Part I: I’ve Got the Hook-Up 

Posted on January 12, 2024 by growintheword

 

Synopsis of Sermon 01.07.24

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

John 15:1-8 NKJV
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 

I.          INTRODUCTION 

  1. One of the lessons that you learn in leadership is that relationships should be done well. We don’t get to the next level of living, because we don’t do relationships well. Our next level is often dependent on having good relationships. God wired us to be in communities not as soloist.
  2. Our spiritual connections matter too. God takes connections seriously. God is all in. He is fully committed to you. He neither sleeps nor slumbers. Covenant matters to Him. Often, when we connect with Him, it is interesting to see how much we mature.
  3. Our connections to God:
    1. For some its casual. We just identify with God.
    2. For some it is coerced, meaning forced by others. This is not authentic.
    3. Then there is convenience. This means, if God falls within our schedule, then we are committed, otherwise, we are not. This is part of being all in in! Matthew 6:33 NLT says 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
  4. God is sending this word, because many of us have made the decision that we will grow this year. There is a phrase called the currency of connection. In it you see the value in your relationship with Jesus Christ. When you realize it, you will no longer look for what you are after, in other places.
  5. We know what we have in God, therefore, we use it to judge other relationships.
  6. Many of the relationships that have gone by the wayside in our lives, have cost us. For example, family, time, character, career, and etc.… We have to make up in our minds that we are done with dead relationships.
  7. Jesus is sitting with the disciples and in John 14, Jesus tells them to believe in Him. Jesus knows that He is about to transition. While preparing the Disciples for His death, He gives them revelation, about Heaven and the Holy Spirit.
    1. In chapter 15, Jesus explains the importance of connection. He knew after he died, things would try to pull them away from their assignments.
    2. Know that John was a beloved disciple. John writes the Gospel of John, the 3 Epistles of John, and Revelation. What makes John’s gospel so powerful, it is unlike the other Gospels. John is not a synoptic gospel. The Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke describe events from a similar point of view. The Gospel of John, on the other hand, focuses more on the divinity of God through Christ.
    3. John starts his book of by proclaiming “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In John’s Gospel he also includes the “I am -s” such as “I am the way, truth and the life” or “ I am the vine and you are branches…”.
      1. In the scripture Jesus explains that the branches are dependent on the vine. He further explains the one’s not producing fruit is cut away. Everything you need is connected to your connection with the vine. When you understand the power of hookup (vine connection), you won’t go stalking branches.

II.           PROPER CONNECTION DETERMINES YOUR DESTINY 

  1. It’s about authenticity. He says I am the true vine. In other words, He is saying that He is the real deal! When your connection is authentic, you no longer tolerate the fake stuff. You are connected to that which is real.
  2. Sometimes we get frustrated in relationships.

A.     God Will Always Prune You to

1.     Prepare you for more. Just because you bear fruit, doesn’t mean that He doesn’t need you to bear more fruit. The process of pruning helps the vine produce better fruit. God prunes you so you wont waste energy and He wont waste anointing on stuff that ain’t going to grow.

  1. Our connection to the true vine is not being satisfied with yesterdays victory. We recognize pruning is necessary even though it might be painful. You ought to rejoice in the pruning, because that must mean there is more to come for you.
  2. The Farmer might prune to remove disease. The pruning is for the overall health of the plant. You know when things are not healthy in your life, because you won’t be at ease. Sometimes God will cut people away instead of you having to do it. You may wonder why God chose to cut someone away, but it may be because God has heard some of the conversations that you haven’t heard.

B.    Never Forget You Need Him 

  1. The Branch is completely dependent upon on the vine. You must own your branch-ness. We are all branches dependent on the Vine. When you got that contract, when you got that house, when you got that job, it was because of the vine. It is not just about getting it; it is also about keeping it. You can’t go through life, thinking you don’t need Him.
  2. Every branch not connected to Him (the Vine), will wither.
  3. You’ve got to:

III.          PREPARE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF DETACHMENT 

  • The branch can’t bear fruit by itself. Without him, we can’t do anything. You can do some things without him, but it will be empty and feel like nothing. Without God, you will always be chasing something.
  • One of the tricks of the enemy is to convince you that you can go it alone.

A.    The Blessing Is Not in The Branch, It’s in The Vine 

  1. Don’t depend on a branch. It might disappoint you. The blessing is in the
  2. No matter what you accomplish, you will come to a place where disconnecting will destroy your potential.

B.      Disconnection Destroys Potential 

  1. The first thing that happens is it begins to wither. Nothing is feeding it.
  2. After it dies, men will gather them. At this point, the branches are in the hands of other people. Imagine, putting your life in the hands of people.
    1. Remember Pilot telling Jesus he had the power to let him live or die and Jesus said he had no power, except His father give it to him. Though Pilot thought he had power, he was just a branch.
    2. Think back at how many times have you been burnt. This is why Paul said he would let nothing separate him from the love of Jesus.

IV.          PRAY WITH CONFIDENCE KNOWING GOD WILL DELIVER 

  • Then you will realize the power of your prayer life. You will have to pray with confidence, knowing that God will deliver.

A.     Abiding in Him Assures You Aligning with Him 

  1. Abiding means to stay with him. If you’re not committed, you will not abide. There are moments where friends come by and you wonder when they’re going to leave. Likewise, there are times you go somewhere, and you find yourself looking for an exit.
  2. God says, you have to want to abide in Him. If His words is inside of you, you can speak things that you want and it will happen.

B.      Believe What You Asked for Its Already Done 

  1. When you grow in relationship with God, the more your faith is built up. The more your faith is built up, the more faith is released.
  2. When we pray for something, we believe that its already done! We’ve come today, to release a “done anointing” on your life.

V.          PRODUCING IS CONFIRMATION OF YOUR DISCIPLESHIP 

  • Here in my father is glorified as you produce much fruit. Producing is an indication of your relationship and discipleship. We don’t want you to just be a member in church, we want to be Disciples. Fruit in my life is reflective of my relationship with God.
  • You can’t be stagnant or complacent. You must produce, because of your connection. Some people produce fruit that comes from “a vine”, but it doesn’t come from “the vine”. Fruit that doesn’t come from “the vine” will eventually wither and die.
  • When you understand what you have in Him, you stop demonizing people when they produce fruit. We ought to celebrate people that produce fruit.

A.     This Is Your Season to Produce Much Fruit 

  1. If they hated on you last year, they’re going to lose their mind this year! This is not the season to sit back and watch others produce. You are locked in! You will produce everything God has in your life!

B.      God Gets the Glory When We Represent Him in The Earth 

  1. How is the Father glorified? It’s when you stay connected to the vine, the vine then blesses you, you produce fruit, and it becomes the conversation piece. People will wonder how you got the job, when others were qualified for it.  It’s simple. You got the spiritual hookup!
    1. The hookup’s name is Jesus. He’s never lost a case. The glory comes to the vine!
  2. The real flex is this:

 

The branch relationship is not just in the normal growth process. Anything will grow if you feed and water it, but that’s not how life works. Some events take place that you would rather not take place and you wonder why it happened to you.

 

The branch and vine relationship is called vexation propagation. Some people can grow plants from cuttings. A cutting can be planted in the soil and can grow roots and produce an identical plant. Some of you have been cut and the people who cut you tried to burry you, not realizing that God used that cutting just to plant you.

 

Through the storms, you realized how resilient you really were! God is about to replanting some people! You haven’t seen your best days yet! I see fruit all over you! This will be the most fruitful season of your life!

 

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Part III: What Will You Do for Him

Posted on January 8, 2024 by growintheword

 

Synopsis of Sermon 12/24/23

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Matthew 2:11 NKJV

And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

I.            INTRODUCTION

  1. During this time of the year, we are in the season of giving. Many of you have stood in lines at the store to get gifts. The longer you live, the shorter your Christmas list gets, because you begin to realize how ungrateful people are. You realize what’s important in life.
  2. We also put ourselves in position to receive. We recognize God gave his son and we in return give our lives to him. In other words, if you do this, God will do that. For example, Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved”. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” – Our relationship with God has always been a relationship of
  3. In this season, we need to ask what we will do for Him. We really need to self-reflect and ask, what will we do for God. We thank God for all he has done for us!
  4. Like all of the disciples, Matthew had a profession, before God called him. Matthew was a Tax Collector. Matthew wrote the book of Matthew. In this book, he presented Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah.
  5. As the prophesy comes about in the Old Testament, Matthew brings it forward. How and where the Messiah would come, was a focus in Matthew’s book.
  6. The three gifts mentioned in the text were three of many gifts given by the wisemen. They were guided by a star to where the baby Jesus was. King Herod was threatened by the expected Messiah. Herod didn’t realize that Jesus wasn’t going to be the king of Jews, because he was already a King that had the keys to the Kingdom. His kingdom was not of this world.
  7. Herod consulted his people, and they told him that the Messiah would come. Micah 5:2 says 2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From [a]everlasting.”
  8. The wisemen were warned by an angel not to take the news back to Herod, so they went back another way. Mary and Joseph were warned in a dream that Herod wanted to kill baby Jesus, so they fled to Egypt to escape Herod.
  9. Herod, feeling deceived by the wise men, ordered the slaughter of all male babies in Bethlehem from the age of 2yrs and under. Matthew 2:16-18 sayc16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”
  10. In the actions of the wisemen, they teach us what we should be willing to do for God. They first demonstrate:

II.            THEY WANTED HIS PRESENCE TOO MUCH TO STAY OUTSIDE 

  • They made the journey to see Jesus, but decided to go in. They could have stayed outside, but they wanted to be in His presence. “Staying Outside “symbolizes us using other people’s account on how good God is, rather than having a personal relationship with him on our own.
  • The blessing of the Lord is not on the outside. It’s on the inside.

A.     You’ve Got to Want to Take the Jesus Journey 

  • When they saw the star, they took the journey to get where Jesus was. You have to be willing to take the marathon. The journey is not a sprint, it is a
  1. You Shouldn’t Take the Journey Alone – Some people don’t want to do church. They talk about how they can just do church online but know that you need community. With community, we come together to encourage each other. Never do the Jesus journey by yourself. If you will notice, the wisemen went together.
  2. The Journey Will Never Be Without Challenges– Herod was the challenge. His intentions were wrong. He frustrated the journey. We won’t let the difficulty stop us from getting where we are about to go.
  3. The Journey Requires Discipline and Focus– You’re not going to get there without the focus. The wisemen didn’t follow a person, they followed the star. Most of our Jesus relationships is tied to a person and not Him.

B.     I Want His Presence More Than His Presents 

  1. They didn’t go in looking for anything other than His presence. Some people will only come, when God does something what they want. In his presence there is fullness of joy.

III.            THEY APPROACHED HIM WITH A POSTURE OF OBEISANCE

A.     He’s Not a Kid, He’s A King 

  1. The wisemen knew that the baby Jesus was more than a kid. They knew that He was a king. Isaiah 9:6 NKJV says For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. – The more you grow in Him, the more He grows in you.
  2. He’s a nativity scene to some, but He is much more to other!. We know that we can cast our cares on Him.
  3. Not only is He a child, He is also a Wonder. He’s made ways, when we thought we were going to lose our mind. He is our Prince of Peace! After all we’ve been through, we still have our peace.

B.     He Is Worthy of Our Worship 

  1. It is all about who He is, not what He’s done. Some people can’t worship God, because they want to be worshiped
  2. Elements of Worship:
  3. Worship Requires Humility – Pride rose up in Lucifer and got him kicked out of Heaven. When you refuse to worship God, you are holding onto yourself. We have to recognize the authority of who God is.
  4. Worship Requires the Right Heart-It’s more than recreational activity for the cameras. It’s about what’s in your heart. Jesus measures our heart by what we do with our hands. How can you worship, if you don’t even speak to people, you encounter every day?
  5. Worship Acknowledges Where You Get Your Help– When I worship God, I remind people that I look to the hills from which comes my health.

IV.            THEY WERE PREPARED AND OPEN 

  • The wisemen made an intentional effort to be prepared to give. Always show up, prepared to give to God.

A.     They Didn’t Come Empty Handed 

  1. Think about the parties that you have gone to. If you will recall, you have to ask the Host is there anything that they want you to bring to the party.
  2. The wisemen thought about what they would bring the King. Don’t ever show up empty handed. Some people struggle with giving to God, because they view it in the flesh. In the spirit, you know that it belongs to God anyway.

B.      When You Bow Down, Your Treasure Opens Up 

  1. When they bowed down, and opened their treasures, it was part of their worship. We must worship in spirit and truth.
  2. When you say you love God, you recognize whatever you have, God gave it to you.
    1. Story: Bishop preached at a Convention Center full of about 2000 people. At one point in the service, there was a Minister that got up and begged for 45mins during the offering period. Even after begging for 45mins, they only raised $400. The reason they only raised $400 is because they had a house full of Praisers and not a house full of

V.            THEY PRESENTED HIM WITH THEIR BEST OFFERINGS 

  • When they gave, they gave specific gifts. The wisemen presented 3 gifts. In doing this, the wisemen demonstrate to us that we should give what’s right and not what’s left.
  • Malachi 1:6 NLT 6 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name!“But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’ – In Malachi 1, offerings were given by livestock. Eventually, instead of bringing God their best, they started bringing lambs with only one eye and other lame livestock. God eventually asked why they were giving to him wrong. We have to give God your best!

A.     What They Gave Was Not Random, It Was Intentional

  1. The wisemen gave intentionally, not randomly.
  2. The gifts they brought were gold which represented-kingship, frankincense which represented- divinity, and myrrh which represented-
  3. When you give, it must be intentional. Your gift ought to mean something. You give your best, because He gave his best to us! 

B.      I Give Him My Best Because He Gave Me His Best 

  1. How I Serve– I must put my energy at serving God like I do serving everyone else.
  2. How I Sow– When I sow, I sow at another level. You can’t give that Baptist dollar that you used to give. You have to give like you are blessing Him!
  3. How I Sacrifice– It’s how I wake up and do what I do with God. I want to give God my best in everything that I do.
  4. 2 ways I praise God:
  5. I praise God when I feel like it.
  6. I praise God when I don’t.
  7. They presented Jesus with gifts. They didn’t drop the gift off. They went inside and presented it to Him.
  8. When the Ring Camera begins to ring, I know it is Amazon wanting to drop something off. Amazon is just a drop off service. Amazon is in the business of
  9. There is a difference in delivery and presenting. For example, a friend says they want to come by and give something. They ask are you at home? They ring the doorbell and then came in the house and present your gift to you.
  10. When some people present you with something, they want to wait to see your response. This is why they don’t just drop it off! Don’t come and just drop your gift off to the Lord. Come to the Lord with your gift and wait for God’s response! What will you do for Him?
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Part II: Awaken Your Gift

Posted on December 22, 2023 by growintheword

 

Synopsis of sermon 12/17/23

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

2 Timothy 1:5-6 NKJV
when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. 6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

       I.            INTRODUCTION 

  1. God created us with intentionality. He created us to solve problems. To solve these problems, God gives us tools to use.
    1. Many will never tap into the gifts they have been given. One of the reasons we experience attacks, is because of the gifts that God has placed inside of us. If you get paralyzed in pain, the enemy will stop your gifts from coming forward. There’s no telling how many people went to the Pen or to the grave, without ever tapping into their gifts.
    2. Many gifts have been stifled by Satan. God is calling your gift forward. There is so much that needs to be done, and what’s inside of you is of value. Somebody’s blessing is dependent on your willingness to allow your gifts to come forward.
    3. Things are aligning now. The nudge you have been feeling in your spirit is God stirring up your gift. You are not leaving here today, without that gift being stirred up!
  2. The 1st book of Timothy gives us understanding of early doctrine.
    1. It is a book that reminds the church of how to act and it reminds them of their how they should keep their character in check.
    2. When Paul knew his death was coming soon, he wanted to make sure Timothy was ready to serve. In this book, you see Paul speaking to Timothy who is his
    3. Paul writes from prison, and he reminds Timothy about his Mother and his Grandmother and the things they had passed down to him. There is something to about passing down things to the next generation.
    4. Like Timothy, there is purpose on your life. It might be scary, but remember that 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV says 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
    5. 2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV says 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
    6. Paul tells Timothy that there will be those who will question the Word of God and say that it is a man-made document. 2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV says 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for [a]instruction in righteousness,
    7. 2 Timothy 4:8 NKJV says 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
    8. Finally, Paul says that Timothy has gifts, and he wants to awaken those gifts in him.
  3. How do we stir up our gifts?

     II.            YOU HAVE A STANDARD GENERATIONALLY 

  • Paul tells Timothy that the faith of his Mother and Grandmother was a spirit of excellence. We have to thank God that we had parents and grandparents to give us guidance. What they did was set generational standards in our lives.

A.     Our Spiritual Decisions Have Generational Implications 

  1. Many times, we don’t understand our spiritual decisions have a direct impact on our children and our children’s children. You have to be intentional about the decisions we make.
    1. Don’t let storms get your children wet. Our decisions impact the next generation.
  2. It’s about your perspective.
    1. Perspective– What you see is based on what you’ve gone through throughout your life. We will quit coming to church, because somebody hurt us. We really shouldn’t call it a church hurt, because it’s really a people hurt. The church didn’t hurt us. It was someone inside the church that actually hurt us.
      1. We don’t stop going to a club when somebody hurts us. We don’t stop going to a game, because people hurt us. We don’t stop going to work, because somebody hurts us. It’s only Church that we will quit coming to!
      2. Bishop explains how his Dad received a tremendous church hurt. He thought sure they would never go back to the Church, but on the next Sunday, they did.
  • He further explains that if his Dad had not have gone back to church, Bishop’s whole life would have been different. The enemy is not just after you, but also your children and your children’s children.
  1. Passion– We are passionate about other things, but not church. We will say, “I’ll just stream church today”, but why won’t we stream the game? We won’t steam the game, because we want to get the score in real time? God has been good to us, so why don’t we want to receive His word in real time?
  2. Priorities– It’s all about putting God first.

B.     Thank God for Faithful Examples 

  1. Some of us would not be who we are today, if not for the examples that have been in our lives. Remember the term, “I was raised this way”?
  2. Our examples:
    1. It Shapes Our Values– Our values are different because of the examples that were in our lives.
    2. It Sharpens Our Vision– Our vision is different because of some of the examples that we had in our lives.
    3. He Assures Our Victories– You’ve seen God do stuff in your life before and you know if he did it before, he can do it again.

  III.            YOU HAVE TO SEE YOUR OWN GREATNESS 

A.     You Are Carrying Something Bigger Than You 

  1. It’s one thing for others to see your greatness, but you need to see it too. You are carrying something bigger than yourself. Timothy has to realize that he is carrying something transformational.
  2. Many of you do not know what you are carrying. That’s why you are mishandling it.
  3. We must realize that:
    1. You Are Carrying His Word– When you sit under a word, you begin carrying His word.
    2. You Are Carrying His Will– The purposes and plans of God are at motion in your life.
    3. You Are Carrying a Witness– When you show up, you are a witness of what His word can be and what it can do. The enemy tries to kill the evidence!

B.      Don’t Let Your Destiny Lie Dormant 

  1. When you realize what you carrying, you will decide not let your gift lay dormant another day!
  2. The devil wants to keep you from discovering your greatness. When you discover the greatness inside of you, you realize that there is something inside of you that will change the world and break generational curses.

   IV.            YOU HAVE TO STIR UP YOUR GIFT 

  • My gift is stirred up by my mindset and being motivated. If you allow your gift to set there, it will go bad.
  • What does it mean to stir up the gift? What does God do to stir up the gift?

 

  1. God Will Agitate You to Activate You 
  2. God specializes in making you purposely uncomfortable until you activate your gift.
    1. In the middle of the washer is an agitator. Who would have thought this would revolutionize washing? All you have to do is just drop the clothes in there, the agitator does all the work. It knocks against the clothes and removes all the dirt. It replaces all the old labor that used to go into washing.
      1. God is trying to tell you not to carry it by yourself. He is telling us to drop our load here. Nobody likes to wash the clothes, but they enjoy wearing clean clothes! Think about those moments you thought of as being agitating. Boy isn’t it worth it now?
      2. Deuteronomy 32:11NKJV 11As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings, –
        1. When a mother eagle gives birth to eaglets, she puts them in a nest. She covers that nest with feathers and leaves so that the eaglets can have a comfortable place in the nest. This is what every responsible mother would do for their children. The mothers feed the eaglets. They eat and grow up but they don’t want to leave the nest. Kids don’t want to leave nests. They are too comfortable.
        2. What an eagle does is fly over the nest and spread its wings to create a wind where all the feathers and leaves will fly out. This leaves the eaglets poked by sharp thorns. The eaglets start to cry out and the mother takes them up on her wings and begins to fly.
        3. What the mother eagle does next is drop the eaglet. However, the eagle flies faster than the eaglet can fall and as the eaglet falls close to the ground, the mother eagle swoops down, catches its young, and flies up with it. The mother eagle then repeats this process again and again.
        4. The goal is not to punish the young but to activate their wings. Eagles are not created to live in a nest; they are created to live in the sky.
        5. Like an eagle that stirs her nest. What the eagle does is recognize there are things in the nest that are supposed to make the nest uncomfortable. In like manner, God is agitating you and pushing you to the edge of your nest and asking you to fly or die. Stop giving the devil credit for your agitating.

 

  1. Wherever There Is Purpose, There Is Passion 
  2. The worst thing that could happen is walking in regularity with no passion. When you are called to something transformational or you realize something is coming that is bigger than you, this is your purpose.
  3. Stirring up your gift releases your passion. God is about to awaken your gift.

     V.            YOU HAVE BEEN SPIRITUALLY GRACED 

  • There is something on you. Paul said by the laying of his hands, the gifts of Paul were transferred to Timothy.
  • Being able to walk into what he was in charge of was the transference of grace.
  • When we bless children (by having your Pastor pray blessings over them), it is a transfer of gifts. Make sure your children are covered under the grace of God.

A.     When God Calls You, He Confirms You 

  1. Gifted people are not always accepted. Even Jesus wasn’t accepted. He was the stone that the builders rejected.
  2. Remind yourself that:
    1. He Chose Me for This – You are a chosen generation. You belong to God. In Exodus, God spoke to his people. He told Moses to go tell Pharaoh to let his people go.
    2. He Covers Me in This– I’m still here because God can fight my battles. Go to bed and sleep well. Let God fight your battles.
    3. He Brings Change Through This– God is going to use you as a change agent. Remember that you are anointed for this.

B.      Remember You’re Anointed For This 

  1. Gifting and talents are not anointing. When operating in the anointing, people see God, not you and not the talent. Anointing is knowing when to get out the way and let God have his way.
  2. When the gift of God is in your life, the anointing of God is on your life. David had gifts in his life that had to be released. Then he was anointed!
    1. Luke 4:18 NKJV says “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, 
      Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; 
      He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; – The name Christ means the anointed one. If we are Christlike, then we are gifted and anointed!
  3. When you are gifted, this means God has placed something inside you that was lying dormant. It was awakened and it came forward. Often our fear and uncertainty can block our gifts. As that gift is coming forth, God will remind you that He anointed it. God will place his super on your natural, so when it comes forth, people can’t believe how you do what you do. You do what you do under the supernatural.
  4. If God anointed you for this, no one can copy what you do.
  5. When God anoints you for it:
    1. It Makes Me Relevant – Every time you turn around, you keep going higher and higher, no matter what happens.
    2. It Makes Me Resilient– You can withstand anything that comes after you.
    3. It Makes Me Rejoice– It makes you rejoice, because you realize without the Lord, you couldn’t do what you do.
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Part I: If God Didn’t Sent It, I Don’t Want It 

Posted on December 15, 2023 by growintheword

 

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Synopsis of 12/10/23 Sermon

James 1:17 NKJV
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

      I.          INTRODUCTION 

  1. God is a giver. In doing so, God often gives to people who are ungrateful, but He doesn’t stop giving to the ungrateful, because that is who He is.
  2. God gives with intentionality. He gives us gifts to solve problems.
  3. One example of this is, God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit gives us what we need, and as a result, a problem is solved. Another example is God sent His son to us, so that we might be reconciled back to God. He solved a problem.
  4. Whether you know it or not, you are carrying a gift that will bless the world. When you realize this, you know that everything that happens is related to that gift. You are designed to solve problems. Even your life is a gift from God and you can’t be selfish with yourself or your gift. God blessed you to be a blessing!
  5. There is a way to receive. When you are spiritual, you don’t just take anything. Anything given to you needs to be analyzed by examining the intention behind it. Why was it given and is there a motive? Everything that is given to you is not from God. Proverbs 10:22 KJV says 22 The blessings of the Lord maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it. – If it brings you sorrow, then it can’t be from God.
  6. We are not thirsty or pitiful. If we have to wait, we will wait, because we want it to come out like God wants it to. If God didn’t send it, we don’t want it!
  7. James was the brother of Jesus. Jesus had other siblings and they all struggled with His divinity.
  8. James becomes the first Bishop in the New Testament. He is noted for speaking to the Jerusalem Council. James speaks to God’s providence in wisdom and At one time, James spoke to the scattered Jews where he spoke words like,…” count it all joy when you fall into divers temptation…” and “If any of you lack wisdom, ask God for it..”.
    1. He is referred as James the lessor and he was righteous before God.
    2. James explains to us today that every good and perfect gift comes from God.

     II.          RECOGNIZE GOD AS THE SOURCE OF YOUR PROVISION 

  • God is the creator. God provides for his creation. He is not only the distributor, but also the In other words, He is the source!

A.    God Is Who I Need Who Has What I Need 

  1. God doesn’t just have joy and peace; He is joy and peace!
  2. In order to receive what I need from God; I need to be in relationship with Him. Some people look for stuff, because they don’t realize that they have it in God.
  3. Relationship matters to God!

B.    What God Gives Aligns with His Word 

  1. God cannot be separated from His word. Every gift He gives is in sync with His word. So, you should pray His word. God doesn’t permit some stuff because it doesn’t line up with His word.
  2. The word produces revelation. When you pray, this creates manifestation. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. His word doesn’t return unto him void.
    1. The Word is a menu. I can only speak what is on the menu. I can’t order ribs at Chick-Fil-A, because ribs are not on the menu. When you ask God for something according to his menu, God will do it for you!

   III.          THE REVELATION THAT HE SENDS WILL BE POSITIVE 

  • Everything God sends will be positive. It should not drain you, diminish you, or depress you.
  • Why doesn’t it always feel good, if it is good? The answer is, some things may be assigned for your development. It is good even though it doesn’t feel good.
    • For example, how about Joseph and the pit. It doesn’t appear good, but when Joseph gets his revelation, he realizes that it is good. When you come to maturity, you realize that all things were meant for your good. 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. –  Everything God sends is good.

A.    God Knows What’s Best for Me 

  1. God is not giving gifts to you based on your right now. He is giving gifts to you based on where He is taking you. God determines what is good!
  2. God doesn’t give us what we want, He gives us what we need.
  3. Giving categories:
    1. The Gift of “NO”– This prevents something from happening to you. God, like a good parent, will let you be upset and wait for you to come to your senses, because he knows you will thank Him later.
    2. The Gift of “Not Yet”– This is the gift of preparation. It’s not that He is not going to give it to you. He has to prepare you for it first. You have to be in a position, however, to receive it!
    3. The Gift of “Now” – This is the gift of the present. God says it’s now and he needs you to walk into it! There is a window of time where you must move in the time at which God says move! In due season, you will reap if you faint not!

B.    What He Gives Adds Value and Does Not Devalue 

  1. Every gift God gives makes you better. ]\John 10:10 NKJV says10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
  2. Our gifts should make us better. Even in relationships, we should be better because of being part of it.
  3. Much of the loss in our lives, is because of what the enemy has taken. Many times, we thought it would be Little house on the Prairie, but it ended up being Nightmare on Elm Street! If God sent it, it should get better, not worse!

  IV.          HE WILL NOT RELEASE IT IF YOU ARE NOT PREPARED 

  • The word Perfect, in perfect gift, means mature. As a result of the gift, God prepares the gift for you and you for the gift. If he didn’t, we could actually go into a situation that we really weren’t ready to receive or operate in.
  • God takes us through tests. Tests are a measurement to prepare us for the next dimension. You are promoted based on your ability to pass tests. We are not promoted based on tenure.
  • Have you considered the truest measure of giving gifts? It is as follows.

A.    He Prepares It for You and You for It 

  1. Would It Change You Spiritually? You went to church believing God for a mate, but when you got your Bae, you quit coming to church. You prayed for the job and when you got it, you became too busy for God. If it changes you spiritually, you aren’t ready for it.
  2. Would You Be a Good Steward? Would you use what God gave you for the benefit or service of others or would it be all about you? If you were selfish before the blessing, the gift will highlight it more. Can you tithe off the big check like you did with the little check?
  3. Would You Recognize the Source? If you got blessed, would you tell everyone that God got you where you are or would you take all the credit?

B.    Trust His Timing 

  1. God will not send it according to our time Cronos. He will send it according to Kairos time. Cronos is man’s time. God operates in Kairos. Kairos is the appointed time in the purpose of God and it supersedes man’s time. We try to bring God into Cronos time, because we think it needs to be done by a certain time according to our standards. We don’t realize that God can make it show up early or late and it will still be on time. This is Kairos time.
  2. God knows when the right time is. We have to learn to wait for what God has for our lives! You have to trust God and know that whenever God sends it, it will be at the right time!

    V.          REJOICE THAT HE IS STEADFAST IN HIS PROMISES 

  1. James talks about not being double minded. He also talks about God being unchanging in todays scripture where he says, “…with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning…” When God makes a promise, you have to be steadfast in it, because God’s promise is certain.
  2. God’s word is a promise like a promissory note. A check is a promissory note for example. It is a piece of paper with a promise written on it. You cash it, because you believe the giver has the powers to back up what is on the promissory note. We cash and deposit the check, because we believe in the weight and the power of the one that gave us the check.
  3. When you have confidence in the gift, when you receive the check, you write bills based on the history of knowing it has been good before. When you know God, you need to live knowing that God’s promises don’t bounce.

A.    He Will Show You What You Shouldn’t Have 

  1. The scripture says that every good and perfect gift comes from above from the Father of lights. What does light do? It illuminates. It also is associated with knowledge (i.e. the light bulb came on).
  2. God reveals things to you, and you might not get it. You can be blinded by your own dysfunction and not see what the Light showed you. Once people show you who they are, believe them. You need to trust what God is trying to show you.
  3. The Father of lights will always show it to you. If he shows it to you, act like you got it!

B.    If He Said it, Act Like You’ve Got It 

  1. You got to know that it is done, based on the promise. You need to act like it is already done! You need to act like it in your language, in your expectations, in your posture, and in your whole being.

Story:

Bishop was staying in a hotel and wanted to go to Starbucks to study, like he usually does. He decided to do something different this time. Instead of calling for an Uber, he called for an Uber Black.

While he was waiting, Bishop was seeing others jump in random cars and leave before him. Some of them were people headed to the same place he was going. Some even called their rides after he did. Bishop was tempted to jump in one of these cars, cancel his Uber Black, and head on to where he was trying to go.

Bishop decided to wait. Know that the enemy will always send you options, the very moment you ask God to send you something. While waiting, Bishop kept seeing people leave before he was able to leave. When his Uber Black finally came, he told the driver that he almost got into one of the cars he had been seeing, because his Uber Black was taking so long. The driver told him that he was glad Bishop didn’t take one of those rides with the other cars, because most of them were gypsy cars. This meant they had no legal papers, and they were full of drivers that were scammers. Some of them would take you out of the way, so you would have to pay more. Others might simply take you somewhere and rob you.

Make sure you wait on the gift that God sent you. We’ve been in this thing long enough to know that if God didn’t send it, we don’t want it!!

 

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