Purpose Isn’t Petty – Bishop T.D. Jakes
Purpose Isn’t Petty – Bishop T.D. Jakes
God purposed you for here and now, but do you know why? The what, when, and where of your circumstance are all petty compared to the why. He’s not asking for your résumé because He has already chosen you. God has always used unlikely people for powerful purposes. The sinful, doubtful, shameful, and plagued — they all questioned His choice. But God had a specific reason for using each of them, just like He has a divine design for you. If you want to fulfill God’s purpose, pray for the wisdom to understand why He will use you. His power and omnipotence will illuminate through what He accomplishes in your life!
We’re going to the 6th chapter, the book of Joshua chapter 20 1 chapter 22 verse 25, and I’m gonna be reading it out of the NIB and you follow along with us as we go into the word of god.
Glory to god. I’ll give you a minute to find it. Minutes up.
I hope you feel good tonight.
Good. I’m I’m feeling good tonight. Thank you, Jesus.
I walked in here and didn’t have to roll. Thank you, Jesus. I came in here.
Nobody had to carry me. I’m feeling good tonight. Thank you, Jesus. I’m standing on both of my feet tonight.
I’m feeling good tonight. I can see you. I can hear you. I can feel you. I’m blessed.
Glory to god. See, you don’t call that a blessing till something compromises it.
And then you’re on your knees, friend, oh, god.
If you just give me my sight back, But while you got it, you ought to give god the praise for what you’ve got right now.
Oh, bless us, honey. We are in the 6th chapter of the book of Joshua standing on the precipice of a revolution.
We are standing right on the apex of an invasion where the people of god are getting ready to vague and take over territory.
Look at your name and say I’m getting ready to take over territory.
Glory, the god I’m not just gonna occupy. I’m gonna take over territory.
I’m getting ready to go into expansion. I’m getting ready to go into increase.
I’m getting ready to take over territory glory to god. Can y’all handle that?
Let’s start at the 20th verse and see what the say of the lord.
When the trumpet sounded, the army shouted Listen at that closely.
When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted. Never heard of a shouting army before.
Normally, when you got troops, they fight. But when the trumpet sounded, the army shouted.
And at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed.
Clothing a gun. I wonder what’s gonna collapse tonight.
My cup. Something is getting ready to collapse tonight.
You might need a hard hat on tonight. Because something is getting ready to collapse.
Your faith is gonna do some demolition, some disruption is getting ready to go on.
Walls are coming down. Look at your neighbors, say walls are coming down.
If you’re watching online, type it on the line. Walls are coming down. Walls are collapsing.
They’re giving away things that have been standing for decades in century are collapsing now in the presence of the lord.
They are coming down in the name of Jesus.
So everyone charged straight in had they took the city.
They didn’t give it to him. They took it. Glory to god.
They devoted the city to the lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in and men and women, young and old cattle sheep, and tokens say, trade every bit of it.
Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out.
Now the last time I saw them bring out a woman of ill repute in the Bible, they were gonna stone her.
But not here, go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her.
In accordance with your oath to her.
Uh, this is unusual in the holy Bible.
That god has the holy Bible is talking about a hooker.
So the young man who had done the spying went in. They were young men.
See, I didn’t know that. They were young men. So they weren’t old men.
I ain’t gonna bother that.
Uh, the young man who had gone, who had done the spying, went in, and brought out rehab her father and mother, her brothers and sisters, and all who belonged to her.
They bought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and ironed into the treasury of the lord.
I couldn’t call it a mercy That’s a transfer.
You didn’t hear me.
That’s a transfer the entire wealth of Jericho is transferred to the treasury of the house of the lord.
But Joshua spared rehab the prostitute. Why y’all keep telling a business like that?
Just be quite they call her Rahham. No. No.
They tell her occupation, her profession so that we can understand clearly the oxymoron of this text, the power of this text, the the flamboyant grace of this text, with god’s mercy in this text that of everybody in the city, not even a goat escape, not a pigeon, not a turtle to escape.
But of all the people in the entire city, Rahab, the prostitute with her family, and all who belonged to her because because she hid the men Joshua has sent as spies to Jericho because she did got a favor When was the last time you did god a favor?
I I just believe tonight that if you do god a favor, god would do you a favor.
And he said the who had sent a despise to Jericho, and she lives amongst the Israelites to this day.
Now I’m gonna talk about purpose, isn’t petty.
Purpose isn’t petty. Now this is a warning.
All the petty people need to leave. This is not gonna be a good night for you.
And I’m telling you right now, before you get your feelings hurt, all petty people go to the exit door and leave now because purpose isn’t petty.
Spirit of the living godfall fresh on us as we endeavor to unveil the integrity of the text and to put it in context and to extrapolate from the context of the text truth that morsels are bred that are relevant to our contemporary society, take the logos and turn it into Raymond.
And let it be cut to the continuity tailor made to what I’m going through right now that I might hear the word of the lord I thank you in advance for what you’re going to do.
Have your way in this place in the name of Jesus with a loud voice like your Holland and your kids shout a man.
Poor children. Y’all may be seated.
I wanna back up for just a few minutes and put in context the the distinctive of the book of Joshua.
It’s self. I talked about it last week.
I won’t go into all of the elements that I talked about last week. You can go on YouTube.
And you can really get a fairly thorough exposition of the purpose of the book of Joshua Joshua, the book of Joshua uh, shadow a type of the ministry of yahshua Jesus in the old testament I talked about that last week, so I won’t even go into that.
But what I do want to tell you is that in the book of Joshua starts out telling Joshua I have given you the land.
I have given you the land.
Now, it doesn’t seem practical to me that god would have to say I’ve given you something if it was obvious.
Most of the time, I’ve given people something.
I didn’t have to come back and tell them I’ve given them something.
But because he feels the necessity to tell Joshua that he has given it to him.
That means that it is not obviously a gift. Because that would make no sense.
If I hand you a $100 and I put it in your hand, I wouldn’t have to say I’ve given you a $100 She said, yeah, I know that.
I got that. But this is the kind of declaration that is revelatory from the perspective of the fact that you haven’t, but you don’t know it.
My god. Could that be possible that I could have something that I don’t know?
Could it be possible that the word is excavating out of my life, things that are already intrinsically inside of me, but I am oblivious to it.
And I cannot use what I do not know that I have.
God said I had given you the land but you got to possess it.
This is the collaboration between the human and the divine.
I don’t have time to exhaust it, but all throughout the Bible, we see the collaboration between the human and the divine.
That god works through people. I have given it to you, but you still have an obligation to possess it.
If you don’t possess it, they’re gonna keep living in your stuff.
I have given you the land to possess it. I have given you peace.
But you gotta possess it. I have given you joy, but you have to possess it.
I have given you spiritual gifts but you have to possess it.
I have given you the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but you have to possess it. It is already given.
You’re praying god filled me with the Holy Spirit.
He’s already given it to you, but you have to possess it because god is collaborative, and he wants your involvement in possessing what is yours.
Oh, we used to carry around the altar for hours.
And we said we were waiting on the holy ghost to come like he was riding on a tricycle.
And we would just wait until midnight, waiting on the Holy Ghost to come.
And all the while we were waiting, he was already there. He was already there.
The Bible said at midnight, Paul, in silence, pray, and sang praises under god, and there was an earthquake.
I hate to bust your bubble, but it coulda happened at 10. Yeah. It coulda happened at 9:15.
There’s nothing magical about midnight it just so happened that it took them midnight to possess what was already there.
God says I have given you the land to possess it.
Now this is a process we talked about the moat last time. We talked about the Jordan River.
It talks about the topography of the Jordan River.
We began to understand how god removed the moat so that they could grow across on dry land.
The moat was the first defense that separated them from any onslaught or attack and god allowed them to be able to into Jericho because he stopped it and dried it at the same time.
Stop and dry. Stop and dry.
Topped it so you wouldn’t have to swim across it, dry so you wouldn’t get muddy so that when you got out of it, there would be no residue of what you’ve been through.
Left on your feet. Some of you have some testimonies in this room that you can’t hardly even share with anybody because they won’t believe what you’ve been through.
You don’t even look like what you’ve been through.
You don’t have no mud left on you because god stopped it, and he dried it so that you could cross over onto dry land.
Are you hearing what I’m saying?
And then when it did that, the only thing left was the wall.
You’re down to the last thing that’s gotta fall. The waters have been parted.
The land has been blown dry.
And now you’re down to the last obstacle that stands in between you and victory.
I wanna talk to some people that are close I got about 10 people over there.
I got about 15 over there. I got about 50 over there.
I wanna talk to some people that know in your knower, I am close.
I’m right on the verge of something. And that’s why you can’t give up right now.
That’s why you can’t quit right now. You survived the desert. You’ve made it through your dry place.
You’ve crossed over your Jordan. You want to cross on dry land.
You’ve tasted of the fruit of the promised land. The manor has ceased. You’ve entered into new territory.
Your spirit knows that something is about to happen. Look at your name and tell them I’m close.
I don’t have time to argue with you because I’m close.
I don’t have time to get into no debate with you because I’m too close.
I don’t have time to worry about whether you like me or not because I’m too close. I’m too close.
I gotta focus right now. I’m too close. Don’t bother me. I’m too close. She thinks she’s something.
I won’t even respond to it. I’m too close. He thinks he’s so much. No. I won’t respond to it.
I’m too close. 20 years ago, I had to let you have it.
But where I’m at right now, I’m too close to even just respond to you, you can’t distract me because something is about to crack in my life.
Something is about to crumble in my life. Something is about to collapse in my life.
I’m closer than I’ve ever been in my life. Who am I talking to today?
And now they have come. They have come.
They have come they have come to the final obstacle.
The land that flows with milk and honey is on the other side.
The gold and the silver of the Jericho, of the people of Jericho is on the other side.
Most importantly, the obedience that must be proven to god is on the other side.
You see Jericho was the first city.
And the reason they had to offer up the city to god is because it was a first fruits offering.
God said, if you give me the 1st city, I’ll give you every other one that’s coming after it.
That’s the firstfruits. Bring the first fruits unto god.
That’s why the Bible says in the new testament that Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection.
Glory to god. Do you remember when Jesus died on the cross?
Deadmen were seen walking the streets of Jerusalem.
The reason they were walking is they couldn’t go up ahead of him. He was the firstfruits.
Uh, he had to go up before they could go up, and he led captivity, captive, had gave good gifts to men.
And so even though the dead men were resurrected and they were walking around, they couldn’t go up because the Bible said that Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection.
So whenever god does a new thing in your life, he says if you give me the firstfruits, I’ll give you everything that comes after it.
That’s an important principle. Glory to god, the first fruits, the first corn that comes up.
The first suite that comes up, the first paycheck that comes in, the first fruits I give it to god, when Hannah had her baby, Samuel, he was the firstfruits.
She had many children out to her, but she gave the first one to god.
And because she gave the first one to god, All the rest of them she was able to keep for herself.
God said, I’m gonna replace whatever you give, but bring me the firstfruits, and give it unto me.
All of that is in Joshua. Glory to god. Glory to god. Sixty first.
The kingdom of god and his righteousness, what?
All these things should be added unto you.
The hit tights, the Jebiocytes, the Garrett Shites, all of them, the ammonites say all will be added under you if you bring me the first fruits.
So Jericho in essence was a 1st fruit offering.
It was a first fruit offering, and it determined the next victory.
If they didn’t do this right, they would be defeated.
And if you know your Bible, you already know that one that that Aiken stole some of the things that should have been given to god, and they were defeated at AI, little bit of your AI, something you should have been able to overcome.
But because of disobedience in your life, many battles you don’t win because of the disobedience that preceded the battle.
Anytime the enemy knows that you’re about to get into a fight, he’ll tempt you with disobedience so that you won’t have the strategic advantage to be able to move in and get the victory.
And I want somebody that’s under great temptation to hold out a little while longer. You can stop it.
Hold it back because if you do this and get this right, everything else that’s coming after it, god’s gonna open up the windows of heaven.
And pour you out a blessing you won’t have room enough to receive. Am I talking good?
So we have come now to understand this.
And and what we must understand about this is that god is not giving them the land because they’re hungry because he had fed them all through the wilderness for 40 years.
God is not giving them the land because they are in need because he has supplied all of their needs even in the wilderness.
God is giving them the land according to his purpose.
The companion book to the book of Joshua in the New Testament is the book of Ephesians.
And and both of them started out with giving god, blessed be god, the father of our lord Jesus Christ, who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.
They’re both talking about the gifts that god has given unto And so when he fission starts out, it starts talking about as he has purposed in himself.
He has given it unto you. Somebody shall purpose.
As he god has given to me as he has purpose in himself.
So don’t be mad. It’s not my fault. I didn’t give it to me.
He gave me what I was supposed to have. My brother was over there singing a minute ago.
He was singing his face off I’d like to sing like that.
If I could sing like that, I’d send notes in and request myself to sing.
Glory to god.
I would. I would send anonymous note in and say, we need Bishop JC to come sing a solo glory to god, hallelujah, And then when they call my name, I say okay.
But god didn’t give me that so I can’t possess that. Right.
If I get envious, I become covetous Because god has not purposed to give that to me.
He purposed to give me something else. And anytime you become envious of other people, you become covetous.
And the Bible tells us not to be covetous of that which he has purpose to give to someone else because god might not have given you that, but he gave you something and you need to explore what god has given you.
Oh, somebody bring me a duck truck and somebody bring me a back hole because I’m getting ready to do some excavating in here because there’s somebody sitting here thinking that you don’t have anything.
The devil is a lie. There’s not a person in this room that god has not purposed for you to have certain gifts that exist down inside of you.
And he has given it to you, but are you gonna possess it?
Or are you gonna murmur and complain and become petty?
And religious and sanctimonious.
Some of the most bitter people are sanctimonious, always judging other people because they have no appreciation for what god has given them.
They sit in the seat of judgment.
God has a purpose He has predested everything according to his own will.
I looked up purpose. Purpose is it literally means the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
The reason the reason for which something is done or created, for which something exists, that’s its purpose.
The purpose of this black box is to be an instrument that produces sound so that as I am speaking, I could hear myself.
I could use it for a lot of things. I could sit on it.
I’d probably crushed it, but I could sit on it. But that’s not its purpose.
I could stand it up sideways and eat dinner on it but that’s not its purpose.
What I must do is find its highest and best use because it was designed for a purpose.
And if I use it correctly, I am using it for its highest purpose.
And if I use it for anything else, I am abusing it.
Yeah.
So all the people that contorted you into what they needed rather than what he had purpose They abused you.
The reason for which a thing exists or was created is its purpose.
So purpose is not about what happened. It’s about why. It’s about why.
And I have noticed a funny thing about most people Most people when they call you up, they say, I got something to tell you.
You know? And, generally, you know, there’s some gossip.
And and and if you’re a gossiper and you’re petty, you say child, what happened?
Nobody says, child. Why did it happen?
Because Penny always wants to know what Purpose always wants to know why.
I don’t I I I don’t know why my son is 2 inches taller than me.
But god purposed it to be so.
I my wheaties, I went to bed at night, I grew as tall as I could grow.
I didn’t expect him to outgrow me. I started out.
He was just a little bumble in my hand And now he’s kissing me on the top of my head, which kinda gets on my nerves sometimes just a little bit.
Because he wants me to know he’s taller than me.
But for whatever reason, he needs to be 64 and I need to be 62. God purposed it.
Got purpose for me to be born at the time that I’m born, to live in the era that I’m in, in the generation that I’m in, So why should I be jealous of somebody older or younger?
Because I am called for such a time as this. This is my hour right now.
This is my time right now. The meanest, pettiest people are people who missed their time.
Someone wanted to kill David because he missed his time.
You’ll never be jealous of anybody if you maximize your time. Oh, I’m preaching good. I’m a borrowed.
Therese saying, and and say, I’m preaching better than you shouting. Let me tell you something.
God created you for such a time as this. He didn’t mean for you to be born any earlier.
He didn’t mean for you to be born any later. He created you for the time you are right now.
Stop disposing your age. Stop disposing your stage.
God has equipped you for the hour that he created you to shine in because god had a plan from the beginning.
He had a plan. He had a purpose. He had something for you to do.
God had a purpose for your life.
And when you stop worrying about what happened and start seeking why.
Then you begin to understand that all things work together for the good of them that love the lord who are the come on, who are the who are the call according to his yeah.
So even if it wasn’t good, it’s gonna work for my good because it’s working according to its purpose, even if I had to relocate even if we had to move five times when I was growing up, even if my father didn’t raise me, even if I didn’t know my mother, even if I was adopted, God has a purpose for my life.
And when I stop crying about the what, then I can explore the why.
I am attempting to get around the fringes of describing the psychology of god, the mind of god.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Your god is a mastermind.
He has determined the end from the beginning glory to god.
He has fixed the last before he started the first.
God’s mind is so infinite that before Adam failed, the lamb was slain from the foundations of the world.
That means before the question was formed, God already has the answer. Come on.
Before the sickness came, the cure was already there.
Before the problem arise, god already had the answer.
Jesus says I am the truth and the life no man cometh under the father say he come by me.
God already has the answer. He’s giving it to you, but are you gonna possess it?
Purpose gets into the mind of god. The the the the strategy of god.
That god never reacts. He only acts. Yeah.
Whenever you react, you are the person who acted first is in control, and you are responding to them.
God isn’t responding. He acts He’s sovereign. He’s absolute.
He co he causes all things to work. According to his will, he has never been surprised.
He said, I saw you when you were up under the tree.
I saw you in the dark and the blackness of night with all the lights off. I saw you.
I know what’s in you. All things are naked before him with whom we have to do.
So why are you trying to impress god with your religious phony self when you are naked before him?
I know your thoughts are far off while you’re getting your plan together, god said I already heard it before before you ever even thought it, I’m God.
I worked things after the council of my own will. I called it the psychology of god.
The the more theological term would be omniscient God is all knowing, seeing where we get sion.
God already knows. He already knows everything from the very beginning of time. You cannot teach him.
You cannot inform him He only asks you to pray so you can come into agreement with him because god already knows Do you hear what I’m saying?
Now the reason I’m talking this way, because I want you to understand the purpose of god.
I I told people, and I’m not in no way comparing myself to god, but just for purpose of illustration, I hardly do anything that isn’t connected to the next thing.
That’s a strategy.
I hardly do anything that isn’t connected to the next thing.
That isn’t connected to the next thing. That isn’t connected to the next thing.
That’s why there is a continuum in the scriptures.
What starts out as redemptive in Genesis ends as redemptive in revelations.
It starts out with the blood of an innocent animal.
And all through the old testament, we keep seeing the trail of blood running through Genesis Exodus, Leviticus, deuteronomy numbers.
It runs all the way up to the book of Revelation through the new testament without breaking its properties its influence or its purpose because god had determined it from the beginning, and everything led to the next thing to the next thing to the next thing to the next thing.
And you’re just a part of the continuum.
You you’re just a link in a chain of events.
Are y’all getting what I’m saying?
And so He meant for you to be born. He meant for you to come at this time.
He meant for you to be broken in a certain place. He meant for you to have certain needs.
It’s part of his plan. It was part of Jesus’ plan that when he took the 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread, He knew when he took it.
He was gonna break it. He couldn’t bless it if he didn’t break it because the blessing was in the breaking and the breaking was in the blessing, and god determined, I’m gonna multiply it by breaking it.
All the broken people ought to shout me down.
He sits on the circle of the earth.
Heaven is his throne, and earth is his footstool. God’s got all things up under his control.
Give you another word. He’s sovereign He saw the reins. He completely rains. He’s never out of control.
He’s got complete control everything going on at all times in all places.
That the name of Jesus should be exalted above every day that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess.
Of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth.
He’s lord of all, or he’s not lord at all.
Lord, I can’t hardly get off my first point.
I’m still stuck on my first point. Somebody saw a purpose.
When you know the purpose of god, you stop struggling. Yeah. You stop struggling.
You stop crying. Yes. If you gotta go, go. You gonna leave me? See you.
All that left for me couldn’t stay. All that stayed couldn’t leave.
What god has purpose for me?
Is for me. You can’t get it. You can’t take it.
You can’t rob it from me. It’s mine. I’m gonna get it. It’s fine. It’s mine.
It won’t open up till I get there. When I get there, the door will open.
When I get there, the way it will be made. When I get there, the waters will park.
When I get there, I’ll walk across on dry ground. When I get there, the wall will crumble.
This wall has been waiting on me to walk up to it.
As soon as I walk up to it, it’s gonna fall like open sesame.
It’s gonna move out of my way because it’s for me. Somebody shot it’s for me.
When you start understanding the why, and let me tell you some ministers, you cannot help people if you are focused on If you focus on what they did, you are petting.
Ministry begins when you start praying about why. They did it.
The problem with the world today, we have too many what preaches?
And not enough wire. They know principles.
They know when you broke a principle, They know that your disciples shouldn’t be eating corn on the Sabbath Day.
They know that you shouldn’t be healing this woman on the Sabbath Day.
Don’t you know the sun is gone down? They know what. They don’t know why.
What will make you bitter and petty What will make you miss your purpose?
You wanna know why. The greatest question is wow.
Everything begins with wow. And until you start asking, why?
You’ll never be a great pastor. You’ll never be a great preacher. You’ll never be a great orator.
You must ask why. When you read the text, you must ask why.
When you face some people, you must ask why. When you hear the news, you must ask why.
Because you can’t get in there where the surgery needs to occur to make them better if you don’t know why.
If you walk, if Mafemachev comes stumbling up to you and you don’t know why he’s stumbling, you’ll make fun of him.
But if you understand why that somebody dropped him, you’ll be able to administer him more effectively because you understand why.
When you understand why you say it was good for me that I was afflicted.
Had I not been afflicted? I would have never discovered the purpose of god for my life Am I talking to anybody tonight?
So we’re we’re studying the purpose of god, which he have purpose in himself.
Oh, I live in stop. God. Let me stop. Which he had purposeed himself. He has purposeed in himself.
He didn’t meet with the board. He didn’t talk with the committee.
He didn’t get the legislators to vote on it.
He didn’t ask congress to pass the law, everything that god ever set out to do because he’s sovereign He purposed it himself.
When he said, let there be light. There was light because he purposed it in himself.
When he said, I’ll service separate the firmaments above the water from the firmaments beneath the water because he purposely did himself.
When he got ready to make man, he didn’t need a woman He said, let us make man in our own likeness and in our own image because there’s nothing in the godhead that god needed to complete him.
He purposed in himself.
If he purposes me to live, I’ll live. If he purposes me to die, I’ll die.
If the car wreck wasn’t meant to kill me, I don’t care if it’s a hit on collision at ninety miles an hour.
I get a the plane can crash and I’ll walk away. What god has for me is for me.
I’m talking about the purpose of god. You can’t have faith till you learn this.
This is what your faith is built on. This is a recipe of your faith.
Your faith must rest in the purpose of god. Jesus didn’t teach half faith. He said have faith in god.
Are you hearing what I’m saying?
Stop. Stop.
He didn’t mean for Abraham to have a son when he was strong and burrow because who wants to write about that?
Everybody do that. He waited till his body was good as dead.
And his wife was past childbearing aid.
She had gone through the change, and she couldn’t have had a child before she went through the change.
And when it was impossible with men, god’s purpose, now I’m gonna do it.
I’m gonna put my signature on it you’re gonna know it was me that did it.
As soon as you discover that you can’t do it, you’re gonna find out that it was me that did it.
You still gotta go in the tent, but it’s gonna be me that did it.
You you still gotta spit in the night, but it’s gonna be me that did it.
Don’t you walk out of the tent with your chest hogs stuck out? Oh, man.
Because it was me that gave you power. It is god that gives us power to get wealth.
It is god that gives us the power to get wealth.
He doesn’t give us a wealth He gives us the power. Flow it and go.
Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey.
Tell your neighbor. I got the power to get well. I got the power.
He’s already given me the power.
God’s already given me the power to get whether I have the power to get well.
I have the power to preach the word. I have the power to pass to this church.
I have the power to raise my children. I have the power to be my wife’s husband.
He’s giving me the power. Closer to god. I feel the power right now. Somebody shot.
I got the power. You better not walk out on this stage and not know you got the power.
This stage will beat you to death if you don’t know you got the power.
You got to walk out here and know when you get out here that you have the power.
You got the power because god has purposed you. To be in a place for such a time as this.
Am I talking good tonight? Let’s talk a little bit about petting because purpose isn’t petting.
And you have to understand what it means to be petty.
To be petty, literally means of little importance. Yes.
As in both groups are known to be petty.
Now I want I want you to think about this It didn’t say that petty meant non consequential.
It didn’t say that it didn’t have any value just little value.
Trivial matters. Doesn’t mean that it’s not that it doesn’t matter.
Is trivial. Petty people always focus on trivial things.
Small minded, spiteful ways, as if he was prone to be petty, revenge on friends and finally, narrow minded of secondary or lesser importance lower rank, smaller scale, minor, a petty official.
Now what I want you to understand about this that just because they are petty doesn’t mean it doesn’t have any merit it just means that it’s minor.
Small, trivial things.
Petty person showing or caused by me, Mister Spirit, a petty revenge is a petty person.
You’d be surprised. Now this is gonna rock some people’s world.
You’d be surprised at how many people who are saved or say they’re saved But they’re still penny.
They’re still petty.
The the the the the reason I said, purposes of petty is because most religious people who were sanctimonious and would read this text would never see that the gateway to possessing the 1st city would be a prostitute.
In fact, most people would never believe that god who you just got through singing about is holy, holy, holy, holy, would designate a hooker hooker hooker To be the host host host.
For the profit profit profit. Write me a song about that.
Write me a song about of all the people in Jericho that god would use a harlot and place her house on the wall.
He placed a prostitute on the wall positioned her in a particular place to be the gatekeeper to his promise.
Penny people couldn’t see past what she was.
Oh, I’m a I’m a preach for I leave here.
They could see as fast as what she was to see why she were petty people would never ask why has god put on the wall.
They didn’t know that she was on the wall, not just so she could turn tricks, but so the spies could escape.
So that she could drop a scrolling cord down the wall and establish a blunt line.
Purpose isn’t petty.
And you won’t really begin to fully get god till you understand that god is a god of purpose and not a god of petty.
That’s why god uses people you don’t like. Come on. Come on.
Somebody be real. Has there ever been somebody that you didn’t like, and god used them anyway?
And you tried to sit on them and they got on your nerves.
And you knew that they owed you some money, and they still, like, paid you the money back.
And there, they are shouting all over the church.
And you don’t wanna get with them because they’re 2 months behind on the rent and the check they wrote you bounce.
And all the while, you hating on them about the check, They’re just falling out up under the anointing, and you can feel the anointing, but you don’t wanna accept the anointing because you’re still seeing the check.
Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on.
You must understand that god exalts nothing above his purpose.
So I’m not saying, so you see Penny doesn’t mean that you don’t have an issue, it means that it’s menial in comparison to the purpose of god.
Oh, I’m a mess with your head a little bit.
To accomplish his purpose, he will speak through an ass.
I know I’m in the Bible.
To accomplish his purpose, he will use prostitutes and hookers and idolaters and whoremongers to accomplish his purpose because god does not exalt the petty above the purpose.
That’s why he uses you with your nasty crazy self.
How dare you sit there and not praise god? Think I’m talking about Rayhead.
I ain’t talking about Rayhead. I’m talking about you and all your nasty stuff.
And yet god bless you and yet god use you and yet god raised you and yet god, perfect.
You ought to shout the whole house down.
Because you know you know you know if it were not for the purpose of god, you would be swollen up right now.
Forget what you did Let’s talk about what you’re thinking. Let’s talk about what’s running through your mind.
Let’s talk about what’s going through your head.
If god put your thoughts online, speak up, would nobody wanna ever hear you testify ever again in your life.
But because god and petty, he keeps on blessing you And then you can’t give him a praise.
You ought to praise him more than anybody in the whole house.
You know, you got a house on the wall, you know you got a house on the wall.
I’m gonna mess with you a little bit.
I’m a mess with you a little bit.
I’m a mess with you a little bit, but if you don’t understand this, you will never understand grace.
If you don’t understand grace, you will be self righteous and look down your nose and other people.
If you don’t understand grace, it’ll be hard for us to get you to praise god.
It shouldn’t be this hard to get a praise.
You well, it shouldn’t take somebody who sings that good to get a praise.
I came up in the church, but nobody in the whole church could sing like that.
It’d be a bunch of old scratchy voice, old church mothers, beating on a snared drum.
Sometime the drum didn’t have no stand.
The drum would be sitting in a chair, and they’d be beating in a chair.
And every time I get joy when I think about what it does to me, I get joy when I think about what he’s done for it.
I can join what I think about what he’s done for me.
I can join with a said, done, done, done, done.
You didn’t get a riff You didn’t get a run.
They didn’t change a key. They weren’t melodious. You didn’t want a CD. You didn’t want a Alba.
You didn’t wanna MP3, but the Holy Ghost fell.
And the reason the Holy Ghost fell is because we were caught up into the purpose and not the petty.
Now we’re so busy listening to how good they sound that we can’t hear what they’re singing about.
Oh, my god. Oh, my god.
Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Joshua 6 messes up all my theology.
I knew god used priests. I knew god used prophets.
I didn’t know god used hookers.
Pre profits, prostitute, I ain’t telling you to go no strip club.
That’s not what I’m saying. Don’t don’t miss Colby. That’s what I hate about TikTok.
They’ll take one little phrase and put it on TikTok.
And everybody be fighting in Oregon about one little phrase because they heard what you said.
They didn’t hear why.
You said it. Not only was she a prostitute, she was a liar. Please.
God used her lie.
When they was looking for the spies, she said, I ain’t seen none of them.
I don’t know where none of them are.
See, god couldn’t have used no church mother got this done, because the church mother was a shatnamo Shah.
They’re in the kitchen right now. Shatnamo pocha. They’re sitting by the sink right now.
Go on in there and get them. God needed a tramp that wasn’t a friend.
She lied to protect the spies.
Now what we’re talking about get this. I want you to write this down.
What we’re talking about is the struggle between principles and purpose.
It’s not that the principles are bad.
It’s just that anytime your principles become more important than your purpose.
You have missed who your god is.
There is a struggle between principles and purpose.
And when it comes down to a choice between principles and purpose, god will always choose his purpose.
The law was principles.
And the Bible said, what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh that we might be the righteousness of god.
If god was more concerned about principles and purpose, then the law would have saved the world.
The law was nothing but principles. You can only walk so far.
You can only move so much. You can only say when the sun goes down, you can’t do that.
Woe until the neighbor do not mix this fabric with that fabric. The law was nothing but principles.
So we struggle between purpose and principles. Should we disregard the principle? Absolutely not.
It’s just that we cannot exalt are principles above his purpose because sometimes god uses people that you wouldn’t approve of to accomplish his purpose in your life.
Are you hearing what I’m saying to you?
Let let’s go a little deeper because I went on I want to I un unraveled it.
Look at Amos 3, 1, 2, 3, 4 minutes. Amos chapter 3 verse 1 through 3.
Hear this word that the lord has spoken against you, oh, children of Israel, against the whole family, which I brought up from the land of Egypt saying, you only have I known of all the families of the Earth Therefore, I will punish you for all your inequities.
God is talking to his people. He says, can 2 walk together, except they be agreed?
How many times have you heard that 3rd verse? 2. But you didn’t hear those first 2? 2.
So we use that to walk together, say they agree to talk about human relationships.
Well, lord have mercy. If that’s true, I’d have got a divorce of 1st year.
I’m married today because we got 2 cars. We ever get down to one car.
I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m I’m just saying. I don’t know.
I might be here. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. But we don’t agree.
I’m packed for next week. My wife don’t know what she gonna wear tomorrow.
Yet we’ve been married 42 years.
We walk together through life, through death, through sickness, through health, for better, for worse, for Richard, for poor, but it wasn’t because we always agreed right in the middle of the worst places.
We’ve had some of the worst arguments.
Because I thought we ought to do this, and she thought we ought to do that.
So when we take this scripture that is about god’s relationship with his people, And he said, if you’re gonna walk with me, you gotta be in agreement with me, even if you’re not in agreement with each other.
And when you take the text out of context, and applied to people, then now you’re talking to the spies What are you doing at Rahab’s house?
Yeah. How can 2 walk together save their grief?
It don’t look right for you to be up there.
Truth out of context is a lie.
God wasn’t concerned about us, so you’re not gonna second Corinthians chapter 6 verse 15 through 18.
Take a look at this. And what Concord has Christ with Bellio, or what part has he that believeth with an infidel?
Come on. And what agreement have the temple of god with idols?
For ye are the temple of the living god, as god have said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their god, and they shall be my people.
Come on. Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, save the lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.
And will be a father unto you. And you should be my sons and daughters, saith, the lord almighty.
Did he say it? Absolutely. Did he mean it? Absolutely. Who was he talking to?
Why did he say it? He was talking to who was establishing new converts.
They were new converts in the middle of orgies and idolatry and evil and wickedness.
And he told him, come out from among them and be separate. You’re not ready. You can’t handle it.
You’re getting drunk off a communion? You’re committing incest in the house.
You’re not ready to witness to these people, come out from among them and be ye separate and I will be your guardian.
He should be my people because I see you. You’re worshiping me
Glory to god. I’ll give you a minute to find it. Minutes up.
I hope you feel good tonight.
Good. I’m I’m feeling good tonight. Thank you, Jesus.
I walked in here and didn’t have to roll. Thank you, Jesus. I came in here.
Nobody had to carry me. I’m feeling good tonight. Thank you, Jesus. I’m standing on both of my feet tonight.
I’m feeling good tonight. I can see you. I can hear you. I can feel you. I’m blessed.
Glory to god. See, you don’t call that a blessing till something compromises it.
And then you’re on your knees, friend, oh, god.
If you just give me my sight back, But while you got it, you ought to give god the praise for what you’ve got right now.
Oh, bless us, honey. We are in the 6th chapter of the book of Joshua standing on the precipice of a revolution.
We are standing right on the apex of an invasion where the people of god are getting ready to vague and take over territory.
Look at your name and say I’m getting ready to take over territory.
Glory, the god I’m not just gonna occupy. I’m gonna take over territory.
I’m getting ready to go into expansion. I’m getting ready to go into increase.
I’m getting ready to take over territory glory to god. Can y’all handle that?
Let’s start at the 20th verse and see what the say of the lord.
When the trumpet sounded, the army shouted Listen at that closely.
When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted. Never heard of a shouting army before.
Normally, when you got troops, they fight. But when the trumpet sounded, the army shouted.
And at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed.
Clothing a gun. I wonder what’s gonna collapse tonight.
My cup. Something is getting ready to collapse tonight.
You might need a hard hat on tonight. Because something is getting ready to collapse.
Your faith is gonna do some demolition, some disruption is getting ready to go on.
Walls are coming down. Look at your neighbors, say walls are coming down.
If you’re watching online, type it on the line. Walls are coming down. Walls are collapsing.
They’re giving away things that have been standing for decades in century are collapsing now in the presence of the lord.
They are coming down in the name of Jesus.
So everyone charged straight in had they took the city.
They didn’t give it to him. They took it. Glory to god.
They devoted the city to the lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in and men and women, young and old cattle sheep, and tokens say, trade every bit of it.
Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out.
Now the last time I saw them bring out a woman of ill repute in the Bible, they were gonna stone her.
But not here, go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her.
In accordance with your oath to her.
Uh, this is unusual in the holy Bible.
That god has the holy Bible is talking about a hooker.
So the young man who had done the spying went in. They were young men.
See, I didn’t know that. They were young men. So they weren’t old men.
I ain’t gonna bother that.
Uh, the young man who had gone, who had done the spying, went in, and brought out rehab her father and mother, her brothers and sisters, and all who belonged to her.
They bought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and ironed into the treasury of the lord.
I couldn’t call it a mercy That’s a transfer.
You didn’t hear me.
That’s a transfer the entire wealth of Jericho is transferred to the treasury of the house of the lord.
But Joshua spared rehab the prostitute. Why y’all keep telling a business like that?
Just be quite they call her Rahham. No. No.
They tell her occupation, her profession so that we can understand clearly the oxymoron of this text, the power of this text, the the flamboyant grace of this text, with god’s mercy in this text that of everybody in the city, not even a goat escape, not a pigeon, not a turtle to escape.
But of all the people in the entire city, Rahab, the prostitute with her family, and all who belonged to her because because she hid the men Joshua has sent as spies to Jericho because she did got a favor When was the last time you did god a favor?
I I just believe tonight that if you do god a favor, god would do you a favor.
And he said the who had sent a despise to Jericho, and she lives amongst the Israelites to this day.
Now I’m gonna talk about purpose, isn’t petty.
Purpose isn’t petty. Now this is a warning.
All the petty people need to leave. This is not gonna be a good night for you.
And I’m telling you right now, before you get your feelings hurt, all petty people go to the exit door and leave now because purpose isn’t petty.
Spirit of the living godfall fresh on us as we endeavor to unveil the integrity of the text and to put it in context and to extrapolate from the context of the text truth that morsels are bred that are relevant to our contemporary society, take the logos and turn it into Raymond.
And let it be cut to the continuity tailor made to what I’m going through right now that I might hear the word of the lord I thank you in advance for what you’re going to do.
Have your way in this place in the name of Jesus with a loud voice like your Holland and your kids shout a man.
Poor children. Y’all may be seated.
I wanna back up for just a few minutes and put in context the the distinctive of the book of Joshua.
It’s self. I talked about it last week.
I won’t go into all of the elements that I talked about last week. You can go on YouTube.
And you can really get a fairly thorough exposition of the purpose of the book of Joshua Joshua, the book of Joshua uh, shadow a type of the ministry of yahshua Jesus in the old testament I talked about that last week, so I won’t even go into that.
But what I do want to tell you is that in the book of Joshua starts out telling Joshua I have given you the land.
I have given you the land.
Now, it doesn’t seem practical to me that god would have to say I’ve given you something if it was obvious.
Most of the time, I’ve given people something.
I didn’t have to come back and tell them I’ve given them something.
But because he feels the necessity to tell Joshua that he has given it to him.
That means that it is not obviously a gift. Because that would make no sense.
If I hand you a $100 and I put it in your hand, I wouldn’t have to say I’ve given you a $100 She said, yeah, I know that.
I got that. But this is the kind of declaration that is revelatory from the perspective of the fact that you haven’t, but you don’t know it.
My god. Could that be possible that I could have something that I don’t know?
Could it be possible that the word is excavating out of my life, things that are already intrinsically inside of me, but I am oblivious to it.
And I cannot use what I do not know that I have.
God said I had given you the land but you got to possess it.
This is the collaboration between the human and the divine.
I don’t have time to exhaust it, but all throughout the Bible, we see the collaboration between the human and the divine.
That god works through people. I have given it to you, but you still have an obligation to possess it.
If you don’t possess it, they’re gonna keep living in your stuff.
I have given you the land to possess it. I have given you peace.
But you gotta possess it. I have given you joy, but you have to possess it.
I have given you spiritual gifts but you have to possess it.
I have given you the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but you have to possess it. It is already given.
You’re praying god filled me with the Holy Spirit.
He’s already given it to you, but you have to possess it because god is collaborative, and he wants your involvement in possessing what is yours.
Oh, we used to carry around the altar for hours.
And we said we were waiting on the holy ghost to come like he was riding on a tricycle.
And we would just wait until midnight, waiting on the Holy Ghost to come.
And all the while we were waiting, he was already there. He was already there.
The Bible said at midnight, Paul, in silence, pray, and sang praises under god, and there was an earthquake.
I hate to bust your bubble, but it coulda happened at 10. Yeah. It coulda happened at 9:15.
There’s nothing magical about midnight it just so happened that it took them midnight to possess what was already there.
God says I have given you the land to possess it.
Now this is a process we talked about the moat last time. We talked about the Jordan River.
It talks about the topography of the Jordan River.
We began to understand how god removed the moat so that they could grow across on dry land.
The moat was the first defense that separated them from any onslaught or attack and god allowed them to be able to into Jericho because he stopped it and dried it at the same time.
Stop and dry. Stop and dry.
Topped it so you wouldn’t have to swim across it, dry so you wouldn’t get muddy so that when you got out of it, there would be no residue of what you’ve been through.
Left on your feet. Some of you have some testimonies in this room that you can’t hardly even share with anybody because they won’t believe what you’ve been through.
You don’t even look like what you’ve been through.
You don’t have no mud left on you because god stopped it, and he dried it so that you could cross over onto dry land.
Are you hearing what I’m saying?
And then when it did that, the only thing left was the wall.
You’re down to the last thing that’s gotta fall. The waters have been parted.
The land has been blown dry.
And now you’re down to the last obstacle that stands in between you and victory.
I wanna talk to some people that are close I got about 10 people over there.
I got about 15 over there. I got about 50 over there.
I wanna talk to some people that know in your knower, I am close.
I’m right on the verge of something. And that’s why you can’t give up right now.
That’s why you can’t quit right now. You survived the desert. You’ve made it through your dry place.
You’ve crossed over your Jordan. You want to cross on dry land.
You’ve tasted of the fruit of the promised land. The manor has ceased. You’ve entered into new territory.
Your spirit knows that something is about to happen. Look at your name and tell them I’m close.
I don’t have time to argue with you because I’m close.
I don’t have time to get into no debate with you because I’m too close.
I don’t have time to worry about whether you like me or not because I’m too close. I’m too close.
I gotta focus right now. I’m too close. Don’t bother me. I’m too close. She thinks she’s something.
I won’t even respond to it. I’m too close. He thinks he’s so much. No. I won’t respond to it.
I’m too close. 20 years ago, I had to let you have it.
But where I’m at right now, I’m too close to even just respond to you, you can’t distract me because something is about to crack in my life.
Something is about to crumble in my life. Something is about to collapse in my life.
I’m closer than I’ve ever been in my life. Who am I talking to today?
And now they have come. They have come.
They have come they have come to the final obstacle.
The land that flows with milk and honey is on the other side.
The gold and the silver of the Jericho, of the people of Jericho is on the other side.
Most importantly, the obedience that must be proven to god is on the other side.
You see Jericho was the first city.
And the reason they had to offer up the city to god is because it was a first fruits offering.
God said, if you give me the 1st city, I’ll give you every other one that’s coming after it.
That’s the firstfruits. Bring the first fruits unto god.
That’s why the Bible says in the new testament that Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection.
Glory to god. Do you remember when Jesus died on the cross?
Deadmen were seen walking the streets of Jerusalem.
The reason they were walking is they couldn’t go up ahead of him. He was the firstfruits.
Uh, he had to go up before they could go up, and he led captivity, captive, had gave good gifts to men.
And so even though the dead men were resurrected and they were walking around, they couldn’t go up because the Bible said that Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection.
So whenever god does a new thing in your life, he says if you give me the firstfruits, I’ll give you everything that comes after it.
That’s an important principle. Glory to god, the first fruits, the first corn that comes up.
The first suite that comes up, the first paycheck that comes in, the first fruits I give it to god, when Hannah had her baby, Samuel, he was the firstfruits.
She had many children out to her, but she gave the first one to god.
And because she gave the first one to god, All the rest of them she was able to keep for herself.
God said, I’m gonna replace whatever you give, but bring me the firstfruits, and give it unto me.
All of that is in Joshua. Glory to god. Glory to god. Sixty first.
The kingdom of god and his righteousness, what?
All these things should be added unto you.
The hit tights, the Jebiocytes, the Garrett Shites, all of them, the ammonites say all will be added under you if you bring me the first fruits.
So Jericho in essence was a 1st fruit offering.
It was a first fruit offering, and it determined the next victory.
If they didn’t do this right, they would be defeated.
And if you know your Bible, you already know that one that that Aiken stole some of the things that should have been given to god, and they were defeated at AI, little bit of your AI, something you should have been able to overcome.
But because of disobedience in your life, many battles you don’t win because of the disobedience that preceded the battle.
Anytime the enemy knows that you’re about to get into a fight, he’ll tempt you with disobedience so that you won’t have the strategic advantage to be able to move in and get the victory.
And I want somebody that’s under great temptation to hold out a little while longer. You can stop it.
Hold it back because if you do this and get this right, everything else that’s coming after it, god’s gonna open up the windows of heaven.
And pour you out a blessing you won’t have room enough to receive. Am I talking good?
So we have come now to understand this.
And and what we must understand about this is that god is not giving them the land because they’re hungry because he had fed them all through the wilderness for 40 years.
God is not giving them the land because they are in need because he has supplied all of their needs even in the wilderness.
God is giving them the land according to his purpose.
The companion book to the book of Joshua in the New Testament is the book of Ephesians.
And and both of them started out with giving god, blessed be god, the father of our lord Jesus Christ, who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.
They’re both talking about the gifts that god has given unto And so when he fission starts out, it starts talking about as he has purposed in himself.
He has given it unto you. Somebody shall purpose.
As he god has given to me as he has purpose in himself.
So don’t be mad. It’s not my fault. I didn’t give it to me.
He gave me what I was supposed to have. My brother was over there singing a minute ago.
He was singing his face off I’d like to sing like that.
If I could sing like that, I’d send notes in and request myself to sing.
Glory to god.
I would. I would send anonymous note in and say, we need Bishop JC to come sing a solo glory to god, hallelujah, And then when they call my name, I say okay.
But god didn’t give me that so I can’t possess that. Right.
If I get envious, I become covetous Because god has not purposed to give that to me.
He purposed to give me something else. And anytime you become envious of other people, you become covetous.
And the Bible tells us not to be covetous of that which he has purpose to give to someone else because god might not have given you that, but he gave you something and you need to explore what god has given you.
Oh, somebody bring me a duck truck and somebody bring me a back hole because I’m getting ready to do some excavating in here because there’s somebody sitting here thinking that you don’t have anything.
The devil is a lie. There’s not a person in this room that god has not purposed for you to have certain gifts that exist down inside of you.
And he has given it to you, but are you gonna possess it?
Or are you gonna murmur and complain and become petty?
And religious and sanctimonious.
Some of the most bitter people are sanctimonious, always judging other people because they have no appreciation for what god has given them.
They sit in the seat of judgment.
God has a purpose He has predested everything according to his own will.
I looked up purpose. Purpose is it literally means the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
The reason the reason for which something is done or created, for which something exists, that’s its purpose.
The purpose of this black box is to be an instrument that produces sound so that as I am speaking, I could hear myself.
I could use it for a lot of things. I could sit on it.
I’d probably crushed it, but I could sit on it. But that’s not its purpose.
I could stand it up sideways and eat dinner on it but that’s not its purpose.
What I must do is find its highest and best use because it was designed for a purpose.
And if I use it correctly, I am using it for its highest purpose.
And if I use it for anything else, I am abusing it.
Yeah.
So all the people that contorted you into what they needed rather than what he had purpose They abused you.
The reason for which a thing exists or was created is its purpose.
So purpose is not about what happened. It’s about why. It’s about why.
And I have noticed a funny thing about most people Most people when they call you up, they say, I got something to tell you.
You know? And, generally, you know, there’s some gossip.
And and and if you’re a gossiper and you’re petty, you say child, what happened?
Nobody says, child. Why did it happen?
Because Penny always wants to know what Purpose always wants to know why.
I don’t I I I don’t know why my son is 2 inches taller than me.
But god purposed it to be so.
I my wheaties, I went to bed at night, I grew as tall as I could grow.
I didn’t expect him to outgrow me. I started out.
He was just a little bumble in my hand And now he’s kissing me on the top of my head, which kinda gets on my nerves sometimes just a little bit.
Because he wants me to know he’s taller than me.
But for whatever reason, he needs to be 64 and I need to be 62. God purposed it.
Got purpose for me to be born at the time that I’m born, to live in the era that I’m in, in the generation that I’m in, So why should I be jealous of somebody older or younger?
Because I am called for such a time as this. This is my hour right now.
This is my time right now. The meanest, pettiest people are people who missed their time.
Someone wanted to kill David because he missed his time.
You’ll never be jealous of anybody if you maximize your time. Oh, I’m preaching good. I’m a borrowed.
Therese saying, and and say, I’m preaching better than you shouting. Let me tell you something.
God created you for such a time as this. He didn’t mean for you to be born any earlier.
He didn’t mean for you to be born any later. He created you for the time you are right now.
Stop disposing your age. Stop disposing your stage.
God has equipped you for the hour that he created you to shine in because god had a plan from the beginning.
He had a plan. He had a purpose. He had something for you to do.
God had a purpose for your life.
And when you stop worrying about what happened and start seeking why.
Then you begin to understand that all things work together for the good of them that love the lord who are the come on, who are the who are the call according to his yeah.
So even if it wasn’t good, it’s gonna work for my good because it’s working according to its purpose, even if I had to relocate even if we had to move five times when I was growing up, even if my father didn’t raise me, even if I didn’t know my mother, even if I was adopted, God has a purpose for my life.
And when I stop crying about the what, then I can explore the why.
I am attempting to get around the fringes of describing the psychology of god, the mind of god.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Your god is a mastermind.
He has determined the end from the beginning glory to god.
He has fixed the last before he started the first.
God’s mind is so infinite that before Adam failed, the lamb was slain from the foundations of the world.
That means before the question was formed, God already has the answer. Come on.
Before the sickness came, the cure was already there.
Before the problem arise, god already had the answer.
Jesus says I am the truth and the life no man cometh under the father say he come by me.
God already has the answer. He’s giving it to you, but are you gonna possess it?
Purpose gets into the mind of god. The the the the strategy of god.
That god never reacts. He only acts. Yeah.
Whenever you react, you are the person who acted first is in control, and you are responding to them.
God isn’t responding. He acts He’s sovereign. He’s absolute.
He co he causes all things to work. According to his will, he has never been surprised.
He said, I saw you when you were up under the tree.
I saw you in the dark and the blackness of night with all the lights off. I saw you.
I know what’s in you. All things are naked before him with whom we have to do.
So why are you trying to impress god with your religious phony self when you are naked before him?
I know your thoughts are far off while you’re getting your plan together, god said I already heard it before before you ever even thought it, I’m God.
I worked things after the council of my own will. I called it the psychology of god.
The the more theological term would be omniscient God is all knowing, seeing where we get sion.
God already knows. He already knows everything from the very beginning of time. You cannot teach him.
You cannot inform him He only asks you to pray so you can come into agreement with him because god already knows Do you hear what I’m saying?
Now the reason I’m talking this way, because I want you to understand the purpose of god.
I I told people, and I’m not in no way comparing myself to god, but just for purpose of illustration, I hardly do anything that isn’t connected to the next thing.
That’s a strategy.
I hardly do anything that isn’t connected to the next thing.
That isn’t connected to the next thing. That isn’t connected to the next thing.
That’s why there is a continuum in the scriptures.
What starts out as redemptive in Genesis ends as redemptive in revelations.
It starts out with the blood of an innocent animal.
And all through the old testament, we keep seeing the trail of blood running through Genesis Exodus, Leviticus, deuteronomy numbers.
It runs all the way up to the book of Revelation through the new testament without breaking its properties its influence or its purpose because god had determined it from the beginning, and everything led to the next thing to the next thing to the next thing to the next thing.
And you’re just a part of the continuum.
You you’re just a link in a chain of events.
Are y’all getting what I’m saying?
And so He meant for you to be born. He meant for you to come at this time.
He meant for you to be broken in a certain place. He meant for you to have certain needs.
It’s part of his plan. It was part of Jesus’ plan that when he took the 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread, He knew when he took it.
He was gonna break it. He couldn’t bless it if he didn’t break it because the blessing was in the breaking and the breaking was in the blessing, and god determined, I’m gonna multiply it by breaking it.
All the broken people ought to shout me down.
He sits on the circle of the earth.
Heaven is his throne, and earth is his footstool. God’s got all things up under his control.
Give you another word. He’s sovereign He saw the reins. He completely rains. He’s never out of control.
He’s got complete control everything going on at all times in all places.
That the name of Jesus should be exalted above every day that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess.
Of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth.
He’s lord of all, or he’s not lord at all.
Lord, I can’t hardly get off my first point.
I’m still stuck on my first point. Somebody saw a purpose.
When you know the purpose of god, you stop struggling. Yeah. You stop struggling.
You stop crying. Yes. If you gotta go, go. You gonna leave me? See you.
All that left for me couldn’t stay. All that stayed couldn’t leave.
What god has purpose for me?
Is for me. You can’t get it. You can’t take it.
You can’t rob it from me. It’s mine. I’m gonna get it. It’s fine. It’s mine.
It won’t open up till I get there. When I get there, the door will open.
When I get there, the way it will be made. When I get there, the waters will park.
When I get there, I’ll walk across on dry ground. When I get there, the wall will crumble.
This wall has been waiting on me to walk up to it.
As soon as I walk up to it, it’s gonna fall like open sesame.
It’s gonna move out of my way because it’s for me. Somebody shot it’s for me.
When you start understanding the why, and let me tell you some ministers, you cannot help people if you are focused on If you focus on what they did, you are petting.
Ministry begins when you start praying about why. They did it.
The problem with the world today, we have too many what preaches?
And not enough wire. They know principles.
They know when you broke a principle, They know that your disciples shouldn’t be eating corn on the Sabbath Day.
They know that you shouldn’t be healing this woman on the Sabbath Day.
Don’t you know the sun is gone down? They know what. They don’t know why.
What will make you bitter and petty What will make you miss your purpose?
You wanna know why. The greatest question is wow.
Everything begins with wow. And until you start asking, why?
You’ll never be a great pastor. You’ll never be a great preacher. You’ll never be a great orator.
You must ask why. When you read the text, you must ask why.
When you face some people, you must ask why. When you hear the news, you must ask why.
Because you can’t get in there where the surgery needs to occur to make them better if you don’t know why.
If you walk, if Mafemachev comes stumbling up to you and you don’t know why he’s stumbling, you’ll make fun of him.
But if you understand why that somebody dropped him, you’ll be able to administer him more effectively because you understand why.
When you understand why you say it was good for me that I was afflicted.
Had I not been afflicted? I would have never discovered the purpose of god for my life Am I talking to anybody tonight?
So we’re we’re studying the purpose of god, which he have purpose in himself.
Oh, I live in stop. God. Let me stop. Which he had purposeed himself. He has purposeed in himself.
He didn’t meet with the board. He didn’t talk with the committee.
He didn’t get the legislators to vote on it.
He didn’t ask congress to pass the law, everything that god ever set out to do because he’s sovereign He purposed it himself.
When he said, let there be light. There was light because he purposed it in himself.
When he said, I’ll service separate the firmaments above the water from the firmaments beneath the water because he purposely did himself.
When he got ready to make man, he didn’t need a woman He said, let us make man in our own likeness and in our own image because there’s nothing in the godhead that god needed to complete him.
He purposed in himself.
If he purposes me to live, I’ll live. If he purposes me to die, I’ll die.
If the car wreck wasn’t meant to kill me, I don’t care if it’s a hit on collision at ninety miles an hour.
I get a the plane can crash and I’ll walk away. What god has for me is for me.
I’m talking about the purpose of god. You can’t have faith till you learn this.
This is what your faith is built on. This is a recipe of your faith.
Your faith must rest in the purpose of god. Jesus didn’t teach half faith. He said have faith in god.
Are you hearing what I’m saying?
Stop. Stop.
He didn’t mean for Abraham to have a son when he was strong and burrow because who wants to write about that?
Everybody do that. He waited till his body was good as dead.
And his wife was past childbearing aid.
She had gone through the change, and she couldn’t have had a child before she went through the change.
And when it was impossible with men, god’s purpose, now I’m gonna do it.
I’m gonna put my signature on it you’re gonna know it was me that did it.
As soon as you discover that you can’t do it, you’re gonna find out that it was me that did it.
You still gotta go in the tent, but it’s gonna be me that did it.
You you still gotta spit in the night, but it’s gonna be me that did it.
Don’t you walk out of the tent with your chest hogs stuck out? Oh, man.
Because it was me that gave you power. It is god that gives us power to get wealth.
It is god that gives us the power to get wealth.
He doesn’t give us a wealth He gives us the power. Flow it and go.
Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey.
Tell your neighbor. I got the power to get well. I got the power.
He’s already given me the power.
God’s already given me the power to get whether I have the power to get well.
I have the power to preach the word. I have the power to pass to this church.
I have the power to raise my children. I have the power to be my wife’s husband.
He’s giving me the power. Closer to god. I feel the power right now. Somebody shot.
I got the power. You better not walk out on this stage and not know you got the power.
This stage will beat you to death if you don’t know you got the power.
You got to walk out here and know when you get out here that you have the power.
You got the power because god has purposed you. To be in a place for such a time as this.
Am I talking good tonight? Let’s talk a little bit about petting because purpose isn’t petting.
And you have to understand what it means to be petty.
To be petty, literally means of little importance. Yes.
As in both groups are known to be petty.
Now I want I want you to think about this It didn’t say that petty meant non consequential.
It didn’t say that it didn’t have any value just little value.
Trivial matters. Doesn’t mean that it’s not that it doesn’t matter.
Is trivial. Petty people always focus on trivial things.
Small minded, spiteful ways, as if he was prone to be petty, revenge on friends and finally, narrow minded of secondary or lesser importance lower rank, smaller scale, minor, a petty official.
Now what I want you to understand about this that just because they are petty doesn’t mean it doesn’t have any merit it just means that it’s minor.
Small, trivial things.
Petty person showing or caused by me, Mister Spirit, a petty revenge is a petty person.
You’d be surprised. Now this is gonna rock some people’s world.
You’d be surprised at how many people who are saved or say they’re saved But they’re still penny.
They’re still petty.
The the the the the reason I said, purposes of petty is because most religious people who were sanctimonious and would read this text would never see that the gateway to possessing the 1st city would be a prostitute.
In fact, most people would never believe that god who you just got through singing about is holy, holy, holy, holy, would designate a hooker hooker hooker To be the host host host.
For the profit profit profit. Write me a song about that.
Write me a song about of all the people in Jericho that god would use a harlot and place her house on the wall.
He placed a prostitute on the wall positioned her in a particular place to be the gatekeeper to his promise.
Penny people couldn’t see past what she was.
Oh, I’m a I’m a preach for I leave here.
They could see as fast as what she was to see why she were petty people would never ask why has god put on the wall.
They didn’t know that she was on the wall, not just so she could turn tricks, but so the spies could escape.
So that she could drop a scrolling cord down the wall and establish a blunt line.
Purpose isn’t petty.
And you won’t really begin to fully get god till you understand that god is a god of purpose and not a god of petty.
That’s why god uses people you don’t like. Come on. Come on.
Somebody be real. Has there ever been somebody that you didn’t like, and god used them anyway?
And you tried to sit on them and they got on your nerves.
And you knew that they owed you some money, and they still, like, paid you the money back.
And there, they are shouting all over the church.
And you don’t wanna get with them because they’re 2 months behind on the rent and the check they wrote you bounce.
And all the while, you hating on them about the check, They’re just falling out up under the anointing, and you can feel the anointing, but you don’t wanna accept the anointing because you’re still seeing the check.
Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on.
You must understand that god exalts nothing above his purpose.
So I’m not saying, so you see Penny doesn’t mean that you don’t have an issue, it means that it’s menial in comparison to the purpose of god.
Oh, I’m a mess with your head a little bit.
To accomplish his purpose, he will speak through an ass.
I know I’m in the Bible.
To accomplish his purpose, he will use prostitutes and hookers and idolaters and whoremongers to accomplish his purpose because god does not exalt the petty above the purpose.
That’s why he uses you with your nasty crazy self.
How dare you sit there and not praise god? Think I’m talking about Rayhead.
I ain’t talking about Rayhead. I’m talking about you and all your nasty stuff.
And yet god bless you and yet god use you and yet god raised you and yet god, perfect.
You ought to shout the whole house down.
Because you know you know you know if it were not for the purpose of god, you would be swollen up right now.
Forget what you did Let’s talk about what you’re thinking. Let’s talk about what’s running through your mind.
Let’s talk about what’s going through your head.
If god put your thoughts online, speak up, would nobody wanna ever hear you testify ever again in your life.
But because god and petty, he keeps on blessing you And then you can’t give him a praise.
You ought to praise him more than anybody in the whole house.
You know, you got a house on the wall, you know you got a house on the wall.
I’m gonna mess with you a little bit.
I’m a mess with you a little bit.
I’m a mess with you a little bit, but if you don’t understand this, you will never understand grace.
If you don’t understand grace, you will be self righteous and look down your nose and other people.
If you don’t understand grace, it’ll be hard for us to get you to praise god.
It shouldn’t be this hard to get a praise.
You well, it shouldn’t take somebody who sings that good to get a praise.
I came up in the church, but nobody in the whole church could sing like that.
It’d be a bunch of old scratchy voice, old church mothers, beating on a snared drum.
Sometime the drum didn’t have no stand.
The drum would be sitting in a chair, and they’d be beating in a chair.
And every time I get joy when I think about what it does to me, I get joy when I think about what he’s done for it.
I can join what I think about what he’s done for me.
I can join with a said, done, done, done, done.
You didn’t get a riff You didn’t get a run.
They didn’t change a key. They weren’t melodious. You didn’t want a CD. You didn’t want a Alba.
You didn’t wanna MP3, but the Holy Ghost fell.
And the reason the Holy Ghost fell is because we were caught up into the purpose and not the petty.
Now we’re so busy listening to how good they sound that we can’t hear what they’re singing about.
Oh, my god. Oh, my god.
Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Joshua 6 messes up all my theology.
I knew god used priests. I knew god used prophets.
I didn’t know god used hookers.
Pre profits, prostitute, I ain’t telling you to go no strip club.
That’s not what I’m saying. Don’t don’t miss Colby. That’s what I hate about TikTok.
They’ll take one little phrase and put it on TikTok.
And everybody be fighting in Oregon about one little phrase because they heard what you said.
They didn’t hear why.
You said it. Not only was she a prostitute, she was a liar. Please.
God used her lie.
When they was looking for the spies, she said, I ain’t seen none of them.
I don’t know where none of them are.
See, god couldn’t have used no church mother got this done, because the church mother was a shatnamo Shah.
They’re in the kitchen right now. Shatnamo pocha. They’re sitting by the sink right now.
Go on in there and get them. God needed a tramp that wasn’t a friend.
She lied to protect the spies.
Now what we’re talking about get this. I want you to write this down.
What we’re talking about is the struggle between principles and purpose.
It’s not that the principles are bad.
It’s just that anytime your principles become more important than your purpose.
You have missed who your god is.
There is a struggle between principles and purpose.
And when it comes down to a choice between principles and purpose, god will always choose his purpose.
The law was principles.
And the Bible said, what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh that we might be the righteousness of god.
If god was more concerned about principles and purpose, then the law would have saved the world.
The law was nothing but principles. You can only walk so far.
You can only move so much. You can only say when the sun goes down, you can’t do that.
Woe until the neighbor do not mix this fabric with that fabric. The law was nothing but principles.
So we struggle between purpose and principles. Should we disregard the principle? Absolutely not.
It’s just that we cannot exalt are principles above his purpose because sometimes god uses people that you wouldn’t approve of to accomplish his purpose in your life.
Are you hearing what I’m saying to you?
Let let’s go a little deeper because I went on I want to I un unraveled it.
Look at Amos 3, 1, 2, 3, 4 minutes. Amos chapter 3 verse 1 through 3.
Hear this word that the lord has spoken against you, oh, children of Israel, against the whole family, which I brought up from the land of Egypt saying, you only have I known of all the families of the Earth Therefore, I will punish you for all your inequities.
God is talking to his people. He says, can 2 walk together, except they be agreed?
How many times have you heard that 3rd verse? 2. But you didn’t hear those first 2? 2.
So we use that to walk together, say they agree to talk about human relationships.
Well, lord have mercy. If that’s true, I’d have got a divorce of 1st year.
I’m married today because we got 2 cars. We ever get down to one car.
I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m I’m just saying. I don’t know.
I might be here. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. But we don’t agree.
I’m packed for next week. My wife don’t know what she gonna wear tomorrow.
Yet we’ve been married 42 years.
We walk together through life, through death, through sickness, through health, for better, for worse, for Richard, for poor, but it wasn’t because we always agreed right in the middle of the worst places.
We’ve had some of the worst arguments.
Because I thought we ought to do this, and she thought we ought to do that.
So when we take this scripture that is about god’s relationship with his people, And he said, if you’re gonna walk with me, you gotta be in agreement with me, even if you’re not in agreement with each other.
And when you take the text out of context, and applied to people, then now you’re talking to the spies What are you doing at Rahab’s house?
Yeah. How can 2 walk together save their grief?
It don’t look right for you to be up there.
Truth out of context is a lie.
God wasn’t concerned about us, so you’re not gonna second Corinthians chapter 6 verse 15 through 18.
Take a look at this. And what Concord has Christ with Bellio, or what part has he that believeth with an infidel?
Come on. And what agreement have the temple of god with idols?
For ye are the temple of the living god, as god have said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their god, and they shall be my people.
Come on. Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, save the lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.
And will be a father unto you. And you should be my sons and daughters, saith, the lord almighty.
Did he say it? Absolutely. Did he mean it? Absolutely. Who was he talking to?
Why did he say it? He was talking to who was establishing new converts.
They were new converts in the middle of orgies and idolatry and evil and wickedness.
And he told him, come out from among them and be separate. You’re not ready. You can’t handle it.
You’re getting drunk off a communion? You’re committing incest in the house.
You’re not ready to witness to these people, come out from among them and be ye separate and I will be your guardian.
He should be my people because I see you. You’re worshiping me
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- The Sar Paras Spirit | Jonathan Cahn SermonTháng hai 27, 2023