← Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Faith Stands Its Ground | Debra Simons | World Harvest Church | Murrieta, CA
00:57:18
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- [00:00]
A
Hi, I'm Grant Dufresne, and welcome to Dufresne Ministries podcast channel. We believe that as you listen to this message, your faith will be stirred and you will be encouraged in whatever you are believing God for today. Stay tuned at the end of this message to find out more information about our ministry.
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B
You know, this church, this ministry is really so precious to our family and to our church. In my developing, God put me under a pastor, but in the ministry, God brought Dr. Dufresne and Pastor Nancy into our lives. And really, they helped us define the offices that we stood in. They helped us develop the teaching and the ministering. Dr. Dufresne always encouraged me on. In what God had called me to do. And, you know, without people like that in your life, you're not gonna make it. And so don't ever discard those people that have helped you. Don't ever minimize their value in their life. Because when you do, you're gonna find yourself in difficult places. Because people that God puts in your life, and they believe in you, they exhort you, they correct you. You know what? We have been corrected a lot by Dr. Dufresne and Pastor Nancy. And not like in an office, across a desk, but when they ministered, we received correction. When they ministered, something that we knew we were doing, we said, oh, that's wrong. We're gonna do this, whatever it was. And so people like that are valuable. And that's why this place is so precious to us. And we highly esteem it. And I tell you that because you should esteem it. This, what God is doing here, to me is very, very unique. And you understand that we were here when this piece of ground didn't have a building. And Dr. Dufresne would come and say that he would talk to the land, and it may have not come up when he thought it was going to come up, but he didn't quit. And there's a building here, and there's a congregation here. And I just thank God that he connected us with someone, a family that had the spirit of faith on them. Amen. Let me just give you a little introduction. Since last April, the spirit of God really led me into allowing some of the. We actually have a young man from Bible school that he graduated and he decided to do his third year at home. And what he did was he came and he volunteered the hours that he would have been here in, you know, the third year, he came and he volunteered and he worked with Pastor Johnny and he worked in the church, and, you know, he Wasn't getting paid for any of that, but he felt like that's what God had told him to do. And God used him, really, to ignite a fire in our church to begin to move forward and to do some things. You know, he was around Reverend Stephen for quite a while. And Reverend Stephen, you know, he's not idle very long. You know, he's doing something. And so this young man came back and he started bugging my daughter, my oldest daughter, and said, you know, we could remodel this place. You know, we could.
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We could build desks.
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We could do this, we could do that. Because, of course, he was excited about what he had learned, and he wanted to come home and be a blessing to his local church. So finally, he convinced my daughter to talk to me about remodeling. First of all, our coffee shop, you know, and it included our nursery. And then from there, we went to the sanctuary. But the spirit of God, when she came to me, the spirit of God said, you need to do this, because it's gonna cause the people's faith to begin to be more active. You know, faith is a fact, but faith is an act. And when you begin to move out and do something, you realize how much God is in it, and it begins to encourage your faith, strengthen your faith. So since last April, we had been doing remodeling all the way up to this year. And it's been so good for our church. But really, since that time, off and on, I have been ministering to the people on faith because we're getting ready to purchase a piece of land. And, you know, when God asks you to do something, it's always something that you can't do within. You know, your means, what you can see. And we've learned that over the years, you know, so we're in that situation. And all of this has helped our men and some of our young men, you know, get excited about doing something for God. So since last April, but really last October, I really started dealing with all of the aspects of faith.
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You know, there's a lot of things.
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That go into your faith. The developing of your faith, the acting on your faith. And, you know, worship is part of your faith.
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You know, giving is an expression of your faith. It's an expression of worship, but it's.
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An expression of your faith that you.
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Believe God is your source and your supply.
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And so we've been dealing with all kinds of things. It's a subject that, you know, you. You never lose anything to teach in it because it's confession it's standing on the word. It's all these things. And so I've been going through all this different. These different things. And I heard Dr. Sumrall on a message, and he said that one day he cried out to God and he said, you know, I want more faith. I want more faith. I want more faith. Increase my faith. And, you know, God just told him, you know, be quiet or, you know, shut up. He said, you know, everything you need to know about faith is in Hebrews 11. And so he said, I went there, and I began to saturate that. And I thought, well, if that was good enough for, you know, Dr. Sumrall, certainly that's good enough for me. So I started getting into that. And, you know, when you start reading about, you know, the hall of faith, but in Hebrews 11, it's Acts of faith that are recorded and therefore our example. And so I've been in that vein up to now. But today, when I was getting quiet and listening to the Lord, the Lord spoke this to me, and he said, you know, faith stands its ground. And sometimes we have to be reminded that when we're moving out with God.
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And we know that God's told us.
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To do something and we're flowing in that direction, the enemy is going to try to stop us automatically, there will be hindrances, and faith always stands its ground. Amen. So let me take you first to Second Kings, chapter four, starting in verse eight. You know where we're going.
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When I look at a life of.
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Faith in the Old Testament now, there's several of them, but the one that God has ministered to me over and over and over and over is this passage. And when I begin to read it, it just opens up. It's almost like a movie. And I can put myself in it because, you know, you should do that in the word of God in the Bible. You know, when I used to, you know, read about Abraham and he walked out and he looked at the stars, you know, I could imagine myself and God talking to me like that. You know, I've got a hope and a future for you that you know nothing about. And if you just follow me and you'll stay with me, I'll bring everything to pass that I have in your life, you know, prepared for your life.
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And so when you get.
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When you get the Word, you should get into the Word. So the Scripture says, Second Kings, chapter four, starting in verse eight. One day, Elisha went to Shunem. A prominent woman of the city invited him to eat. And afterwards, whenever he passed that way. He stopped for dinner. She said to her husband, I'm sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man. It's a holy prophet. Excuse me. This is the living translation. Let us make him a little room for him on the roof. We can put in a bed and a table, a chair, a lamp. And he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by. I always love going to those passages because this is the King James says. She said she perceived he was a man of God. When she perceived that this was a holy man of God, she recognized that there was an anointing on him. The most automatic thing happened. She decided to give. The anointing moves you to activity. The anointing will not leave you inactive. When you come and you hear an anointed message, it stirs you to do something. It stirs you not to be the.
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Same, but to act on what God.
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Has ministered when that anointing's on it. And so you understand, she recognized this.
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Is a holy man of God.
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We gotta do something. And, boy, I appreciate that.
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Because some people, you know, they think they're operating in faith, but they're not doing anything. Faith has an act. If you believe God said something, you.
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Gotta be doing something with what he said. Now, don't get me wrong. I understand, and I've been dealing with our congregation a lot about this. Sometimes an act of faith is confession.
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We start there.
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But I'm going to tell you something, that it doesn't end there.
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It's the starting place. It's what gets that truth on the inside of you. You say it and you say it.
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And you say it.
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But at some point, you're going to.
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Have to do something about it or.
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It'S not going to come to pass. And this is what I love when.
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I see this woman.
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The minute she recognized, this is a.
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Holy man of God, we got to do something.
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How many of you know that's what.
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Happens when the anointing comes?
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When the anointing comes and it begins to speak to you and deal with you.
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And the anointing begins to say, you.
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Know, this is right, this is wrong.
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You know your heart says, I gotta do something.
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I can't tell you.
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Well, let me just tell you this one testimony. When Dr. Dufresne and Pastor Nancy came. When Dr. Dufresene came the first time to our church, we had had him in meetings that we used to do in hotels and big conferences and stuff. Not big conferences, but it was a big deal. To us, but wasn't millions of people. But anyway, clarify that. Don't want to embellish. It was just like a big event is really what I meant. So anyway, when he came to our church for the first time, you know, I. I mean, I wanted to make sure that we gave him a worthy offering. You know, here was a man, he's flying in with a plane. We had never had anybody like that in our church. And of course, you know, I recognize this is a man of God. You know, we. We really have to do our best financially, you know, so, you know, when I got up to, you know, take up our offering, I said, now, for those of you that you know are gonna give an offering, you know, this is my ignorance. I go for those of you that are gonna give an offering and you only have one offering. I wasn't talking about the tithe. You only have one offering to give. I said, put it in, Dr. DeFranes. I mean, I wanted these people to understand we want this man blessed. That was my intention. It was incorrect speaking. Pastor Nancy, when she was getting up to do the books and everything, you know, she would get up and, my God, that was something else. She would get up and she would begin to start talking about the books, and it was like a message. You're just like, huh?
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You're writing all this stuff that she's.
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Saying about every book, you know, like, oh, my God, I gotta get that, but I gotta get these nuggets, too. So she gets up and she says, you know, very. Just very nicely, very gently, she says, you know, let's remember the word of God says that we have enough to give to every good work. And I went, I stand corrected. Like, you know, you know, stupid.
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Now you know. Now listen, I didn't go to her.
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You know, people do this to you. They go to you and you go.
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Oh, what you said to me, you.
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Know, like, I know you were talking to me almost like, I know you knew my situation and you were. You were digging me. I'm not talking about someone saying you really ministered to me, you know, but.
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Some people go, all right, I got the message.
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You know, I mean, I'm talking about church congregations. I didn't go up to her and say, you know, well, I guess, you know, you put me straight or something.
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No, you just take the correction, make the adjustment and move on. I mean, I realize that's right, you know, I mean, I go, oh, God, that's right.
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We do have enough to give to every good work.
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And I'm Limiting them by giving them an option. Now, I was sincere, but I was sincerely wrong. You understand? I'm limiting them.
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You know, I know my people, listen, if you only got enough to give, give it to the big man. We'll work everything else later, you know, but it was wrong.
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And I'm so thankful that she didn't let it go. Now, don't get me wrong, she did.
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Not come up with an attitude like, you know, you know, this dumb little Mexican girl, let me help her out.
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You understand?
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That's not.
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Pastor Nancy. There was something that was incorrect.
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And so she said, let's remember that the word of God says we have enough to give to every good work. I went, that's right, that's right. Just, those words will limit people. When they'll go, well, do it.
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No, you do. And if you have to give again, you give again. You just keep believing. And I'm telling you what I appreciate, being under someone that won't let things go. Now you understand what I'm talking about. That when they see that there's something.
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That needs to be corrected, that that correction comes.
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I'm thankful for that because I begin.
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To think about that. And, you know, no one said this to me, really. It's like I came to this realization, I'm limiting them. I was trying to do something out of a good motive, but it was wrong. I'm limiting them. I don't want to do that. And I listen. I said, lord, forgive me, we all have enough faith to give to every good work. So that was just a little rabbit trail there for you anyway. So she said, let's make a room. Then once, when he was resting or enjoying in the room, he said to his servant, Gehazi, tell the woman I want to speak to her. And so, as the dialogue goes, he calls her in and he finds out what she needs. And he declares, you're going to have a son by this time next year. This is this woman's heart's desire. This is promise. This is a fulfillment of something. And haven't we been in places where we knew God was taking us to a place? And, boy, here we are. But what we don't realize, and sometimes it's easy to forget that even when God does something, the enemy is always trying to take it from us. That's what we have to be sober about.
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Not fearful, just sober.
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And so let's go down to verse 18. One day, when her child was older, he went out to visit his father, who was working with the reapers. He complained about A headache, and the son was moaning in pain. His father said to the servant, carry him home to his mother. So he took him home and his mother held him on her lap. But around noontime, he died. She carried him up to the bed of the prophet and shut the door. Then she sent a message to her husband. Send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can hurry to the prophet and come right back. You understand? She was holding this, her son in her arms, and he died. How much more real is that? You know, how real are those circumstances to her? At that point, she's holding him in her arms and he dies.
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But you know what?
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She doesn't lay down and have a pity party. She doesn't feel sorry for herself. She doesn't get mad or complain. She's not frustrated. Why? Because this woman knows how to stand her ground. Now I'm going to say something. God has been getting us ready for something. And one of the ingredients that we better have secure is that we know how to stand our ground so that things will turn and come in line with the promise of God or the will of God or the plan of God. And we, we need to not take the devil's actions and make them personal. You have an enemy and he's looking around. And what you need to understand is.
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You are well equipped to have victory.
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Over him at all times. So at noontime, he died and she took him home. And she told the servant, you know, she told her husband, where am I? She carried him up to the bed of the prophet and shut the door. Then sent a message to her husband, send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can carry him, so that I can hurry to the prophet and come right back.
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Why today?
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He asked. This isn't a religious holiday. But she said, it's important. I must go. So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, hurry. Don't slow down for my comfort unless I tell you. As she approached Mount Carmel, Elisha said, Elisha saw her in the distance and said to Gehazi, look, that woman from Shunam is coming.
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Run and meet her and ask her.
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What the trouble is.
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See if her husband is all right.
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And if the child is well. The prophet said, find out what's wrong. She did not tell her husband why she was going. Do you understand? She did not speak the circumstance. Yes, she told Gehazi, everything is fine. Or the King James says, all is well. What did she do? She answered it. Hasn't that what Pastor Nancy been telling us?
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Answer it. She Has a boy that absolutely dies in her arms. And she doesn't run and tell her husband about it. She goes to the source, the anointing. She goes back to where the promise came from and she says, everything, all is well, you understand? She was standing her ground. And really we need to remember this, that in walking out the plan of God, there are going to be places in our life where we're going to.
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Have to stand our ground.
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We're going to have to say, doesn't.
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Matter what it looks like, doesn't matter what it feels like. What matters is what God said. We just sat down with the owner of the property that we want to buy and we asked him for some time. He gave us a contract, wonderful contract, but he wanted a third of that money down, which was over a million dollars. And we didn't have a million dollars in the bank. And so we wanted to make sure that we could have some time to come up with the money or even finance it all ourselves, you know, if he would give us this price. And so we sat there with him and just, I think I testified the other day, just in a few minutes, he basically said, what do you want? We said, well, we want to buy some time. And so, you know, he said, you.
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Know, well, you know, give me an offer.
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And so we offered him $25,000 non refundable for six months. And he just took about a second and he said, all right, I won't do this for anybody else, but I'll do it for you. Now. We had a miracle offering when Reverend Roberts came to our church. And so we had that money in the bank. So I mean, that was a miracle in itself. But they drew up the papers and they said, you know, we want you to sign the papers so we can, you know, put this into effect. And of course we thought, sign the papers and give them the check, we've got the money.
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When they, when our guy called over.
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There and said, you know, you've given us instructions, we sign the paper, we get it back to your office by the third, you know, which is, I think Friday. And. But we need some instructions on the check. Who do we make it out to? And I don't really know that much about, you know, developing and buying and building. I don't know that much. So I didn't know if this was common practice or not. But the owner said, you don't have to give the money right now, you can do it at the end of the term. And of course our guy goes, I have dealt with this man, this is not something that he does.
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So we go, oh, all right, well, we got a miracle.
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But in the meantime, listen, since January, the enemy has been trying to just.
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Mess with our finances. I mean, I looked at my daughter and I said, you know, what if we, you know, this isn't our first rodeo. If we hadn't have been around the.
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Block a couple of times, we would.
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Think that this is not the right time to move ahead. Because that's what the devil likes. He likes to manipulate situations. So in your mind, you will stop believing what you know God's already said. And that's the thing that you have to remember. Once you know in your heart what God has said, you've got to stand your ground on the word of God. And listen, the more you do it, the easier it becomes. I mean, literally, you're just. You're just laughing. You're like going, we're getting miracles with this land guy. And literally, in the natural. It doesn't look like we should be wanting to buy anything else. It's a lot bigger. But that's how God does things. Why? So you can't take the credit. You weren't that smart. You weren't that cute. You know, you didn't have all that.
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In a bag of chips.
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It's God and God alone. And I appreciate that about God, but.
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I've seen him do some things before where it just looked so impossible. But he made the impossible possible.
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And that's what he's doing again for us. So listen, if you're at a place where it seems like it's tough, what's God been telling us to do? Rejoice, Laugh, Worship. Why? Because we know that what he said, what God has said, is going to come to pass. And no situation, no circumstance is going to stop us. It's not going to make us draw back. We have come too far. We have been through too much. We have seen God move too much on our behalf. Think that God's not going to move now. And this is what I love about this woman.
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She didn't have the Holy Ghost, but I'll tell you, she didn't have any quitting sense. Dr. Frank used to preach a message.
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You can't keep a good man down if he just keeps on coming. Remember when he used to teach that.
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You just gotta keep going, don't draw back. So he said, so. But when she. Verse 27. But when she came to Elisha at the mount, she fell, well, she said, all is well. So when she came to. To Elisha, at the mountain. She fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. I love that. She just threw herself down on the ground and she just grabbed his legs. Now I could see myself doing something like that. Bless God. I told you, don't mess with me about a son. I've been wanting a son for so long and now I got him and he died. I'm getting him back.
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There is no way that it was God's will for me to just have him the time that I had him. The Bible said she grabbed hold. Listen, that's what standing your ground does. It just grabs hold and it just refuses to accept the circumstances that are contrary to the will and the word of God.
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And listen, you better have some tenacity, Dr.
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Rain. You say you can't be a lily.
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Livered and that we used to say, lily.
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Listen, the faith life is not for the weak. The faith life is not for the indecisive. You have to make a dedication to live this life and to live it all the way through until you see all the promises fulfilled in your life. Because let me just tell you something. There's nothing better out there in the world. There's nothing but heartache. There's nothing but. But. But depression, oppression and lack. There isn't anything out in the world that you should be tottering. Where the, where the word and the will of God is. There is no comparison.
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Listen, I'm telling you what. I got some young kids coming up in our church and man, I mean I just got to preach like a house of fire at them because they.
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Are not experienced and they don't know the value of living right. They don't know the. The value of standing their ground where their flesh is concerned. They're so young, they're so ignorant. They're just wet behind the ears. They don't know what they're playing with. They don't know where it'll take them. There isn't anything to forfeit. Forfeit your birthright out there. Nothing at all. There ain't nothing but heartache and death. Death and disease and lack. And when you come into the house of God and you treat it like it's an option. When you just have a disdain for it. Like it's. I mean whether I'm here, I'm not here. You ain't never been that hungry. You know when, when a kid would.
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Come to the table at my parents table and they would pick at their food, my dad would say, you have never been hungry.
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Because you know what? When you're hungry.
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You're not picky.
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And that was an insult to my father. That came from a family that was so big, sometimes they couldn't put anything on the table for all of them. And for the young kid to get on the table and act like, I don't like that, I don't like that. He said, listen, when I was little, I just wanted some food. I didn't care what it was. Let me tell you something. You better get hungry if you're gonna move on with God. God's taken us someplace. And how dare you. How dare you act like this is the greatest time in our lives, that we're not on the threshold of seeing such a great revival and you want to throw it away for your flesh, for your fleshly appetites, for your own way of thinking.
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You haven't been around God enough.
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I'm going to tell you something.
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The anointing and the presence of God can give you a bigger high than you've ever had. I'm going to tell you something.
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Intimacy in God surpasses anything that the world and flesh can offer. The supernatural operating in your life. Oh, listen, there ain't nothing out there that's better than the supernatural operating in your life. God told me one time to step off my job and step up my salary. And he said, I want you to go work at the church, and I want you to tell the pastor that you're not going to take a salary. And I said, well, God, how am I going to get paid? He says, I'm going to bring the.
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Money through your husband's business.
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Up to now, it's not been enough to sustain it. But you watch, you do what I say and see what I won't do. And you know what he did exactly that.
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I'll tell you what, you can't get that at no bar.
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You can't get that at no crank house. You can't get that at no drug place. You can't get that. You can't get that, you know, snuggled up to somebody in a bed of immorality. You can't get that there. No way. That is so minimal compared to the supernatural movement of God in your life.
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You need to be hungry for it.
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He offers us so much. And you know what he knows that.
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There'S a devil out there. And he knows that he's trying to trip you up.
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And he's giving you every tool to be successful and every tool to overcome. All you got to do is pick it up and take it. Now, I'm gonna Tell you something.
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Any of you gun carriers in California you tell me that somebody's gonna break in your house and you ain't going for your gun. You tell me you're not.
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Well, then why, when the enemy comes.
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In and tries to steal your future.
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You don't pick up your weapon against him and annihilate him. He's not bigger than you. He's not badder than you. Remember Old bad Leroy Brown? Remember that song?
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Bet you could sing it, brother. Listen, he ain't no Leroy Brown and he ain't no junkyard dog. Not compared to the tools that we have. But it's funny.
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This generation, if they don't get it.
- [31:33]
B
They don't know how to stand up against the wiles of the devil.
- [31:36]
C
And they don't know how to stand.
- [31:37]
B
Their ground and resist that temptation in their flesh.
- [31:41]
C
They are so unskillful.
- [31:46]
B
And so emotional and they gotta get out of that mess. And I'm gonna tell you something. I got a lot of kids in.
- [31:53]
C
My church that are like that. And I'm not mad at them. Trust me, I'm not mad at them. I love them. I want them to fulfill their plan. But they're gonna have to get a clue. We're not here by accident. We're here on purpose. We're here because when the pressure came, we didn't cave into it. Listen, it's not that we didn't do it without mistakes. There ain't anybody that'll tell you they.
- [32:19]
B
Didn'T do without mistakes. I made plenty of mistakes myself.
- [32:21]
C
But you know what? I didn't have no place else to go that was better than this.
- [32:24]
B
So I got myself off.
- [32:25]
C
I repented, I dusted myself off. I just kept on going. Not gonna do that again, Lord.
- [32:32]
B
Sorry.
- [32:34]
C
I was a fool.
- [32:34]
B
Sorry.
- [32:37]
C
But I ain't getting out. I am not getting out. I'm sticking with it. I wanna stand my ground. I love what Dr. Frane said one time. He said, when a voice tells you to do something, it doesn't work out. Just don't listen to that voice again.
- [32:49]
B
Listen to the right voice. I love that.
- [32:52]
C
I go, oh, okay.
- [32:53]
B
I. She grabbed hold of his feet and the Bible records it. She said, oh, man of God, I'm not leaving without you. He was trying to send the servant to go and raise him from the dead. And she said, oh, no, I'm not leaving. I am not leaving without you. I am not leaving without my miracle. I am not budging from here until.
- [33:17]
C
You go with me and do the work. I Am not leaving until that anointing.
- [33:23]
B
Comes and it fixes this.
- [33:25]
C
I am not going to stop confessing.
- [33:26]
B
Until that situation changes.
- [33:28]
C
I am not moving. I am not moving. I am not moving.
- [33:33]
B
I'm not.
- [33:35]
C
We got to learn how to stand our ground.
- [33:37]
B
And this. I'm going to tell you something.
- [33:38]
C
If you know how to stand your ground, then you just get better.
- [33:40]
B
Get more skillful at it.
- [33:43]
C
Get to where standing your ground doesn't bother you anymore. Get to where you can laugh at it and say, how long do you think you can hold out? Because I'm gonna stay here forever. Do you know the devil knows when you won't budge? He's always pushing, thinking that he can get leverage.
- [34:00]
B
But he knows when you've made that determination, when you say, I don't care.
- [34:04]
C
What it looks like. I don't care how long it takes, I'm not budging. I'm gonna see the plan of God. Not gonna do anything different. I'm going to have what God says. He knows at that point he has to back up.
- [34:21]
B
You got to stand your ground until he does. I don't care if he comes to.
- [34:25]
C
You with thoughts and temptations.
- [34:27]
B
You stand your ground and say, that's not my thought.
- [34:30]
C
I'm not taking that thought. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. And, you know, these young people, they.
- [34:35]
B
Don'T know how to have, you know, like, they don't know how to. What do we used to call them? Like prophetic gestures. We used to call them that. Like gestures. You know, we used to do things like, you know, stand on our Bible, you know, as a declaration, you know, God, I'm not getting off of your word.
- [34:51]
C
You know, they may have been silly.
- [34:55]
B
But they were things that we did to express our determination. Now I'm telling you, we didn't do it publicly in front of people. You know, people go, oh, what a fool. No, no, you don't mean it privately.
- [35:06]
C
Have you ever done that? Have you ever gotten that word and gone, can you see this? Can you see this? I'm not getting off this. I'm not getting off that. We used to do that.
- [35:17]
B
Now people are too cool. They're just cool. You know.
- [35:23]
C
Go ahead and be cool.
- [35:24]
B
Until you get hot. I'm not talking about on fire, for God.
- [35:30]
C
The cooler you get, the closest closer.
- [35:31]
B
You get to hell on Earth, because.
- [35:37]
C
That'S all the devil offers.
- [35:39]
B
And I'm going to tell you something. If you've not settled that in your mind. You better settle it. Listen, how many people. No, how many interviews do we have to have on television where they go in and they interview a prisoner and he tells you, if I didn't know what this is like, I'd have taken a different life? I mean, those are. Some of them have some sense. How many people that have gone the wrong way and have actually said it wasn't worth it do we have to listen to before we realize it's not the way to go? I'm just talking about in the natural.
- [36:11]
C
Well, how many people do we have.
- [36:13]
B
To listen to that have gotten the.
- [36:15]
C
Victory until we realize that victory is better. Living for God is better. Sold out to God is better. Surrendered to God is better.
- [36:30]
B
It's better. It's better. So she said, oh, no. She caught his feet. Gehazi began to push her away. But the prophet said, let her alone. Something is deeply troubling her, and the Lord has not told me what it is. Then she said, it was you who said I'd have a son. And I begged you not to lie to me. Then he said to Gehazi, quick, take my staff. Don't talk to anyone along the way. Hurry. Lay the staff on the child's face. But the boy's mother said, I swear to God that I won't go home without you. I'm not leaving here until you come with me. And the end of that is that she got her son raised back from the dead. And what does that tell us? That no matter what the devil manipulates to let you think that it's gone or it's dead or it's undone, if you stand your ground, you can reverse it. She got her son restored to her.
- [37:41]
C
So people don't understand. We can get it back. We don't care how far it goes. If you stand your ground, we can get it back.
- [37:49]
B
And you know what?
- [37:50]
C
It's time for us to believe God, to get it back. My daughter and I, we were talking about all of the seeds that we've.
- [37:57]
B
Sown financially to projects and all kinds of other things.
- [38:02]
C
We said, you know what? We have sown that our harvest would.
- [38:08]
B
Take care of this land.
- [38:10]
C
Our harvest would build this building. We started speaking to those seeds. We said, God, we sowed into an airplane. We've sowed into a building. We sowed into another building. We sowed into bricks, into blocks, into eagles. And we have sown and sown and sown. I'm not letting that go to waste. Now it's time for my Harvest. And I don't care what God's got, got to do. I'm calling on those seeds. We have planted plenty of seeds in the ground. And I'm going to tell you something. As soon as you start watering those seeds, they spring up. Come on, what have you planted? What have you done that you know, you haven't received a, the, A harvest, you know, in comparison to the measure. Listen, we've been blessed, but we have.
- [38:59]
B
Not received a harvest according to our sewing yet.
- [39:02]
C
Not to the degree.
- [39:05]
B
Amen. I don't know about you, but I'm standing my ground for it. And so. Oh, let me see, did I go to get to my notes? Go to Ephesians 6, 6 and 13, amplified translation. Therefore, put on God's complete armor that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day of danger.
- [39:38]
C
And having done all, I love this. The crisis demands. Having done all, the crisis demands to stand firmly in your place. Stand, therefore. Now you go.
- [39:55]
B
We were in a tough place financially and I was looking at the scriptures way back. We were not pastors, may have been associates. And I was, you know, you know, you're talking to God, you're believing God, and then you come across this scripture and you go, it tells you when you've done all to do. Stand, you know, stand therefore. Well, why would it have it this many times when you've done all the circumstances demands to stand. Stand therefore. Oh, there's going to be a little time in my standing. Oh, okay, now that wasn't actually music to my ears at that point at that stage of my life. But I realized, okay, I get it. I've done, I've sown, I've confessed the Word. Now I have to keep standing and believing and stop wondering why it hasn't shown up. See, if you're wondering, you're not standing. If you're grumbling, you're not standing.
- [40:58]
C
If you're disappointed, you're not standing.
- [41:01]
B
If you're mad, you're not standing.
- [41:03]
C
If you're worried, you're not standing. If you're fearful, you're not standing.
- [41:10]
B
The only way you know you're standing is when you get yourself into joy. And always remember, joy is of the spirit, it's not of the flesh. You can put that flesh down by drawing on that joy on the inside. See, the flesh and the mind is not the real you.
- [41:32]
C
You get that?
- [41:33]
B
So listen, if you're feeling upset, that's not the real you.
- [41:38]
C
It's not the real you.
- [41:40]
B
The real you is Your spirit man.
- [41:42]
C
So do something with your spirit man to shut down that mind and shut down that emotions. Now, the mind and the emotion will.
- [41:49]
B
Tell you that it's the real you. This is what you want. That's what it'll tell you. This is who you are, and this is what you want. That's a lie. That's a lie.
- [42:04]
C
Don't keep believing the lie and not stand your ground.
- [42:09]
B
Listen, I don't care if, you know.
- [42:11]
C
Depression or sadness tries to get in my emotions. I begin to tell myself, no, I'm.
- [42:17]
B
Not gonna be sad. I'm not gonna be upset.
- [42:19]
C
I'm not gonna be depressed. And that's not the real me. Faith is of the heart, and my heart is intact. And so I just keep talking until.
- [42:31]
B
Those feelings and those emotions run off. That's what I'm talking about, standing your ground. And some of this younger generation need to hear it from us. Stand your ground. Stand your ground. You know what God says, don't stop believing it. You know, just right after we got together with Dr. Frank and Pastor Nancy, we knew we had stepped over into a new phase of our ministry. A new phase in our life, a new phase in our church. I'm going to tell you something. The enemy attacked us, and some of family members decided to backslide and leave. And people that really could have been very vital, you know, to what we were going to do. And, you know, when that happens, you.
- [43:16]
C
Know, you want to feel.
- [43:17]
B
The devil wants you to feel shame that someone left the things of God.
- [43:24]
C
And, you know, finally I just had.
- [43:26]
B
To, you know, I just had to, you know, kind of grab ahold of.
- [43:29]
C
Myself and go, no, I'm fighting the good fight of faith. I want people to come along and I want them to fulfill the plan of God. But I didn't fail because they didn't take their tools. And the devil wants to put reproach.
- [43:51]
B
On you or some stigma.
- [43:53]
C
And you even have to resist that. You're not standing your ground if you're feeling sad, you know. And I mean, I just learned over.
- [44:00]
B
The years, listen, some people are gonna.
- [44:02]
C
Pick up their equipment and go with.
- [44:03]
B
You, and some are not.
- [44:04]
C
And I'm not gonna get emotionally, you know, involved in that because I was so passionate about people not messing with the world.
- [44:13]
B
It would try to hurt me.
- [44:14]
C
You know, just these kids, like, oh, they don't know what God, they're just.
- [44:17]
B
Making such a mistake. They don't know what they're doing.
- [44:18]
C
And I would carry that at night. Then, you know, I would go God.
- [44:22]
B
Could I preach something different?
- [44:23]
C
And, you know, I'd go through my.
- [44:24]
B
Notes and go, well, I preached the word, I did this, I did that.
- [44:27]
C
So, you know, the devil wants you.
- [44:29]
B
To put everything on you so you don't shine a light that it's him. And, I mean, listen, I told my.
- [44:38]
C
Family, I said, you know what, faith?
- [44:40]
B
People get struck out.
- [44:44]
C
And you know what?
- [44:45]
B
We're just going to use this as a badge.
- [44:48]
C
You know what I mean?
- [44:49]
B
This is a battle scar.
- [44:51]
C
But the intent that the enemy had for that blow never came to pass because we didn't quit and our family didn't quit.
- [45:03]
B
That's standing your ground. When you stand your ground, you get things restored. You get things restored. That's what God wants to do. You know, God is a God of restoration. We cannot forget. He is a God of restoration. He. He wants to restore things into our lives. But those of us that have had any type of experience at all, we're going to have to teach others how to stand their ground when the enemy attacks. And I'm not talking about looking for attack. I'm just talking about these scrimmages that he plays that he manipulates situations and scenes and stuff and tries to get us to second guess what we've heard God say. That's what he tries to do. And so here the Bible says, stand when you've done everything you know the circumstance requires, the crisis demands, stand, stand, stand. Don't let the devil take you off course. And listen, even if you've missed it, oh, my God. You know, the scripture says.
- [46:11]
C
Rejoice, O.
- [46:12]
B
My enemies when I fall, why I shall arise. Listen, you may have even taken a blow and been knocked down, but you know what? You're not knocked out.
- [46:26]
C
Get up. If you gotta repent, repent. And then make a determination. You know what? He might have given me a sucker punch. But I tell you what, I'm gonna be ready for next time. You know, I have always preached all.
- [46:40]
B
My mistakes to my congregation.
- [46:42]
C
And then I heard someone say, you really shouldn't tell people all the mistakes.
- [46:45]
B
You make because then they're not gonna have confidence in you. And I go, oh, well, I missed that. But anyway, I always tell them, if I make a mistake and I let you know the steps and the process that happened to me, I'm hoping that it will enlighten you.
- [47:01]
C
But along with that, I want you.
- [47:02]
B
To know that I'm still here.
- [47:05]
C
Because what the devil meant for bad, and no weapon formed against me shall prosper. He attacked me. He duped me. He wanted me to quit, but I didn't do it. When I came to myself and I got right, I just kept on going.
- [47:24]
B
I kept standing my ground. And that's what the spirit of God was saying tonight. You got to know how to stand your ground. And let me tell you something. If you know you're not standing your ground, then you gotta make a decision. Everything in God starts with a decision. You decide you're not gonna be broke anymore. And when that decision, you start looking in the word of God and you start seeing all the scriptures that talk about God's provision and stuff. I had to make that decision. You make a decision, you know, on another part of the Word and what do you do? That decision will cause you to activity. It'll cause you to do something. I remember thinking, you know what? It's not good anymore. I mean, I've been going with God for a while, but it's like God, there's somewhere here that I'm not making the right connection. Because for all my giving and for all my faithfulness, and don't get me wrong, we had a lot of wonderful miracles. But I said, God, it's still from month to month to month way back. And I said, I'm not doing something right. And when I got into the Word and I started talking to God, God said, unbelief. I said, unbelief.
- [48:46]
C
God, I mean, I give, I believe you.
- [48:48]
B
I mean, I've seen you. He says, no, there's an element of unbelief there. You can believe me to give, but you have a difficult time really believing me to receive. And so I had to go into the word and get that unbelief out. You know, you can be doing the right thing and just still have unbelief. But you understand, when I made a determination and I tell our church, really it started with just a lot of people that came out of just poverty. We had a lot of mothers that came in the beginning and they were all on welfare and all that stuff. Listen, I don't know if there is somebody on some assistance. I really don't know about it as you mean. I mean, you know, this cycle of assistance, you know, sometimes, you know, there'll be a breakup in the family or something and somebody will have to go for a little while to get. Get something and then they get a job and they get right back on. I'm talking about somebody being addicted to assistance. And we had to teach these people how not. That's not their source, you know, so in all of that, I would have to, you know, I would have to tell them this is what I did. I made a determination that the Word was true. And somehow my life was not experiencing what that word said. I gotta find out why, because the word is true and my life is incorrect. And I said, when you make that determination, we're not gonna live like this anymore. We're not gonna always be having to, you know. You know, looking over our shoulder. We're not living. I go, then you're gonna get in the Word. And when you get in the Word and you get that Word in you, things begin to change. Now, me wrong. There's always different levels of prosperity. And every time you're going to take a greater ground, a greater level in prosperity, there will be that. Where the enemy will try to attack that revelation. When you're stepping into something else, it's right at the beginning when you're stepping in that he tries to stop it. Because Jesus said, the gates of hell shall not prevail against what the church he told. He told Peter, upon this rock I shall build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail. But you know, that rock was revelation. When something is real to you, he can't steal it from you. Nothing works when that Word is real to you. And so I tell people, if you want to change the way you live, first make a determination. Make a determination. Once you make that determination, then you will begin to dig into the Word in whatever area it is. You dig into the Word and the Word will enlighten you as to what you've been doing wrong. So if you say, well, listen, I've been failing at standing my ground. Make a determination. Make a determination. I'm not gonna miss out on what God has for me. I am gonna. I am gonna get this. I love Reverend Stevens, come and preach to our church at different times and said, I'm gonna get this. And I'm gonna tell you something that is music to my ears. Cause I think how many people understand that that's what you have to do, that you gotta make a determination. I'm gonna get this. They say, I can have it. I'm gonna get it. And whatever, I gotta change whatever, I gotta rearrange to get in line with the Word so that it works for me, I'm gonna do it. That determination is where it starts. When you want to walk into another revelation, just determine, I'm gonna have that. I'm gonna have that. I'm gonna stand my ground. So like I said, if you have not been. You make a decision tonight and you say, listen, I'm not gonna let anything take me off course. I don't care what's happened, My fault, your fault, fault, the devil's fault, whoever's fault doesn't matter. I'm the one that's responsible, and I'll stand up. And I just. And I own it.
- [52:48]
C
You know, when I made a mistake.
- [52:49]
B
I just own it with God. I say, God, that was my stupidity. Forgive me, but help me. I don't. It doesn't matter. The Bible says that a broken and a contrite heart, he will in no way cast out. When we are sincere, even if it was your mistake, he will help you. He will help you get out. He will help you turn.
- [53:18]
C
Turn it around.
- [53:20]
B
We got into a house, this beautiful home, because of my stupidity. And it was at a weak moment, and I wanted to be living in something nice. And so it was a weak moment for my husband. So. Because he agreed with me, because generally he doesn't. But we got into this gated community, beautiful home. These people got us into it. It was not the will of God. We were there. It was either six or eight months, and it was just the most miserable time in my entire life. Because when you're out of the will of God comes torment. And so in this beautiful house, I was tormented that I wasn't going to be able to close the deal and buy it. And we had a ranch that we were going to sell. And when finally we knew that we couldn't keep going anymore because our ranch wouldn't sell because it wasn't the will of God. And we knew that these people, they have to, you know, they have to close the deal or they have to try to sell it to someone else. It's kind of like a model home. We knew it was all caving in. And I was, you know, this is my house. This is my house. Well, it wasn't my house because it wasn't the will of God.
- [54:20]
C
But I did it myself.
- [54:22]
B
And finally when the guy said, you know, we've been waiting for your buyer to buy so we could make the deal, the down payment and all that. And that's not going through. And the bank's on me now because he was the builder, he says, I got to get him off the books. So my husband said, listen, you do whatever you need to do. If you got to show it and sell it, we're fine, you know, don't worry about us. We made a deal. The person that's going to Buy my ranch. They have, you know, they've been taking their time, and it looks like they're going to fall through. You do whatever you got to do. I'm not going to put you in any hardship. So I realized I have got to do something because I'm not going to have someplace to live. You know what the devil does when you make a mistake? What's your family gonna think? You know, you have bragged so much of how good God is, and God did this and God did that. Listen, you're gonna be out in the streets with your kids, just, you know, looking for a place to stay. I mean, this is the vision that he gave me. And so, of course, you know, Mexicans, you never live out in the street. You just go live with another Mexican, you know?
- [55:16]
C
Cause we all live together when we get into hardship, right?
- [55:20]
B
So please tell me all this. And finally I just said, God, I am so sorry.
- [55:27]
C
I did this. I brought my whole family into this big mistake. Now we've got somebody living on our.
- [55:34]
B
Ranch that we can't even go and.
- [55:35]
C
Get on it until we. Victor, I am so sorry, but I.
- [55:40]
B
Need a place to stay. Now, I owned up to it, and I said I was sorry. And the first thing that God said to me, he said, release it. You've been trying to hold onto it with your faith. Release it. But he said, debbie, don't ever be afraid of releasing something because you do not know what I have ahead for you. And in three days, he had me a better place to live. That we lived peacefully for 11 years until we started to buy property. I made the mistake, but God bailed me out. Why? Because I owned it. And then I said, help me.
- [56:23]
C
Don't ever be so prideful that you can't own up something you've done and then just say, help me. I really want help. But you know what?
- [56:30]
B
I never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever after that, wanted to have something that was not the will of God. Now I walk softly. All right, God. I'm checking. I'm checking. Anytime you put a red light on.
- [56:43]
C
Me, boy, I pull back.
- [56:44]
B
Because I know how that stung. I was looking like a big fool and isn't fun, but it taught me something.
- [56:52]
C
Don't want something that God doesn't have for you. Cause what you've got is so much better. What he's got for you is so much better.
- [56:59]
B
Amen. Amen.
- [57:02]
A
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