Part 2: It’s Already Done 

Posted on March 21, 2025 by growintheword

 

Synopsis 3.15.25

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III 

Isaiah 46:10 NKJV 
Declaring the end from the beginning, 
And from ancient times things that are not yet done, 
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, 
And I will do all My pleasure,’

I.               INTRODUCTION

  1. As we grow in our relationship with God, it is obvious that He is at work in our lives. He is behind the scenes making moves for His people.
    1. He never sleeps nor slumbers. He makes plans we don’t know anything about. We just have to know that whatever His plans are, they are
    2. Hopefully, His plans are in our favor, if we are in alignment with Him.
    3. Often, we think we are waiting on God, but actuality, He is waiting on us. He shows us in the scripture that He has worked things out, before we even start the battle.
  2. There can be anxiety about walking in seasons. We must know that it is already done!
    1. Remember:
    2. Abraham an Issac: – Genesis 22:13-14 (NKJV) 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”- God had already provided for him.
    3. Elijah in the Drought: –1 Kings 17:1-7 (NKJV) 1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” 2 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. 7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
    4. The Hebrew Boys: – Daniel 3:24-25 (NKJV) 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”,
    5. Our salvation: – Revelation 13:8 (NKJV) 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Before sin, God arranged for our redemption.
  3. It is about trust, faith, and understanding. He is at work in our lives.
    1. When you apply faith, it will allows you to lower your blood pressure. Believe what God told you, because it is already done.
    2. The new season, the healing, is already done!
  4. Where are we in the scripture? People are watching powerful nations rise and fall around them. Israel’s chosen people begin to grow and it began to split. Israel went to the North and Judah went to the South.
    1. They wondered if they would have divine protection afterwards. God rose up a prophet to comfort them and talk to them. This was Isaiah. He told them that God was still in control.
    2. 3 powers
      1. Assyrian army – The Assyrian Army came and conquered Israel in a mighty way. They completely took over their land.
      2. Babylonians – These are ones who came and assaulted Judah. Not only did they conquer them, they also took them from everything they had known. They took them captive.
        1. The psalmist captured many of their laments. Isaiah told them that what they were believing God for, was already done.
        2. He also prophesied that Babylon would fall
  • Persian Army – The Persian Army came in under Sirius. They overtook the Babylonians and afterwards, they told Judah that they could go back to their homeland.
  1. Babylon had to watch their idol gods be carried away. The idol gods that people put their trust in, was on the backs of weird animals. The prophet reminded the Children of Israel that their God would not be carried out by anyone.
  2. Gods counsel will not fail. Before anything happens, God made provisions for you, and it is already done.
  3. How can you have assurance that this new season will be what he promised?

II.               REMEMBER HIS PAST PERFORMANCE

  • You can’t reach your destiny without understanding your You have to know where you came from.
  • God kept saying, thou shall remember… – You can’t forget what God has already done.

A.    The Miracles He Has Already Performed 

  1. He has already performed miracles
    1. Psalms 77:14 (NKJV) 14 You are the God who does wonders;You have declared Your strength among the peoples.
  2. 3 things about the miracles of God
    1. Presence – You got to know Gods’ presence.
    2. Provision – What you need, he provides.
    3. Power – What ever the situation is, God is able.

B.    Foundation Of Faith 

  1. Faith comes from God. Matthew 7:24-27 (NKJV) 24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
  2. Once you see God move through generation to generation, it builds on your foundation. You must pass down your foundation. You come to church today, because your parents brought you to church. They were confirming your
    1. Some people cope by drinking, but you cope by praying.
  3. ` Story – You see big buildings like a skyscrapers and you think all is well. Out of nowhere, an Engineer will come along and say there is a problem with the foundation. Investors and builders get upset.
    1. The engineer, tells them to stop what they are doing. They urge them to deal with it now, to avoid crumbling in the future and people respond to it without question.
  4. On the other hand, if the preacher says you have some cracks, and he tells you that if you don’t do something, sooner or later, your foundation will crumble, we won’t believe it.
  5. A house built on rock will withstand during a storm, where as one built on sand, will not.
  6. Reach your children to build on their faith.
  7. The reason the Children of Israel slipped into idolatry, is because they failed their foundation.

III.               RECOGNIZE HIS PROMISES

  • He makes known the end from the beginning. Nothing catches God by surprise. Everything was woven in a divine plan for a divine outcome. He knows what He is doing!

A.    He Knows When You Don’t 

  1. He knows even when we don’t’ know. He knows how its going to turnout, before we start a thing.
  2. All we have to do is start what he has finished.
  3. Every situation in your life, you’ve got to walk in it. Shout out, “The best is yet to come”

B.    The Best Is Yet To Come 

  1. Ever hit a rough spot in your life. When man puts a period, God puts a comma.
    1. The moment when no one knew you was about to quit, but you had enough foundation to bring you back. And look what God has done now. You almost gave up.
  2. Have you ever gotten to a point where you contemplated something else?
  3. What you have inside of you, the word needs it.
  4. Yes, they were in captivity, but they were going back to something better. What’s ahead of you is better than those what’s hurting you. God put something inside of you that is going to change the game.
  5. The best is yet to come, because God is still at work.

IV.               RELY ON HIS PROVISION

  • God is my provider, so I must rely on his provision.
  • When you are in purpose, God fund’s your purpose. God does not fund foolishness, he funds
  • God won’t send you somewhere without taking care of you.
  • Trust that the promises of God is coming to pass.
  • My purpose still stands.

A.    Abundant Supply 

  1. God gives us more than what we need, not just enough.
    1. Story – The Children of Israel are in the wilderness. There is no food, so God allows Manna to fall from out of the sky. Then God lets the birds fly low enough for them to catch the birds.
    2. Where is the abundance supply? It might not be in how much he gives all the time, but instead in how He gives it. He gives manna in the day and birds at night. He wants carbs in the day for their journey and protein at night.
  2. God will provide. Some examples are:
    1. David faces Goliath and he is able to slay him with a smooth stone.
    2. Elisha was in the dessert during a famine.
    3. Even look at the pandemic. You just didn’t survive it. You thrived it.

B.    Sustaining Strength 

  1. The difference between strength and sustained strength is, strength is just for right now. You need that sustaining strength for where you are going.
  2. The race is not given to the swift or strong, but instead those that endure to the end. God not only provides for me, but he gives me supernatural strength. We out here, because his strength was made perfect in our weakness.
    1. Story – You may be in the gym, trying to lift weights. The trainer is pushing you to the end of yourself. On that last lift, the Trainer knows how much you can bear. At the movement you can’t lift anymore, they will spot you, and help you lift it up. Just like this, know that you have a spot. God spotted you!
  3. You ought to thank God that He is still spotting you.

V.               RESPOND WITH PRAISE

  • Anybody know God is about to do something that He’s already done. It’s already done!
  • No matter what it looks like, God says He knows their end before their beginning. God tells the Children of Israel to go back and not worry about how it will work out. God wants them to go back with victory, not looking back at what happened.
    • Habakkuk 3:17 (NKJV) says 17 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—- no mater what it looks like, I still will give god glory. – We walk by faith and not by sight.
    • Exodus 15:2 (NKJV) says 2 The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him;My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.-no matter what I get in, he can bring me out.

A.    Praise God That He Works According To His Own Prerogative 

  1. Remember the song, it’s my prerogative? Bobby Brown was saying he didn’t care what you think. He was doing what he wanted to do, because it was his prerogative.
  2. God does what he does, because its prerogative. He doesn’t have to worry about what we think.
  3. Everything that God does, it works according to His sovereign will.

B.    Give Him Glory For The Entire Story 

  1. Tell the whole story and don’t leave anything out! All of your story matters!
  2. God knew long ago, what would be happening now.
  3. You know if the prophet knew, you have to know that God knew what is going to happen, concerning us.
  4. God had it figured what you were going to do, before you were born.
  5. Bishop tells this story: I was at grandma’s house when I was 10 yrs old, trying to work on a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle. On the table in front of me, there was a mess. Everything looked like tiny fragments of colors, and you imagine me sitting there with a picture that doesn’t make sense to me.
    1. I tried to fit a piece in a random spot and nothing worked. I was about to quit. When grandma came over to check on me, she could see that I was frustrated. She said you’re trying to start without first knowing where you are going.
    2. What I needed was the end, before the beginning. She told me to look at the picture on the box. On the box was the picture of what the puzzle was supposed to look like. Everything made a little more sense after that. I started to put the pieces together.
      1. God told Joesph he would be wounded, before he ever went to Egypt.
    3. Each piece gives you more faith. I started taking a piece and trying to work it, after seeing the picture. I stopped complaining, because I saw the puzzle coming together.
  6. It’s easy to complain about one piece when you don’t see the whole picture. Can you give God glory for the picture?

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Part 1: God Has Big Plans For You

Posted on March 7, 2025 by growintheword

Sermon Synopsis 03.02.25

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

I.               INTRODUCTION

  1. What are the things that every single person under the sound of my voice should be clear about? They are the plans of God over your life and synonymous to it is your understanding of who God really is.
  2. He is a big God and because He is a big God, able to do all things, then the plans that God has for your life are likewise bigger than you could ever imagine.
  3. The enemy’s objective is to make you believe that your life has no value and that there is nothing that God will do of any great significance, beyond what you’ve already accomplished. Therefore, the enemy will have you believing that the events that transpired in your life are disconnected, random moments, designed to cause discouragement, disillusionment, and disconnection, but when you have been walking with God for any length of time, you come to understand this one thing. You understand that nothing just happens. Everything that happens, happens with purpose and on purpose, to bring to pass God’s will for your life.
  4. Regardless of the things the enemy attempts to do to curtail the plan of God for your life, what God says he’s going to do, he’s going to do.
  5. Many of you need to know that the attacks you’ve experienced in your life are simply designed to discourage you or to take the wind out of you, so that you won’t give up, but instead you will tap out before what God promised you, comes to fruition.
  6. The devil made a mistake. He let you get here today. He let your stream in today, he let you read this today, because God has a word for your life. This is going to change everything that’s going to put you on a path and a trajectory that has been preordained before the foundations of the world.
  • Big things are about to happen in your life. Big things over your family, big things over your career, big things are about to be unfolded over your life. Jeremiah 29:11NKJV, is a very powerful and prolific scripture. Many people use this verse for their screen savers. We send it to other people because it is a powerful and compelling scripture, but it is important to put it into context.
    • To know how it arrived in the text, you have to understand the authority of Jeremiah who is the author of the two books Jeremiah and Lamentation. 
    • Jeremiah was a prophet called by God, when he was very young. Interestingly enough, Jeremiah knew that the prophetic anointing upon his life was going to send him to prophecy into oncoming traffic, meaning that he was going to experience sweltering opposition.
    • Therefore, God reminded him don’t be afraid of their faces because, He would place my words inside of mouth.
    • Jeremiah had a singular message to Jerusalem. He had a singular message to Judah and that message was this: (And it sounds very appropriate particularly in light of what we are experiencing in our world today) That message was, if they didn’t turn back to God, trouble was coming.
      • There was a powerful Kingdom called Babylon who was going to take over their land and they were going to send them away.
    • The people heard that word, but they went on as business as usual. They ignored the prophetic word of Jeremiah. Many looked at Jeremiah as some lunatic. They felt that his word did not carry weight. They mocked him and this would send Jeremiah into an existential crisis. 
    • There are multiple instances where we see in the scripture where Jeremiah was depressed.
      • As a matter of fact, on one occasion, Jeremiah said, “God these are your people! These your folk! I’m done!”, but then Jeremiah realized that the word was like fire shut up in his bones!
      • On another occasion, when Jeremiah began to look at how they were treating him and the word of God, he made a reproach unto to God. Jeremiah said to God, “They’re mocking the word, and I don’t even know if I believe what I’m saying now”, but Jeremiah began to realize something. He said, “This I recall to my mind and therefore have, hope. It is because of the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed. They are new every morning! Great is his faithfulness!”
    • The people of God continued to ignore Jeremiah and as it would be, prophecy is only verified when it comes to pass and, in this instance, what Jeremiah had proclaimed while the people were ignoring him, engaged in their reveling and doing their own thing.
    • Living there supposedly best life, you will find out the king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon sent down an army to Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, and they defeated the city. They destroyed the homes and took the people prisoner. These people were forced to leave their homeland and to March hundreds of miles from their homeland.
    • Imagine being taken from your home, from your family, from your friends and everything you have known, then being told you are never coming back? This is how Judah felt. They were sad, they were scared, and they were angry.
      • While they were in Babylon, false prophets began to spread rumors. They began to say, “Don’t worry, this won’t last long .God’s going to bring you back soon”. The false prophets begin to bring false hope to God’s people, but Jeremiah was still in Jerusalem and Jeremiah pinned a letter and he sent it to the inhabitants of Jerusalem who were in Babylon.
      • It was not a letter that they wanted to hear, but it was the word of the Lord and the word of the Lord was this: “Settle down and build your houses, plant gardens, get married, and have kids, because whether you pray for this city or not, you’re going to be here.” “You’re gonna be in this situation for 70 years. God is going to let you sit in it. He’s going to let you sit in your disobedience for 70 years. You can pray, you can cry, you can jump, and you can shout, but you’re gonna have to sit in this one, that the will of God is made known over your life and the people of God”
      • This story falls at backdrop of seemingly hopelessness, in the backdrop of pain and despair and disillusionment.
      • After Jeremiah declared that God said they were going to sit in this, imagine the elders reading this and thinking they were never going back to their homeland and their lifetime. They probably were thinking that maybe their children or their grandchildren might go back and see their homeland, but they would never see it again for themselves.
      • Can you imagine the gut punch that must have been? Yet now, emerging from the text, is the word of the Lord. Jeremiah gives them another word from God that said even though they had to sit in this, God told Jeremiah to tell them that God knows the plans He has for their lives. These plans were not evil. They are plans to prosper them. They are plans to give them a future and to give them hope.
      • In essence, even though it may not turn out like you think, you’re going to win. It’s going to eventually turn out the way God designed it to turn out and so what I want you to understand today is, the plans of God will not be postponed, because of your moments of temporary insanity or because you acted a fool.
      • What the enemy did, did not disrupt nor did it cancel the plans of God for your life. If you don’t have nothing else to give God glory for, you ought to give God glory that God did not give up on you. You ought to be glad that God was long-suffering and that the plans of God were not cancelled. You ought to be glad that when people gave up on you in certain seasons, God never gave up on you and as a consequence, God’s plans are still in motion in your life today.
    • Today, as we examine this, what are those plans that God had for his people? Like you and me, who find ourselves in precarious situations, what are those plans? Let’s see if we can get to it. First of all, we have to examine:

II.               GOD’S DESIGN FOR YOUR DESTINY

  • Design means architectural rendering. What is God’s architectural rendering for your life? It’s rooted in God’s perfect knowledge about who you are. It’s rooted in the sovereignty of God. It’s rooted in the omniscience of God and the fact that God knows everything about you and therefore, He has aligned His will according to your life.
  • As a matter of fact, what God has done, he has literally aligned every experience you’ve have gone through and He has fashioned you, in order that you might align with His will and purposes for your life.
  • We sometimes begin to question God, because in moments like this, where we don’t always understand the bigger picture, because we are in it.  
  • It can be painful. It can be tough, but we begin to ask certain questions.
  • There are three very fundamental questions that every single person under the sound of my voice has asked God before.
    • The 1st question is the question of purpose. – Lord why am I here and then what is my assignment while I’m here?
    • The second question is process. Lord, why is this taking so long and why must I go through it?
    • The third question we ask God is the question of pain. Why must I endure hardship and what is the reason for my suffering?
  • It is my prayer, at the end of this message, you’ll have an answer to all of these questions, because as we delve into this, you must recognize that you have been:

A.    Divinely Directed

  1. You see the steps the Bible says in Proverbs37:23 NKJV of a good man are ordered by the Lord. The steps ordered by the Lord are not so much linear steps as we are walking this way, but these steps are ascending steps, meaning that it’s like going up a stairwell.
    1. The steps of a good man are ordered by God which means God then gives us orders concerning when it’s time to go to the next level. God gives orders when he sees that you are prepared to handle the next place you’re trying to go.
    1. The worst thing you could ever do is go up into a place you’re not prepared to handle, so God says I will give you order, so stay at the level where I have you, until I give you orders to step up.
    1. Let me talk to somebody right now, to help you understand that God always guides us by three things:
  1. He guides us by his word.
    1. He guides us by His spirit.
    1. He guides us by his providential guidance.
  • Now let’s look at the scripture for example. The word of God which is our guide, the BI BLE, is like a GPS system. The word of God was designed to give us guidance, to help navigate our lives to the place called destiny
  1. For example, when you think about the GPS system in your car, when you take a wrong turn what does it do? It recalculates and it redirects you and puts you back on track. Just like God’s word does.
  2. In Proverbs 3:5 – 6 NKJV it says when you trust in the Lord and lean not to your own understanding, you know what happens. God will direct your path.
    1. Have you ever had roadblocks in your life?  roadblocks will come and you’ll say, am I ever going to make it to my destination? In Psalm 119:105, the bible declares that the word is a lamp unto my feet and it is a light unto my path.
    1. Have you ever run low on fuel and wondered if you were going to make it to your destination? Isaiah will give you a word right there, to tell you that when you are tired and you don’t feel like you can still make it. Isaiah 40:31 says they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength and they shall mount up with wings like eagles and run and not be weary and walk and not faint and therefore, even when I find myself experiencing detours and I’m wondering why I got to go this way and why I got to go around this way and why I got to go around this way.
    1. Romans 3:28 NKJV will remind us that we know that all things are working together for the good, to those who love God and who are called according to His purpose. That’s how God’s word guides us.
    1. The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity the triune of God. The Holy Spirit is a person who is intelligent. He cannot be literally brought down to a place where we understand. The Holy Spirit is as one who creates a charismatic demonstrative response in church, where people just shout and dance. That’s the Holy Spirit, but let’s be clear.  The Holy Spirit is intelligent. He is one who helps us discern truth and when you tap into who He really is in your life, then the Holy Spirit, will give you guidance.  
  3. There will be moments you will walk into a space and Holy Spirit will tell you something ain’t right about it. Now your mind will try to argue against it and say “maybe I’m tripping”.
  4. When you have regard for a long time, the very moment you get that signal you’re about it, because you know the Holy Spirit don’t miss.
  5. He opens doors. He closes doors.  He is a discerner of the intentions of man but then wait a minute.
    1. The Providence of God how God moves behind the scenes. I need somebody to shout God is moving behind the scenes!
    1. Look at how God guides us. There are moments in which you will apply for a job and they will tell you that they have no positions let. You get discouraged and get upset, because they have no positions. Next thing you know, they’ll call you back and say something opened up, then you wonder what happened? It was because God was relocating somebody.
    1. You had no idea that God was working, behind the scenes. You got better to register for school and they had no money, but then they call you back to tell you that a scholarship came through.  You know what happened. God was working behind the scenes. Is there anybody here that can testify seeing God work behind the scenes?.

B.    Deliberately Detailed

  1. It is in how he makes us for our path, He is deliberately detailed. If you really think about it just for a moment, detail is one thing, but deliberately detailed is another.
  2. When I say detail, some of y’all get anxiety attacks, because you’re not detailed oriented at all. This is why we don’t call you to help put up the bookshelf at our house or set up our kids toys. We know you’re going to put it up and leave them 8 screws over there and say those are extra.
    1. You know that they go on the thing,  but you’re not a detailed person. You don’t read instructions; you just follow pictures and try to put stuff up.
  3. There’s something about not only being detailed, but God is deliberately detailed. See detail is like cooking. It’s like a recipe that says bake it at 350 Fahrenheit for 25 minutes. This is detail, but deliberate detail says now you soften butter, stir gently and avoid air pockets, and let it cool down for 10 minutes. This is deliberately detailed.
  4. Directions can be detailed. They can say go down the street and turn right at the light. This is being detailed, but now when you say drive about 1.2 miles, look for the blue gas station on the left, you’re going to see Bubba, wave at him, because he’s going to direct you to where to go. Go over there from there. This is what you call deliberately detailed.
  5. Some people will say, this is how God made you. God was intentional and he was deliberate in how he fashioned you. God fashioned you. He was not just deliberate, but God also took his time.
  6. We need somebody to shout” God took his time on me”! Psalms 139 verse 13 through 14 says it this way for you formed my inward parts and you covered me in my mother’s womb I’ll praise you because I am fearfully, and I am wonderfully made marvelous are your works.
  • Why are you trying to undo what God has already done? Are you ashamed of how God made you or how God wired you.
  • God gave you your mind. God gave you your personality and he gave you all of what he put inside of you. He was very deliberate because he was aligning all of it for the very path he was going to take you on. When you understand the gifts he put inside you, the experiences he put inside you, you begin to realize something.

III.               GOD’S DIRECTION FOR YOUR DEVELOPMENT

  • Whatever God puts in you, He’s got to develop it and when he develops you, it may not always feel good, it’s going to be good for you.
  • Development is so necessary people of God. Life did not happen to you, life happened for you. God was using all of it to help develop you, to help bring you to another place of greatness.
  • I want to educate some of you that may be in the generation that has no clue of something that happened, maybe a generation before you.
    • I I love technology. I’m a tech person. I like the advancement of things, technology wise. I like taking files from my iPhone uploading them to my computer. I like sharing pictures.
    • Before we were able to do this, do you know that was an era before phone cameras and filters? You had to really take a picture and use film.
    • We know some of y’all see this and don’t know what in the world this is. You had to use a camera and put film in the back of it and then drop it off at Walgreens. Later you had to go back and pick it up in about two or three days. Does anybody remember those days?
  • I’m trying to help you understand something. Now the photo had to be captured on film but at first glance, the roll appeared blank, but the image was there. It needed time and processing to reveal what was on the film.
  • The film was taken to a dark room a controlled environment, where outside light couldn’t interfere with this development. Next it had to be immersed in developer solution to slowly bring out the image, because if rushed or exposed too soon, the picture would be ruined, so after the image appeared it had to properly be set up to be dried and sealed, to prevent fading over time.
  • We know digital pictures are awesome, because you could snap and send a pic in seconds, but let me break this down. This process teaches us what is carefully developed will outlast what is rushed, because a God ordained something is in the dark room of faith. It is not in the rush of instant gratification.
  • When you look on Facebook and you look on Instagram and you see certain people flossing, they may look good on the ground but they’re underdeveloped, behind the scenes. As a consequence, you got to say , “Lord don’t let me run to the light unless I’m properly developed.
  • May I declare over somebody who’s been feeling some kind of way, because your phone ain’t been ringing or you feel like they don’t recognize you. Can I tell you what season God has you in. You’re in the darkroom season. Touch your neighbor and tell them, “Stay in the dark room”! That’s what you going to learn how to pray. This is what you’re gonna learn.
  • God’s gonna build you up,  when you come out, God’s gonna wave you up! God’s gonna say, “Hey you didn’t just pop up. You’ve been in the darkroom and you’re go to last longer than these little snappies”! Tell somebody you’re in development!
  • So development takes us through things and it’s through the development that god gives us
  • daily guidance, because God begins to question the teacher. 14108

A.    Daily Guidance

  1. God begins to gradually teach us small steps. He begins to say, “Now about develop you”. Everything I do has a plan tied to it.
  2. For example, God told Abraham, “I give you a promise and tell you’re gonna be the father of many nations”. Then God develops him,and then it happens.
  3. God shows Joseph a dream, but he let his brothers throw him into a pit, get lied on, end up in a prison, but it would led to him being second in command. It was because God was developing him first.
  4. Why would God develop us? It is because He had to build resilience in us. He had to build empathy in us. He had to build forgiveness in Joseph, because when we got to the certain platform, God didn’t want us to use our platform to be vindictive, because of the wrong his brothers did to him.  
  5. Joseph was  developed to learn how to look at his brothers and say, ”Now the thing you thought evil against me, God meant it for my good”. Every one of your enemies, every one of your haters, ought to be glad you’ve been developed. Otherwise, you would have caught a case by now.
  6. who am I talking to up in here? You would have reverted back to your old self by now. You would have clapped back! We thank God we’ve been developed!
  7. Development means that now it represents itself by:

B.    Dynamic Growth

  1. Now the growth you see in my life. The plans that God has our lives are evidenced by the growth you see in our lives.  
  2. Like a plant that grows and it must be pruned. The pruning process is not always easy, because now everything that prohibits the vine, prohibits the plant from growing.
  3. Anything that prohibits the plant from growing, must be taken away. It creates a level of stress on the everything that it being pruned.
  4. The stress is tough because now you look at the person and you can tell they’re in  a stressful place. What you have to remind them is that God is pruning them. He’s cutting it like in John 15 where it talks about  the branch and the vine. The  branch that bears fruit must be pruned that it can bear more fruit.
  5. Just because you are blessed, doesn’t mean you don’t have to be pruned.  To do great things, God still has to prune you every now and then, so that you can produce more.
  6. There was some relationship. God had to cut away certain things. God had to cut away and then everything works. Here’s the revelation for your life. This is only a temporary inconvenience for permanent improvement.
  7. God does this to set you up for his:

IV.               GOD’S DELIVERANCE FROM DISAPPOINTMENT

  • Because of what you must know, you must go back to the context. Why would Israel feel like they’re on a path of disappointment?  I’ll tell you why. It’s because they’re expecting bad things to happen, because they’re in Babylon.
  • Bad things do happen, but God does not enact his total vengeance upon them. His total judgment is not levied against them. As long as the plans of God are upon your life you have to understand you have:

A.    Dependable Defense

  1. This is something a few of us are gonna shout about. They are in Babylon. They are captive to the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar has taken them captive, but he can’t kill them.
    1. You can hold me captive, but you can’t kill me because God’s got his hand on my life. Whenever God has his hand on you, he has his plan for your mistake.  
  2. Wherever God has his hand is where God has his plan. The reason I know this is because when you think about it, God allowed the devil to come at Job. God said he could mess with him or do anything wanted to do to him, but the one thing you he couldn’t do was kill him, because his life and soul belonged to God.
    1. Look over your life and everything you’ve gone through. When you do this, you begin to say to yourself, “Wait a minute. Why am I still here”?  I’ll tell you why. You’re still here because God has kept you against every plot and scheme of the enemy.
  3. Even though you’ve been in some bad situations, you are still inhaling and exhaling. You ought to give God glory that He has kept you. Who am I talking to? Who can say that He kept your heart and your mind?
  4. According to Philippians 4:7 and according to Psalm 46:1,  He was a refuge and a very present help in the time of trouble. When the enemy started fashioning wars and he started fashioning weapons against you, according to Isaiah 54:17, no weapon that was formed against you prospered.  Know God had your back. As as a matter of fact, when you begin to look over your life, it’s gonna blow your mind how God has kept you over these years.
    1. Let me give you an example:  I want you, no matter what your age, to think about how you grew up and every force of the enemy that tried to prevent you from being where you are now. Look at what you’ve accomplished!  You’ve got to look in the mirror and say, if it had not been for the Lord who was on the my side, you know you wouldn’t to be in college. You know you wound’t have that job. There’s no way you ought to be living like you living!
    1. You got to give God glory that God has kept you. When you find yourself in a situation and the enemy starts planning things in your mind, that is not going to happen.
  5. I want you to remember these three thing.
  6. His plans are unfolding. No matter what’s happening in my life, even though it’s tough,  I’m going to listen. His plans are unfolding.
  7. His defense is undeniable. In the midst of whatever’s happening, God is constantly proving to you that He’s got your back.
  8. I want you to remember, I want you to choose to be unbothered. I want you to square your shoulders and walk in there like saying, “You can say what you wanna say. You can post what you want to post. I’m so unbothered by what you think about me because I got a hand of God on my life”.
  9. I am God’s child I am unapologetically blessed everywhere I go.

B.    Deepened Determination

  1. It deepens by determination, because I know the thoughts that God has for my life. They are so vast and so deep that God’s thoughts are not like my thoughts.
  2. Isaiah said His thoughts are not like our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. I can’t even comprehend what God can. God’s got you on his mind.God sent me to tell you He’s thinking about you.
    1. If we told you some of you single people that I have a friend that told me to tell you he’s thinking about you, you would be blushing and grinning, but we have a hard time thinking that God is thinking about us.
  3. You thinking that God’s about to punish us, but God ain’t thinking about punishment now. God’s thinking about restoration. God is thinking about peace! God is thinking about hope!
  4. It’s about:

V.               GOD’S DECLARATION OF YOUR DESTINY

  • The Bible says that God has big plans. It is a future and a hope. One translation says an expected end.  
  • Expectancy matters. I want you for a moment to watch how this goes. Lets try to get into the mind of God.
  • No one knows the mind of God. Let’s just have an example. For 60 second,  I want you to get a sense of what God must be thinking, watching us go through stuff here. It is like you went to a movie.  It was a great movie, but it was exhausting emotionally, because the movie took you through a variety of different scenes that made you wonder how things was going to turn out.  You shouted, you were happy, you got angry. Your emotions came out in that one movie, but in the end , you were glad it turned out like it did. You left saying this was the  best movie ever.
  • You took ten of your friends to see the movie and sat watching them go through the same emotions you did. You could not spoil it for them. You didn’t want to tell how it was going to end, but you sat there and watched them lose hope and hoped they wouldn’t get up before seeing that the end was going to be ok.
  • God does the same thing. He is siting on throne watching us hoping that we do not give up until we get to the end. He is hoping you don’t drop out of school or leave that job, because he know how its going to end. God knows that if we stay the course, we will give him glory.
  • God kept you in it. God gave you a word that his plans are not canceled concerning your life. Knowing that God has blocked your enemy preserved your life and now you woke up this morning.  
  • I’m going to need you from this moment forward to:

A.    Dominate The Day

  1. You have to take authority over that spirit that got you wanting to lay in the bed all day. You have to get up and live your best life. I want you to make that dream come to pass! I want you to shake the dust off!
  2. I want you to never let the devil make you sweat. You may not have a dollar in your pocket but don’t let the devil see you sweat. Walk like you got $1,000,000. Hold your head up and give God glory and declare to the devil, “This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it”!
  3. We dominate! Wer’re going to dominate today!

B.    Delight In Your Destiny

  1. It is about expectancy I want to share these three things”
  2. There is the importance of posture when you are expecting something. Your posture matters . When the receiver in football is running a route to receive the ball the receiver recognizes:
    1. I’ve got to position myself where the quarterbacks throwing, because he’s not necessarily throwing it to me, he’s throwing it to a spot, so regardless of the adversity in front of me,  I just gotta get to that spot.
    1. secondly I got to extend my hand. I have to act like I want what’s coming to me.
    1. Thirdly, I got to keep my eye on the ball and not on the defense.
    1. Fourthly I got to run at a pace that matches the trajectory of what’s coming at me.  God told me to tell somebody, you don’t know what I had to go through just to get in this spot today.
  3. If you’re going to be here at least look like you expected God to do it. Start lifting your hand and say, “God whatever is coming, I’m right here”. Not only that, but you’ve got to take your eye off of everything the enemy is doing and keep your eye on the blessing. What’s coming towards you means you have to be at a pace.
  1. You have to say God I wanna be what you want me to be, so I can get what you have for my life. This  is the  posture that’s looking like you expectnng something.
  2. Tthere was the importance of position.
  3. Now I travel a lot and in my travels I’ve learned I’ve seen technology unfold I’ve gone from paper tickets to the ticket on my phone.  I’ve gone through security all kind of ways.  Now I go through TSA pre-check and have been cleared, so I could see that long line over there in the traditional line. I’ve been like, Thank God I’m in this line”.
  4. Recently I’ve found out something about technology. Somebody way up there getting a minute that I don’t have to pull out my ID no more. I’m like what in the world you don’t need my ID. Sir just stand right here stand where stand right here because this facial recognition technology. So I’m standing there looking at this little Oval thing. They’re trying to get me to keep my head in this position. I’m naturally trying to floss. Suddenly theres a voice that says., “Mr. Walker can you keep your head Straight” “Mr. Walker”, can you come a little closer, because see the only way I can get access past this point to my destination is I got to get past facial recognition. Even though I got close, I’ve got to be in the right position for them to know it.
  • To reach my destination facial recognition means I got to get close enough for them to know that it’s me. God is saying you all over the place and that’s why you can’t get where you’re trying to get.
  • When you worship, you need you to come a little closer. I need you to come a little closer in your prayer life! I need you to come a little closer in your praise, so that you could be in the right position, so you can get to your destination!
  • It is the importance of praise. This is interesting because in the spirit of expectancy, if God has great plans for my life and gives me a future and a hope, then I have the expectations, and my position, and my posture matters. How do I look? how i look.
  • My posture matters. How I look, my position matters how I worship. Where I am my praise has to matter, particularly in a context like this.
  • Story: I’ll put it to you like this. On my iPad and my iPhone, there is this thing called Two Factor Authentication.  It’s a security measure, that says that someone is trying to access one of my apps or one of my accounts. The MFA wants to verify that it’s me or that I have given someone permission at another location, to use my account.
  • It will send me a code and I have to then give that code to the person, so they could have access to the thing they are trying to access. This plays out funny with our children, because we got the apps on two factor authentication.
  • Now Jovani will send a text when she needs permission to log into something. Little will FaceTime, instead of texting.
  • I’m preaching in different cities on this iPad and FaceTime be coming up, because my son wants access. I be preaching and trying to act like it ain’t there and I ignore it.
    • This is an example for us. If I’m going to get the blessing I want, I’ve got to call my daddy. Some people wonder why you praise God like you do, so just  touch one of your neighbors and say if you only knew what I was after, if you only knew the healing the blessing I’ve received. If you’ve never had a blessing, then just sit there and be quiet,  but I’m looking at somebody today who can say I’m after something and when you hear me open up my mouth and give God glory I’m calling my dad and to say I need access to this blessing. God knows the plans he has concerning you.  
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Part 4: You Can’t Go With Me If You Don’t Grow With Me 

Posted on March 3, 2025 by growintheword

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III 
Sermon Synopsis 2.23.25

Psalm 1:1-3 NKJV 
Blessed is the man 
Who walks not in the counsel of the unGodly, 
Nor stands in the path of sinners, 
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, 
And in His law he meditates day and night. 
3 He shall be like a tree 
Planted by the rivers of water, 
That brings forth its fruit in its season, 
Whose leaf also shall not wither; 
And whatever he does shall prosper.

I.          INTRODUCTION

  1. We should place demands on relationships that come into our lives. We have the right to do this.
    1. It is important to know that God desires us to be in relationships of reciprocity, because you can do bad by yourself.
    1. When relationships are sent by God, they strengthen us. They sharpen us, because iron sharpens iron.
    1. Relationships not sent by God threaten our destiny and put us at risk. Reckless relationships will lead you down paths that lead to your demise.
    1. It is amazing to see how people continue to connect with these relationships that lead to our demise.
    1. When you mature, your discernment helps you to better determine which relationships you should be in.
  2. You may wonder why people stopped calling you. You didn’t do this, God did this. You sometimes think you have to a particular someone to make it. Our relationships should not be about this, they should be about about where God is taking you. It is not for your right now, but instead your not yet.
    1. Psalms is part of the wisdom books. It is a book of songs. On many occasions you see in the songs, where people went through things and God brought them out. Others were songs explaining how they were depressed.
    1. The songs give us a framework of what it feels like to be a child of God.
  3. Our decisions determine our destiny. Blessed people have peace in their lives. Blessed people are intentional about who they connect with.
    1. Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the unGodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; – If you walk long enough with someone, you will begin to stand for what they stand for, and your will begin sitting in situations that they are comfortable with. It’s causes you to turn from sin and go into wickedness.
    1. Sin is something you can turn away from, but wickedness is when you try to tell God that he is wrong, and you are right.
    1. You have to declare that you can’t go with me if you are not willing to grow with me!

II.          RISE BY REJECTING (Psalm 1:1)

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the unGodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful

  • There is no elevation without elimination. You elevate based on your decisions to eliminate.
  • Sitting in the seat of scornful: This suggest that you have allowed yourself to sit at the wrong table.
  • The Bible says something about not walking in the counsel of the ungodly. This means there are some things we have outgrown.
    • This is why giraffes eat from the top of the tree and turtles eat from the ground. You don’t want to deal with people that deal in low places.

A.  Dismiss Destructive Counsel

  1. The advice that people give you can be deadly for you sometimes. 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NKJV) says 33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”– When mom didn’t want you to hang with certain  people, it was for a reason. Bad people can cause your destiny to be derailed.

B.  Separate From Sinful Spaces

  1. What you will accommodate really says what you will tolerate. You are aiding and abetting it.
  2. Remove yourself from sinful spaces. If we don’t, we will end up justifying some sins. We say things like, “God knows my heart”.
    1. This is death on the installment plan. This can change your heart. It will make you something that God didn’t intend for you to be.
  • Some people you just can’t hang with. You can’t walk with people that hinder what God has for your life. We have enough trouble in our lives, without adding other people’s trouble.
  • When I separate from toxic places, I get rooted in revelation.
  1. ROOTED IN REVELATION (Psalm 1:2)

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, 
And in His law he meditates day and night. 

  • There is always truth, but it is based on what level you comprehend it.
  • God has great plans for your life and if you knew what it was, you would do better.
  • People perish because of a lack of knowledge.
  • In His word do I meditate day and night. What I remove out of my life, I replace with the word.
  • This word we preach from is a living word.

A.  Love The Law

  1. No one can make you love God’s word. You have to learn to love it for yourself.
  2. People wonder why you get up so early to come the church, but it is because you love the word.
  3. God’s word heals me, gives me a breakthrough instead of a break breakdown. When you’re going through, you have to have a word to bring you out.
  4. In this ministry, there are people that drive from AL or KY just to get a word from God. When you need a word, there is no distance too far.
    1. Post Covid studies show that 80% of people pick a church based on the word and its relevance. We measure the effectiveness of our sermon on your outcome and not how many amens we receive.

B.    Meditate For Maturity

  1. Meditate on the word day and night. You take the word of God and hold it in your life.
  2. 5 things needed to meditate
    1. Reading – When you read it, you can’t unsee it.
    1. Reflect it – What does it say to me
    1. Repeat it – Say it over and over. Memorize it.
    1. Refocus – Know that it will be tested.
    1. Respond – React on what you’ve received.
  3. When I get a word, it might not be for me right now. It’s like a cow that chews the cud. A Cow will eat grass and hold another part of it in its belly. When there is nothing to eat, the cow is still chewing. The cow is chewing on the cud. It was able to regurgitate and eat on something it ate months ago.
    1. This is how we got to recall the word. We need to be able to recall the word when we need it.
  1. REMAIN IN RIGHTEOUSNESS (Psalm 1:3)

3 He shall be like a tree 
Planted by the rivers of water, 

  • Understand your identity. You shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water =]that brings fruit in its season. You have to be true to your standards.
  • You are vulnerable, because you are not stable.

A.  Planted By Purpose

  1. You are never planted randomly. You are planted by rivers, because they are flowing. If you are planted by what’s flowing, you will always be growing.
  2. God always plants you by where you can grow.
  3. God puts us where our purpose is alive. When you are planted by your destiny, know that you might be pushed.

B.    Faithful In Fruitfulness

  1. You are planted like a tree. No matter what kind of tree it is, all trees are bigger than scrubs.
  2. We must recognize that we’re not shrubs. We are designed to be elevated above shrubs. You have to embrace your tree-ness!
  3. God is intentional – God is intentional about where he plants you. We have too much to do, to not be growing. We have to be around people that help us grow.
    1. God will put trees with trees. You can’t connect to scrub, because you are a tree.
  4. Your increase – It happens in your season. We are not worried because it’s orange season, because we know our apple season will come. We only worry about our season.
  • REAP WITH RESILIENCE (Psalm 1:3b)

That brings forth its fruit in its season, 
Whose leaf also shall not wither; 
And whatever he does shall prosper.

A.    Stand Strong In Seasons

  1. The scripture says, “Whose leaf will not wither and whatever I do will prosper”. – People who tap out in seasons, were not designed to go with you. Whose leaf will not wither. Stand strong in all seasons.
  2. Stand strong in seasons – No matter what comes at you, you remain strong!
  3. We are so locked in, we are committed. We are steadfast and unmovable, always working in the work of the Lord.

B.    All I Do Is Win

  1. Whatever you do, shall prosper. Everything connected to you will prosper.
    1. There are uncertain times going on now. Some people may be unnerved by some things that are going on and things that could possibly happen.
  2. There is one thing you must remember:
    1. Be Faithful – You don’t have to worry, because you’ve been faithful. This means something.
    1. Be Fruitful – The grace of God, will always close every gap that man tries to put into your life.
    1. Be Fortified – Remain strong, hold on to God, and never let go.
    1. Be Flourishing – The tree will be flourishing. If I am forever flourishing, how will I always be fruitful?
      1. The tree is planted by rivers. Rivers represent 2 things, anointing and blessing. Anointing represents prosperity and increase.
        1. There were 4 rivers that flowed in the Garden of Eden for provision.
        1. Egypt was prosperous because it was located by the Nile River.
        1. In Ezekiel 47, we see the story told where the water came under the door. It started ankle deep and it kept rising. This was representative of the anointing.
  3. Jesus Christ – Christ was not Jesus’ last name. Christ means the anointed one.
    1. Water represents anointing. When they pierced Jesus in the side, blood and water came out.
    1. When Jesus said I thirst, it was as the water (anointing) thirsted.
  4. When God plants you by the anointing, He has planted people that are anointed that can speak into your life.
  5. You need people around you that can speak to your promises.
  6. Where does the blessing come in? If I’m planted by the blessing (river), this means He will make provisions for you in situations where you shouldn’t have it.
    1. Remember God said He will make rivers in the desert.
  7. In this season, stop talking about waiting for your season. Every season is your season. You will be blessed when it looks like you shouldn’t be blessed! Remember they can’t go with you, if they can’t grow with you!!
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Part 3: I Deserve Better

Posted on February 21, 2025 by growintheword

Deliverd by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III
Sermon February 16, 2025

Genesis 29: 31-35 NKJV
When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 34 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

I.                              INTRODUCTION

  1. It has been said that life itself is the greatest teacher. We believe that to be true, because the events in our lives always come with lessons and blessings.
    1. When you look at the things that God allows, the mountains, valleys, and the challenges, you begin to realize that God will give you a PHD in adversity.
    1. God will sometimes allow us to go through a variety of experiences, because He knows that we will come to a place of self-realization.
    1. Self-realization is an important part of our maturing process as believers. You have to let people come to revelation on their own, sometimes. This is why it is important to be patient.
    1. God is long suffering towards us. He doesn’t want any of us to perish. We are all on a journey trying to figure out what God’s desire and standard is for our lives.
    1. We do crazy stuff and make wrong decisions, then something finally clicks where we realize that we need something better.
    1. God is not going to stop you from dating that person or taking that job. He’s not going to interfere with free will, but He is going to put you in a position where you will discover for yourself, what you deserve.
  2. In Luke 15 is the story of a prodigal son. It is about a son who takes his inheritance, before his father intends to give it to him. He goes out and lives a rowdy lifestyle with it. He is the life of the party until he finally hits rock bottom. He finally finds himself in a pigpen situation and there, covered in mud and smelling like pig slop, he comes to himself.
    1. In this place, he comes to himself and realizes that he is living like a pig, when his father has a big house that he could stay in. He decides that he will go back and just be a servant at his father’s home. He decides that he will go back home as a servant, instead of going back in a position of entitlement. It is a wonderful story about how we come to ourselves.
    1. Self-reflection is important. When you think back over your life, you may remember coming to the point where you said to yourself, “I deserve better than this”. Have you ever been on a job and just realized that you deserve better?
    1. This word is going to allow us to see the power of our decisions and the power of our destiny. This story is about Jacob, Leah, and Rachel. It is a complex story. It is not only a story about love and relationships.  It is a story about things we connect with. It is a story about our motives. When you understand who you are, you will understand what you deserve.
  3. The scripture tells us that Abraham has a son named Issac and Issac has a son named Jacob. Jacob is the grandson of Abraham. He is the twin brother of Essau. When they were born there was a conflict that took place between them, even in the womb of the mother. While they are being born, Essau is being born as the firstborn and Jacob grabs his heal inside the womb, to pull him back in, so that he would be the firstborn.
    1. Jacob takes advantage of Essau out in the field one day. Traditionally, the firstborn received the birthright. Because Essau is hungry and Jacob knew it, Jacob tells Essau that he would give him a bowl of soup, in trade for his birthright. Because of Essau being so hungry, he sold his birthright for a bowl of soup and crackers.
      1. How many of you have given up your destiny for soup and crackers? You have given up all that God wants to do in your life, for immediate gratification.
    1. There was a moment that Essau realized that he had been tricked by Jacob, and he began to pursue him, to kill him. Jacob began to run, because that is what you do when you don’t have integrity, you are a trickster, and a conniver. You run from city to city, job to job, person to person!
    1. When you begin to run, you will finally realize that you will run into yourself.  When Jacob runs, it is important to know that biblical times can’t necessarily be compared into modern times contextually meaning you can’t just copy and paste scenarios into today’s standards. We tell you this so you can process what you are about to read.
  4. Jacob runs to a place of familiarity. He runs to his uncle Laban house, and when he gets there, he sees his uncle’s daughter Rachel and falls in love with her.
  5. I know what you are thinking. If Laban is his uncle, isn’t Rachel his cousin? This would be true but remember what we said about the copy and paste. You could do this back in these times.
  6. Rachel is very attractive, and she knows it. To put it in old terms, she would be a brickhouse.
    1. Jacob is locked in on Rachel. He goes to Laban and says he wants to marry his daughter. Laban says that Jacob has to work for him for 7yrs to be granted her hand in marriage. In those days, you had to work for it!
    1. Jacob works Laban 7yrs, trying to get Rachel’s hand in marriage. The night of the consummation of the marriage, he had gotten a little tipsy and when he began to pull the veil off Rachel’s face, he realized that it wasn’t Rachel. It was Leah. He had been tricked.
    1. Leah, unlike Rachel, is not as appealing to the eye. The bible says she was tender-eyed. Jacob was furious and ran out of the tent, because he realized that he had been tricked.
    1. When he confronted Laban about the situation, Laban informed him that the oldest daughter had to be given in marriage first. He told him that he would have to work 7 more years in order to marry Rachel, so he has to work 14yrs to get what he wanted.
      1. In those days, they could have more than one wife.
    1. Fast forward 14yrs, Jacob is excited, because he finally got Rachel.
    1. Rachel is beautiful, but she was barren. She could not help pass down a generational blessing, because she could not have babies. Whenever you were barren in those days, it was viewed as a test from God.
    1. Leah, though not as attractive Rachel, has an open womb from God.
    1. One woman has position and the other has function.
      1. People will put you in a place because you serve their purpose and others will put you in a position, because you make them look good, but will later hide you, because all they want from you is function.
    1. How did this affect Leah? She had Jacob first, but Jacob doesn’t want her. How do you process not being wanted or being rejected? This private pain.

II.                              PRIVATE PAIN

A.    IT’S HARD WHEN PEOPLE DON’T SEE WHO YOU REALLY ARE

  1. Everyone has had to deal with private pain. This can be difficult, because we have learned how to act like everything is ok, but we cry on our way home.
  2. Jacob can represent not only a person. He can represent a career or an institution too. It’s hard when people don’t see who you really are.
  3. Why is Jacob rejecting Leah? It is because of her external attributes. He hasn’t taken time to get to know her inside.
    1. People do us the same way. They will pass over us, because they are looking for something on the outside, not knowing that what they need is on the inside of us. Beauty is vain.
  4. She is hurting because of the shallowness. How people view us, make people miss the greatness that God has placed inside us.
    1. There is more in us than people can see.

B.    REJECTION IS HARD TO HANDLE

  1. Rejection can cause you to question your self worth. It can cause wounds that heal slowly. Leah wounds are rooted in something she can’t help. We can’t control where we are from.
  2. It’s hard when you realize that you’re with someone that wants something or someone other than you.
    1. This can be relationship or on the job.
  3. When you try to make it work, it often pushes them to something else.
  4. Theres a blessing on the other side of your rejection. The rejection was for God’s redirection.
    1. Jesus was even rejected but became the chief cornerstone.
    1. Joseph was rejected, but later became second in command.
    1. David was overlooked by his own family but was later anointed as king.
  5. When people rejected you, they made you available for God’s next in your life.
  6. A lot of people have gotten rejected on the job or maybe even as a date for the prom. You have to think, if these things hadn’t happened, you wouldn’t be where you are today.
  7. If you don’t deal with your rejection, it will deal with you.

III.                              PROBLEMATIC PURSUITS

A.    Rejection is magnetic.

  1. How many times have you chased what you didn’t want?
    1. It just kept pulling you back in.
  2. We chase after what is rare, because we need validation.
  3. When Leah realized she was rejected, she started having babies by Jacob.
    1. Rachel was barren, Leah was not. Her ability to have babies was a gift.
    1. Instead of using it for God, she tried to use it to try and manipulate a player.
  4. Be careful who you fall in love with, because you might become as they are. Leah is a giver and doesn’t get anything in return. It’s like putting water in a cup, with a hole in it. Whatever you do, is never enough.
  5. You have to ask yourself, are you filling or are you funding someone else’s emptiness?
  6. This cycle will cause you to end up back where you were.

B.    THE DYSFUNCTIONAL PLEAS FOR ATTENTION

  1. How does she seek attention? She starts having babies. She is having babies trying to get Jacob to want her.
  2. She thinks by having babies for Jacob, it will change his heart.
  3. Jacob kept laying with Leah, knowing he didn’t love her. She thought it would change his heart, but it never did.
  4. Just because she’s willing doesn’t make it right. We can’t act in dysfunction and be surprised when brokenness’ shows up. If you don’t see a future with someone, don’t make one in the form of a child.
  5. How many times have you poured your love out, hoping that it would finally make your mate see your worth?
    1. Give out cookies may doesn’t work like you think. There’s all kind of cookies out there and he might like different kinds of cookies.
    1. You might find out that you’re just feeding a cookie monster.
  6. Leah kept having babies thinking it would make Jacob love her. Giving more to someone that doesn’t love you, doesn’t make them love you more.
  7. She named the children out of a dysfunctional plea.
    1. Reubenmeans to see. What is your Ruben? What are you posting trying to get people to see?  It doesn’t work
    1. Simeon – She named the second child Simeon.  If he doesn’t see me, maybe he will hear me, she thought. What are you using to make people hear you?
    1. Levi – She named the third one Levi. She thought , “He’ll finally be joined to me”. We are looking for people to like us. Stop living life by asking for people to like you. You have to know how God made you.
  8. Cultural says you are failure, but you are fearfully and wonderfully made. You got to know who you are.
  9. They may hate you but know that God loves you.

IV.                              PROVIDENTIAL PROVISION

A.    THEY MAY HATE YOU BUT GOD LOVES YOU

  1. Jacob may have hated her, but God loved her. Just like Leah, God loves us.
  2. Don’t allow Jacob to cause you to miss what God has for you.
    1. Why when it comes to your enemies, you post paragraphs, but when it comes to what God is doing for you, you only give a couple of words? Y
    1. You’re putting all your energy on the negative.
  3. Think about negative stuff that happens at work and all you have to say about that, but when you get a promotion, all you say is, “We’re about to level up”.
  4. Healthy relationship vs toxic Ex’s.-  Meet someone amazing, all we get is “We excited about this new chapter”. When your talking about the toxic Ex, we get 3 min reel of you going in.
  5. We are so consumed with people, we miss where God is trying to take us.
    1. Story: Bishop tells the a story of how he and friends used to go to the Boys Club to shoot basketball. He knew they had to get there on time to get the full hour to play. They only did basketball from 4-5 and then they would change it to dodgeball.
    1. One guy would always have an issue with the barking dog and he would hold them up trying to make the dog stop barking at them. How are  you going to undog a dog? He was preventing them from getting to their destination on time. The only reason he is barking is, because they moving. Dog’s bark, because that’s what dogs do. Don’t delay your destination trying to make a hater stop being a hater.

B.    GOD HAS FAVORED YOU WITH POTENTIAL

  1. God has favored Leah. He has placed something inside her that others covet, but she is focused on someone that don’t even like her.
  2. Don’t be upset about who likes you. Birth what God has for you to birth.
  3. The favor of God is on the life of the rejected.

V.                              PRAISE WITH PURPOSE

When you realize who you are, that’s when you realize what you deserve.

There comes a moment when you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. If you’re fed-up act like it!

A.    WHEN YOU ARE FED UP, ACT LIKE IT

  1. Leah had 4 children. She didn’t name the 4th one like she did the others.
  2. She births the others for Jacob. She named the 4th one Judah. She births this on for God. Judah means praise.

B.    PRAISE OVER PEOPLE

  1. You’ve been waiting for other people praise and affirmation. When you birth this one, now it has to be for God’s glory!
  2. All the time you’ve been rejected, it was because the devil knew that you were carrying something special.
  3. Leah was the rejected one that didn’t fit in cultural norms. She didn’t know what she was carrying until she came to herself .
  4. She named the 4th one Judah, who begot the royal bloodline.
    1. Perez was the son of Judah and Tamar – Genesis 38:29 NKJV says 29 Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his name was called Perez.[a]
    1. Perez begot Hezron – Ruth 4:18 NKJV says18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; , 1 Chronicles 2:5 N NKJV says 5 The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
    1. Heron begot Ram(Aram) – Part of the lineage of Ram is found in Ruth – Ruth 4:19 NKJV 19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab;
    1. Amminadab was the father-n-law of Aron the high priest – Numbers 1:7 NKJV says  7 from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab;
    1. Nashon became the leader of Judah’s tribe – Numbers 2:3  (NKJV) 3 On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies; and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be the leader of the children of Judah.”
    1. Salmon who was one of the spies that went in when jezebel fell in love with Salmon –Matthew 1:5 NKJV says  5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,
    1. Boaz begot Obed- Ruth 4:21 NKJV 21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed;
    1. Obed begot Jesse- Ruth 4:22 NKJV 22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.
    1. Jesse  begot David – 1 Samuel 16:1 NKJV 16 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have [a]provided Myself a king among his sons.”
    1. David became king and begot Solomon –  2 Samuel 7:16 NKJV 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before [a]you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”
    1. Solomon
    1. Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) – Matthew 1:11 NKJV 11 Josiah begot [a]Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
    1. Zerubbabel – Haggai 2:23 NKJV 23 ‘In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
    1. Joseph – Matthew 1:16 NKJV 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
  5. Revelation 5:5 NKJV 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and [a]to loose its seven seals.”- his name will called the lIon of Judah. How, because a woman way back that was rejected, would be in the bloodline of that which was rejected (stone).
  6. Now unto who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly… This next praise is my Judah praise! Open up your mouth and give this one to God. Now is your turnaround. Now is your time!
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