have forgotten, there are things we go through where we ask how God can let these things happen to us? You might not always understand the goodness of God, without having trust in God.
  2. When we believe God for a situation, or for a healing, for property, or for a husband, then by faith you have the right to believe God for it. If you are in immature spiritually, you interpret God as being bad if none of this stuff comes to fruition.
  3. When we believe God, we trust him for the outcome. That way if it comes out bad or good, you still give God glory for being God. Romans 8:28 NKJV says 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
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Part 2: They Left Me For Dead, But God Loved Me To Life 

Posted on November 15, 2024 by growintheword

Synopsis of 11/11/24

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III 

Ezekiel 16:1-6 
Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: “Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born. 6 “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’

    I.          INTRODUCTION 

  1. One thing we shouldn’t take for granted is what people had to endure. There are some people that have survived some trying times. Some things are too numerous to count.
  2. It is a miracle that some people showed up. You have no idea you might be sitting next to a miracle today. This means they overcame!
    1. 1 Corinthians 15:10 NKJV says 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
  3. You have to thank those that show up for you. Know that there will be those that will abandon you.
  4. In our Human relationships, people have walked away from us and left us for dead. They are looking at us waiting for our demise to take place.
  5. May we declare that this word today will reassure you. When people leave you, God will love you!
  6. This word comes from the prophet Ezekiel who is a major prophet. Major prophets are named by the size of their books, not by their works.
  7. Ezekial prophesied to God’s people under Babylonian captivity. They were in a place of moral deficit too. They had brought this captivity on themselves, because they had turned to pagan gods.
  8. Ezekial uses allegory. An allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
  9. This photographic prophet told stories like that of the Valley of Dry Bones found in Ezekiel 37:1-14 where the bones were dead, but they ended up being a mighty army and the story of The Healing Waters found in Ezekiel 47: 3-5, where the water seeped under the door represented anointing and eventually the anointed ended up consuming the people from head to toe.
  10. In this particular scripture, Ezekial uses Israel (representative of us) as being born as an infant in an open valley. The infant hasn’t been covered and hasn’t been washed. The cord hasn’t been cut either, so the child is still connected to what gave birth to it.
  11. It’s parents was connected to pagan gods, meaning its parents were not connected to what God wants us to be feed. People are passing by, but no one was doing anything.
  12. God saw us in our blood and in our situation and He spoke life over us, then He brought us back to life. It ain’t over until God says so!

 II.          THE PAIN OF A SINFUL PAST 

  • The reality is, they are in this situation because of their sin. Ezekial 16 tells of the children of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. It might not look like it now, but all of us have some bad chapters in our past.
    • Romans 3:23 NKJV says 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
  • A lot of us try to live through selective sin, so that we can soften our sin and judge others. This is divisive in the Kingdom of God.
  • There are only two types of people in the kingdom: Those who are caught and those who haven’t been caught yet.
  • There is no hierarchy of sin. To God, a sin is a sin.

A.  Life Is About Choices And Consequences

  1. The enemy wants to control your decisions.
  2. 5 ways the enemy tries to control your decisions.
    1. Description and Doubt – Remember that’s what the devil did with Eve in the Garden. He tried to make her doubt what the Lord meant by what He said.
    1. Temptations and Desires – This is why the enemy tried to tempt Jesus with bread.
    1. Fear and Anxiety – This makes us make bad choices.
    1. Pride and Self-Reliance – The enemy will use our pride to make us mess up our blessing. The enemy wants you to compromise your destiny.

B.    The Enemy Wants Your Environment To Produce A Negative Outcome

  1. You have to make decisions that cause you not to be a product of your negative environment.
    1. We never would have had a Tyler Perry if he had given in to his past life and environment.
    1. Lots of people pulled themselves out of the lives they came from to become something better.
  2. You ought to give God glory that you didn’t become a product of your environment!

III.          THE PEOPLE SAW YOU AND HAD NO PITY

  • There are people watching you that you are not aware of. They watch you from afar. They may follow your social media pages and never click on anything but know that they are watching.

A.    They Let Me Stay Connected To Stuff Too Long

  1. The people went by and saw the condition the infant was in, but no one cut the cord from the navel.
  2. You need people around you that can hold you accountable.
  3. Infection will set in if you don’t cut the cord. This is the season when it’s time to cut the cord.
    1. You can’t be attached to anything that doesn’t feed where you’re going.

B.    You Had To Navigate Seasons Of Neglect

  1. This is an infant that can’t cut the cord for himself. Some of us are in situations and we can’t do for ourselves what we need to do. This is why we need the right people around us.
  2. In this season of neglect, you will realize it will be tough. This is the season that the enemy will try to get into your mind.
  3. Whatever the enemy is trying to do in your mind, know that it is temporary. Be not weary in well doing. You will reap if you faint not. These are transforming moments.
  4. What does it mean to be in an open field?

IV.          YOU WERE IN A PUBLIC SPACE OF PREJUDICE

  • People make judgement calls on people based on what people have on. You don’t know their story. You don’t know what they had to go through to get here.
  • God doesn’t see us like people see us. God sees us in our future.

A.  Don’t Let How People See You Determine How You See Yourself

  1. It shouldn’t matter how people see you. When you realize who you are in God, then you walk with a sense of confidence. It puts you in a certain place.
  2. To the women of this congregation, don’t let what people say about you, validate who you are. God sees you and has defined who you are. You are who God says you are.
    1. Think about Hagar, she could have succumbed to her situation. God spoke to her in her purpose. This is when she named God El Roi meaning God sees me.
  3. Don’t let people’s perspective make you see yourself by what people call you.
  4. Even when people try to limit you, you are still amazing!
  5. People think it is over for you but know:

B.    This Is The Last Day You Will See Me Like This

  1. God is sending this word, because this is the last time you will see me like this! We are going to walk in what God planed for us to do!

V.          HE PASSED BY AND SPOKE TO MY POSSIBILITY

  • The Bible says, in your blood I saw you. God saw the Children of Isreal in a perish situation and he spoke to them with love.

A.    He Didn’t Just See Me, It’s What He Said To Me

  1. There is power in words. The power of life and death is in your tongue.
  2. Everything that was created was created by God’s word. When God speaks a thing, then that’s what it will be. When and where He speaks it, is where it will happen.
  3. When God sends a word, He sends it at the right time and place for you. Then you got to believe that it is already done.
  4. What your Pastor preaches on Sunday, is a download from the Holy Spirit. God downloaded his word to your Pastor and used she or he as a vessel.
  5. When that word goes forth, know that it will happen over your life.
  6. It doesn’t matter how they labeled you. That one word we declare over you is “live”!

B.    The Worst Is Over And The Best Is Yet To Come

  1. People have no idea of what you experienced. God says if no one else sees you, He sees you!
  2. God says he saw you when you were faithful, but being looked over.
  3. When yo were trying to be faithful and they looked over you, God saw you then too.
  4. God is about to snatch you out of every dead place in your life! Some people thank God for the houses and the cars, but there are others that can thank God just because He kept them!
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Part 1: From Grief To Glory

Posted on November 8, 2024 by growintheword

 

Sermon Synopsis 11/03/24

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Luke 7:11-17
11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. 12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. 16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” 17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

I.               INTRODUCTION

  1. One of the things we should be aware of is God never intends to leave us in a place of despair. Psalm 30:11 says 11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
  2. God is a god that refuses to allow us to wallow in our current situation and remain in despair. He is determined not to let our current situation be our final situation.
  3. Grief is real and at some point, in your life, you will experience grief. If you’ve ever experienced loss, you know what grief feels like.
  4. Grief is the result of the loss of loved one, loss of a friendship, loss of a job, or a loss of the way things used to be.
  5. Just because we love the Lord, doesn’t mean we get exempt from experiencing grief.
  6. Dr Elisabeth Kubler Ross wrote a book on “death and dying” and in it, she talks about the 5 stages of grief.
    1. 5 Stages of Grief
  7. Denial – A state of shock or disbelief, where individuals have difficulty accepting the reality of the loss.
  8. Anger – A period of frustration, resentment, and sometimes blame, which can be directed at oneself, others, or even the person who has died.
  9. Bargaining – This stage often includes thoughts of “if only…” and involves attempts to negotiate or change the reality of the situation, sometimes through promises or compromises.
  10. Depression – Feelings of profound sadness, loneliness, and hopelessness, as the reality of the loss becomes undeniable.
  11. Acceptance – A stage of coming to terms with the loss, where individuals may begin to find peace and adjust to life without the person or situation they have lost.
  12. When you read this word today, you will discover that these stages are not linear, meaning that they may not necessarily appear in order. You may experience them all at once or one by one in no particular order.
  13. This word comes at a specific time in Jesus’ Ministry. Jesus had just performed a miracle in Capernaum 25miles away from Nain. Afterwards he traveled down the roadway, teaching along the way, until he finally reached Nain.
  14. When Jesus got to Nain, he noticed there was a funeral procession. There is woman in the procession weeping and dressed in black. Her son was in a coffin with no lid on top. This processional was headed to the graveyard, so that they could bury her son.
  15. She was a widow woman. This was a difficult situation to be in. This meant her covering (her husband) had already passed away.
  16. In biblical history, men took care of the wives. When a woman was a widow, she was in a state of financial insecurity, so this was a really big issue.
  17. Remember Ruth and Naomi and how difficult it was for them after their husbands had died?
  18. The Widow Woman doesn’t have a husband, but she has a son. The son would one day step in the gap and take care of his mother as his father once did, but then her son
  19. Jesus sees her and has compassion for her. He tells her to stop crying. He touches the coffin, and the boy was raised from dead. They were in misery, but they ended up with a miracle! It doesn’t matter what you lost, today is your day for a turnaround!

II.               PAINFUL AND ATNOMALOUS DEATH

 

  • Anomalous means something that deviates from the normal of what was expected. The son’s death was
  • Not only does the widow not have her husband to protect her anymore. Now the woman doesn’t even have her son to protect her.  
  • When you find yourself in a place where something happens that you didn’t expect, then sometimes you just explain why things happen.

 

A.    Sometimes You Just Can’t Explain Why Things Happen

  1. We always try to make things make sense. Some things just don’t have an explanation.
  2. The mysteries of God is a place for you to place your faith. There are things of God that we will never understand.
  3. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. We walk by faith and not by sight.
  4. If we knew everything about God, then He wouldn’t be God.
  5. Trust the intelligence of God. Though you don’t understand, know that God has a plan for your life.
    1. Isaiah 55:8-9 says For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
    2. Romans 11:33 says Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!,
    3. Job 36:26 says Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.,
    4. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.,
    5. Psalms 147:5 says Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.

B.    Rest In His Sovereignty

  1. God is sovereign and He can do what He wants to do, how He wants to do it, and He doesn’t owe us an explanation of why.
  2. 5 ways to understand God
    1. God’s ultimate authority – His decisions is final and just. God has spoken.
    2. God has divine wisdom – He knows your past present and your future. It’s just like us watching a movie that we have already seen with our friends. We already know how it ends.
    3. God has providential control – He guides us according to His purposes.
    4. God has purposeful design – Whatever He does is part of a bigger plan. Think about it. If this one thing hadn’t happened, then that door would not have opened, and if that door hadn’t opened, then you wouldn’t have received this blessing.
    5. Faithfulness and goodness – God is faithful and God is good. Look into the mirror and you can see the goodness of God. God is so good; he gives us what we do not deserve. That’s why I have a job that I don’t qualify for and that’s why I drive a car I can’t afford.
  3. When you experience anonymous rest in the sovereignty of God, you are:

 

III.               PARTICIPATING IN THE ACCEPTANCE OF A DIRGE

  • Jesus shows up at the processional that is on the way to the graveyard.  
  • What is a dirge? A dirge is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, often performed at funerals or memorial services. It can also refer to a mournful poem or piece of music intended to commemorate the dead.
  • A dirge has historically been used to convey sorrow. A dirge creates an atmosphere. It means you have excepted the outcome. 

A.    You Need A Community When You Lament

  1. When you experience loss, you don’t need to do it by yourself.  
  2. Nobody needs to deal with loss in isolation. When you do, the enemy will cause you Faith frustration, demonic interrogation, and mental degradation. You need to be around people that have a testimony.  

 

B.    This Funeral Will Not Be Final

  1. The funeral is literal and metaphorical at the same time. In other words, God is trying to tell us that this thing we are dealing with, will not be final. Trust what God is about to do!  
  2. This isn’t the end for you. It’s not over until God says so! This is not the end of your journey!

IV.               PROVIDENTIAL AFFECTION AND DISRUPTION

  • Jesus sees the funeral. He sees the woman crying and His heart has compassion for her. He intercepts the inevitable by stopping the procession.  
  • He has empathy.  

A.    Jesus Had Empathy

  1. Isaiah 53:4 ESV says Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted., Hebrews 4:15 ESV says For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
  2. No matter what happens in your life, know that Jesus feels you and He understands you. Jesus understands our contemplations and He understands us.  
  3. He knows your fears and frustrations.  

B.    Jesus Spoke A Word Of Encouragement

  1. Jesus told the women to stop crying. It sounds strange for Jesus to tell her not to cry, but you need to understand when and why he told her to stop crying, to get the revelation.  
  2. Jesus saw them heading to the graveyard to bury her son. Jesus stopped them before going to the graveyard to demonstrate that He will show up just before your stuff goes under. You are not going under! Jesus will show up right on time! This is the
  3. Why? Greif is a natural process. Don’t let anyone tell you not to cry when you suffer loss. Crying is ok. However, Jesus wants us to give our tears term limits!
    1. What should bring our tears to term limits? Remember when Jesus showed up after Lazarus died? He asked Mary and Martha where they laid him. They said he was already dead, but Jesus still wanted to see him. Jesus told them he was resurrection. Because Jesus was there, their situation was about to change.  
    2. Why should they stop crying? They were having a dirge. They are singing songs saying that “it’s over”. When you stop crying, you shift the atmosphere. You change lamentation to expectation! When you change your posture, you are expecting God to do something.  
  4. Cry your last tear, because God’s about to turn your situation around. 
  5. After you change atmospheres: 

V.               PRAISE GOD FOR AN ALTERED DESTINY

  • The women stopped crying. When the atmosphere shifted, then Jesus moved. If you want God to move, then shift your atmosphere. The move of God only comes when you shift the atmosphere! We are assigned to this place and if no one else is willing to shift the atmosphere, we will!  
  • When she shifted her posture, Jesus touched the casket. This was against Leviticus law, because touching the dead caused you to be unclean. Jesus broke protocol and did it anyway.

A.    One Touch Changed Everything

  1. Matthew 8:3 ESV says And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
  2. Mark 8:23 ESV says And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”
  3. Mark 5:41 ESV says Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”
  4. Mark 5:34 ESV says And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
  5. Luke 22:51 ESV says But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.
  6. One touch from Jesus can put your situation back together again!  The hymn writer says “he touched me and made me whole!”

B.    God Is Going To Return What He Resurrects To You

  1. One touch from Jesus and God will return what he resurrects, back to you.  
  2. You would think that we could shout over the boy being raised from the grave. Jesus touched the casket, and the boy raised up and spoke. Now get this, he raised up and spoke up.  
  3. When Jesus resurrects him, it is essential that visibly he rises up. This isn’t enough by itself, because this could still be seen as a hoax orchestrated by the disciples, but when he speaks up, the miracle becomes undeniable.  
  4. When God made Adam, he was made in flesh. He wasn’t living until God blew his breath into Adam.  
  5. In Ezekiel 37, when the bones were brought together, they didn’t live until the wind came. The breath of God confirms that you have life. You can be raised up and still be in a dead situation, because you won’t say anything. When you open your mouth if confirms God’s blessing over you.
  6. How does the boy get out of the casket? Scripture doesn’t say how. The scripture just says that he raised up and started talking. 
  7. Perhaps Jesus brought him out. Perhaps the pallbearers got him out. We don’t know how he got out, but we do know, he got out! The same is true for our own situation. I don’t know how I got out, but what I know is, I got out!
  8. When he got out, the Bible says, Jesus presented her son to his mom. This will be your season for restoration. Whatever you thought you lost, God is about to give it back.  
  9. When he got back to his mom, the crowd said, “Surely, he is a prophet among us”. They then turned from morning to praise. What was a funeral has now turned into a praise service!  
  10. Turn to someone and tell them “I’m back”! God brought me from grief to glory!!

 

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