← ONE | A Potter's House Church
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Hey, good people, this is Torre Roberts. Blessings to you, and welcome to the ONE Podcast. I'm excited that you're here. ONE is a community of dynamic and vibrant thought leaders, preachers, teachers, and just a community of wonderful people all together. And we're excited to bring you this weekly podcast from our services from ONE in la. If you haven't been the One, I encourage you to check it out. You can go to one the Word one O N E online and find out all about the service times and all about the teachers and all the philanthropic things that we have going. I believe you're going to be blessed to be a part of it. And speaking of being blessed, we're getting ready to get into a teaching right now that I believe is going to bless you. So tune in, enjoy, and I'll be back with you at the end.
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All right, we're gonna jump in, y'. All. I'm so excited to speak this word to y'. All. We're gonna jump to Genesis, chapter 18, verses 9 through 15. And you're gonna see why I'm excited to speak this word. Because today is not a sermon. Today's a prophecy. There's a prophetic word that God is releasing to you in this time and in this season that's gonna take hold because you've been able to recoup your hope. Hallelujah. Mm. So Genesis, chapter 18, verses 9 through 15. And it reads, then they said to him, where is Sarah, your wife? So he said, here in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return to you according to the time of life. And behold, your wife shall have a son. Sarah was listening in the tent of the door, which was behind him. Now, Abraham and Sarah were old. That's rude. Sorry. Like, anytime the Bible hits you with a reed like that. You know what I mean? The Bible said, no, you. You was watching your shows. You were watching the Westerns. Okay? If you got a grandma, you know what I'm talking about. Just walking Miami. Sorry, this again. I'm practicing my method acting. I'm just getting there. Okay, so they were old. And then it says, well advanced in age, which is also rude. You were old and advanced. That's important to note. And it said, and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. So not only were you old, you were advanced in age, and you were past the point in which the thing that you were wanting was possible. See, we make this about age, which is also about age, because the thing that I'm mindful of is this is not a youth Group sermon. So when you have some of our more senior, more mature adults watching online and in the space. Be careful when you retire yourself. And God has not retired you just because the thing didn't happen the way that you wanted it to happen in the lifetime that you happened at Auntie Grandma, whoever it may be. Be careful when you retire yourself because the government says that you can get a discount. This is not a time for you to discount the calling of God on your life because God has a way of allowing the latter days to be greater than your former days. There are things that have been burning on the inside of your heart that God allowed enough time to pass by such that you would require hope and not your own strength. Because if you're able to perform the miracle in the word of God, is it a word from God or is it just you being functional? Be careful when you lodge your capacity above God's authority because you discount the power of God and you make your life harder trying to make something happen that God said would happen. And when you take things into your own hands, like we will see in the scripture, things get messy, but what ends up happening is. Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself. She said, okay, I don't know if that's what it was. We're gonna do different types of. Give me, like, five laughs. You have to practice that. My twin taught me that there's different ways that you have to laugh to capture the moment in the scene. Said, after I have grown old, shall I have my pleasure being my Lord? Being old also? In other words, now that I'm beyond this point where this is possible, now we're gonna do this. Ha ha. That's another laugh. That's two. Okay. And the Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh, Saying, shall I surely bear a child since I am old? Verse 14. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? Mm. At the appointed time, I will return to you according to the time of life, and Sarah will have a son. Another translation would say, about this time next year. That's your prophetic declaration, in case you were wondering about this time next year. But Sarah denied it, saying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid. And he said, no, but you did laugh. That's God being slightly anointed, Betty. But the point is, I want to speak to you from the thought today. Year 24. Year 24. Subtext. About this time next year. Let us pray. Spirit of the living God. Oh, you are the spirit of the living God. You are moving in this place. There is no other response to the presence of the breath of God, the ruach of God, the presence of God, the authority of God, than for life to happen. So, God, we thank you for life. Spirit of the living God, I pray that you would anoint these lips of clay such that the unsearchable riches of Christ would come through me. Father, I pray that they would see all of you and none of me. I pray, Father God, they would forget my name, forget who I am, and just hear a word that was clearly from you in Jesus name. And we all said, amen. You may be seated. Oh, God, you are too. Good question. Have you ever laughed when you weren't supposed to? This whole front row. Have you ever laughed when you were not supposed to? Okay, you know what I mean? This is not the time to laugh. First of all, that's okay. Second of all, I do want to kind of judge you because, like, I'm kidding. I'm totally kidding. I've had this moment myself where I have laughed in a moment where I didn't expect it. And what I have found is that this is actually a response that we have in order to cope with different circumstances that make us feel uncomfortable. In other words, it's a subconscious alarm system that allows the body to manage tension. So if you have a nervous laugh. Now, if you have a nervous laugh and a snort, that adds a different dynamic. And I also want to create safety in the house of God if you have a laugh. That is interesting because God loves a cheerful laugh and things. But the point is, the common causes of this mechanism are an adrenaline surgeon, social discomfort, stress, regulation, and also a defense mechanism. Now, the question that I have is fairly simple, which is God is literally turning to this person, to this woman, this man and woman who have been praying for wanting something that God spoke to them 24 years ago. You see, we come to the text in Genesis 18, but the promise came in Genesis 12. And many of you are familiar with that. So I'm not gonna rehearse it. But basically, God says to Abram, get thee from thy country and from thy kindred unto a land that I will show you, and I will make of you a great nation. And then time passes, and we're at the moment where God is saying, about this time next year, you're gonna have a child. The question that I have is, why would she laugh? And the reason why I think this is important is because we have responses to sacred moments that we have to examine. Some of us laugh, some of us flat out don't believe it. When the word of the Lord comes from this stage or in your time in prayer or in, however, whatever medium God speaks to you, we all have a response. And if you're honest, there have been some moments in your life, in hindsight, that you realize that the response that you had was a reflection of the level of faith that you had at the time. Because the challenge is God sends his word, and he sends it over and over and over and over again. Genesis 12 through 18. God speaks to Abraham multiple times. Okay, pausing here. God will speak to you multiple times about a promise that he has. Footnote. I want you to pay attention in this season. We're just coming through. Q1 of this year of Abundance. It's important to do these quarterly reviews and these quarterly assessments because if you are not tracking progress, then you are floating and you're potentially drifting away from the promise. See, the problem is when you're unanchored to a standard, you can flow anywhere. And though you're on the boat and surviving, that little bit of drift turns into a lot of distance from where you were supposed to be. That's why it's important to check yourself before you wreck. Okay, for those of you who missed that, there was. There was a phrase, check yourself before you wreck yourself. Now get chickadee. Check. Okay. No, I'm sorry. Sorry. That just that blessed my entire soul. I just want a little kid and play. Okay, there's. Sorry. I shouldn't have watched that at the time that I did. I had to confess that. You ever watch a movie that was too. You're not supposed to watch it. You're supposed to watch something else. I grew up with 90s Christians parents, okay? They thought creed was intense. They thought creed was a little bit too much. Creed is a Christian group. Anyways, we'll leave it alone. When we come back to why she laughed, may I submit to you that what we are witnessing is a paradigm shift? A paradigm shift. You see, in psychology and in other settings, this is a phenomenon where deeply held beliefs get overturned because something you thought couldn't happen actually does. Woo. So we're gonna sit here. Question, is it faith? If you think it can happen, and I'm not saying there's a right or wrong answer, I want you to say lot. I want you to pause on that. The challenge for some of you in this season is God gave you the Word. And if you're honest, Sarah, you didn't believe it when the word came. And it was a reoccurring word that more than anything else, became a point of irritation because you did not think that God could do it to begin with. I've never heard this preached before because it comes down to Abram and Sarah both having this belief. Though they were obedient to follow God and to leave, it doesn't mean that they left with the hope and the promise intact within themselves. Do not confuse your momentum and your movement with God, necessarily. For you actually believing the fullness of what God spoke to you that caused you to move. And I don't say that with any level of shame. Hear me. God is so gracious and so good. The fact that you moved, he counted as righteousness. Hey, God, some of you are in this state and had no plan on being in this state. Some of you are in a job online that you had no plan in being in. But because the fact that you moved, God counted as righteousness. I want to pause there and thank God for the movers. Amen. I want to thank you for the fact that you did move. I wanted to thank you for the fact that maybe you made a mistake as you moved. You went here, you drank this, you did that, but you still moved. And God says, even though you may have made some mistakes along the way, the fact that you moved because I have to go to and fro on the earth looking for somebody to show myself strong to. The Bible literally says that. What that suggests is there are not enough people saying God, Lord here, and you're one of them. That's a special class of people. But the challenge with this paradigm shift is when you are confronted with your own unbelief in real time. And God says, I'm gonna do it. There's a bit of a freeze that takes place in this moment. There's a bit of a sense that, oh, wow, I actually have to prepare. I also have to create capacity for the thing that I have wanted but lost faith for. And there's a problem that we face in that space because if we're honest, there's a level of healing that most of us don't invite into our own souls. We don't invite it because it's easier, like Lazarus, to put it in the tomb and put the rock there. But the challenge that many of us face is we serve a God who shifts things. The Bible literally says in Hebrews, chapter 12 that his voice goes into the earth to shake it, with the intention of removing things that should be removed and allowing things to remain that should be remained. Question, what is being removed in your life? What is remaining in your life? You may be in the middle of a paradigm shift. But what ends up happening is we come to this point where we are dealing with, in my view, a scarcity mindset. This is the year of abundance. But I believe in physics, which is to say this notion of equal and opposites, I believe also that the things that God structured in nature, God also structured in the spirit realm. So if it's equal and opposites in the natural realm, then I also believe it's equal and opposites in the spiritual realm. Which is to say that if we're going to have an abundance mindset, equal, the opposite is scarcity. And until you confront the scarcity mindset that you have or have lived with or experienced, here's the problem that you're gonna have. You will come into service, receive a word, you will go out of service, the word falls off. You will come into service and receive the word, and then you will come out of service and the word falls off. Why? Because the word is falling upon a mindset that has not been transformed. You have not renewed your mind to a point where you are not conformed by the patterns of this world, but transformed by the renewing of your mind. So you experience a type of gaslighting spiritually where you receive one promise, but then you deal with the disappointment of the reality because your mind is in a place where you cannot receive the promises of God. And then the enemy is right there accusing you of every single thing that disqualifies you, when in fact, it's not about your being disqualified, it's about the fact that you cannot receive that which you cannot perceive. And the problem that many of you are facing is, if you're honest, that reoccurring word that keeps coming back to you, It's a word they keep sending because it hasn't taken root yet. Ye, God. Thank you, God. And the challenge that we have to face is that reality. And what I love about it is God still says about this time next year. In other words, there are some things that God promises you that he don't need your full faith for. We haven't talked about that. We talk a lot about the kind of blessings where, if I would have just believed more, if I would have just trusted more, if I would have this. There are some things that are so important to God that no matter what your level of faith is, he says this thing must be, I don't care what you believe. I don't care if you believe whether Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit or not. Joseph, I will appear to you and I will tell you, that you will protect this woman, that you will cover this woman, that you will watch out for her, because inside of her is life, and life more abundantly in him was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the same was not from the beginning. Life is contingent upon your ability to recognize a moment of reoccurring words, because God sends reoccurring words to confront your patterns. What we have to deal with is a scarcity mindset. And I'm going to name certain things that reveal that you have a scarcity mindset. You see, a scarcity mindset is the belief, often implicit, that resources are limited and easily lost. So one must protect, compete, or hoard to survive. Footnote. Some of y' all have worked with this person. Respectfully. Some of you may be this person, which is. Okay, there's grace. There's grace. There's grace around the altar. Okay? Have you ever been with somebody who has this kind of mentality where. Hmm. Let me. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Let me pause. Okay. Mm. Has God ever done something good in your life? Okay, question. Has God ever done something good in your life? And you're waiting for it to expire. You're waiting for the shoe to drop. You're waiting for, surely this thing comes with strings. Surely this ain't gonna last. Surely you pray for. For a good and godly man. Okay, maybe he's not as tall as you would like, but that's a separate conversation. But maybe he is. God bless it. I ain't here for it, you know, whatever his vertical blessing or opportunity may be. Okay, you pray for a good and godly man. God brings you somebody who loves the Lord, who supports his family, who will draw boundaries with you when, you know. Because we all, both men and women, we both have those. Like, now, hold up now, you know, like, you ain't gonna just come up on here like that. Now we have some respect and some good conversation. He has boundaries. Maybe he has the resources, but at minimum, he has the vision. Sorry, I'm in somebody's book. Jesus. I'm in somebody's book. Jesus. Won't he do it? Won't he will. Those of you unfamiliar with Won't he do it? It's a cultural expression that suggests that the. That fact. Faithfulness of God. Hey, won't he Will. Is just some extra. That just. That's a little gravy on the side. But you meet this person, and if you're in a good relationship, see dysfunctional relationships. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Dysfunctional Relationships allow you to see the other person. Good relationships allow you to see you and the other person. Because there's a mirror dynamic where when it's healthy, you see the things that are good in them, but then you also see the opportunities in yourself. And if you're honest, because you're so used to scarcity, because scarcity doesn't require an elevation of your mindset, you see this man. And because there's a reflection of things that you haven't confronted in yourself, this is not shade, it's just true. Goes both ways. There is a question and a conversation around your worthiness, because something good in your experience is easily lost. Have you ever had a business idea and because somebody else has something similar, you just stop yours? Why are we walking heavy like this today? Holy Spirit, God, Lord Jesus. Have you ever stopped your progression because you saw somebody else's? Because in your view, there can only be one. Because if you're honest, you have a Highlander kind of perspective. There can only be one. Okay, sorry, that's a lot of 80s, 90s references. It's amazing. Mortal Kombat, okay, But the point is, that's not the sound effect. To be clear, we're going to stick to preaching and being in government and being an executive. We're not going to do acting. I'm going to let that dream go. Point is, have you ever stopped your momentum because you saw somebody else's movement and you did it because you did not think between the two of them, Be it your business, be it the school that you wanted to apply to, be it the shot that you wanted to take. Footnote, for the brothers in this room, gentlemen, assuming you have your things together in a way where you are clear about your vision, you're clear about your walk with the Lord, you're clear about where you're going, even if you're not at the point that you necessarily want to be at. But you offer stability, safety, mental and emotional regulation, your family turns to you. I'm looking at some of these men in this room, and I can read you like a book because you are the standard in your family. When you have that kind of strength, sir, do not allow resources to remove you shooting that shot at that woman of God that God has spoken to you about. Let me tell you why. Number one, do not bring scarcity into the environment of the relationship that you want to lead. Do not invite her into a scarcity mindset, because the environment of your soul becomes the garden with which she experiences life. The healthier the men, the More thriving the women. So, brotha, walk up to her, and if all you can afford to do is take her on the date and you drink water, you better drink that water. And, ladies, if I may. If he doesn't order food, but he's willing to invest all that he has in you, don't let no boo allow you to have no boo, I' ma leave. Church is closed, Monty. Okay. The point is. The point is, this is where the enemy thrives in our relationships. Because you assume that you have to have it all in order to have someone. Footnote. This also applies in the promises of God. You assume that you have to have everything about the business in order to start the business. You assume that you have to have everything to pursue the house that you've been praying for, you've been saving for. And there's resources and maybe there's opportunities for. But because you have told yourself that there's a certain trust threshold, you disqualify yourself before anybody else has an opportunity to say no to you. There's nothing worse than the no we give ourselves. The devil doesn't even have to fight you that hard, because the reality is, you've already said no. In other words, you remember. We've come into agreement with the accusation. And God is saying, I'm trying to confront your scarcity mentality. Because your scarcity mentality is affecting not only your walk with me, it's affecting my purposes on the earth. I didn't give you a promise to make you feel better. I didn't give you a promise to hang on the refrigerator. I did not give you a promise to help you with your childhood and the things that you suffered. Though that's important to me, that is not my motivation for promises. Promises are not a consolation prize. They're a covenant gift. And when you treat them as such, you understand the sacredness of what God speaks to you and why he speaks it to you. You see, the problem is not God. We learn in Psalms 23 that the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. There's another version that says I lack nothing. The Bible says that. In Psalms chapter 50, it says that a cattle on a thousand hills is God's. There's no such thing as lack with your God. There's inconsistency with your timing, but there's no such thing as lack of. But the challenge that we face is that in John 10:10, the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. May I submit something else to you? That he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But he also Comes to delay, we limit the tactic of the enemy to three things. Is he stealing, killing, or destroying? I don't know where that came from. Felt good. Really did. I don't know why the enemy does this, but he does steal, kill, and destroy. Have you limited the tactic of the enemy to, is he trying to steal from me, kill me or destroy me? Or are there other things that he's also doing to try to bring the end and the desire that he has? Because the problem is not necessarily the scarcity mindset that we have. A scarcity mindset is not God's expectation. It is often our experience. I want us to level there, which is to say that if you've lived with lack. Mm. You've adapted to lack. This is adaptive. See, the problem is. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Sometimes the enemy accuses you of things as spiritual that are really environmental. You label it as something that has to do with your walk with the Lord, when in reality, the truth of the matter is you grew up this way. You grew up with, well, the lights are off, but maybe they'll be off next week and beyond next week. Because, like, I want to be mindful. There's extreme poverty that some of us have experienced where you just get used to. Amen. Like, that tire going to be a little wobbly. You know, this window worked, that one. Don't you get used to it? And the challenge for some of us is, if we're honest, we actually embrace and take a level of pride in the adaptation because we confuse resilience with righteousness. And the challenge that we have, beloved, is, just because you're used to something doesn't mean that's what God had for you. There's a difference between portion and providence, you see. I'll share this with you. So our founder, Apostle Tre, he's the founder of this church, but that man is my spiritual father, and I take sonship very seriously. And I was talking with him a few years back. I'd gone through a period of time in my life where we. Within 18 months, my family lost our home to foreclosure, and I was homeless. And then the family that I moved in with, the woman who was my best friend's mom was like my mom, because there's some challenges that I've experienced over my time. And she was mom mom for me. Like, there were some wounds that she was really taking care of and supporting. And she was a single mom on a single income. And we took her to the hospital in November, and there was pains that she was experiencing, but they did not do a thorough examination of her. And in April, I get a call from my best friend, Blake Aaron Balaka, a Ron. Anyways, I get a call from him, and he says, mom, they found cancer, and mom's not going to last a week is what the doctor said. She died four days later. Eight months after that, my biological mom had a mental and emotional crisis and attempted to take her own life unsuccessfully. But then I became basically a single parent to my younger brother, who was 14 and I was 22. There are times, beloved, where you get hit with things you did not expect. And I had that burden that I was carrying where I was waiting for the next shoe to drop. And in one moment, I was talking to Pastor Trey about things that were holding me back because he had offered me a position to work with him. And I was like. And I was in corporate, and I was about to make some good money. Like, you know. You know, when you excited a tithe, like, go ahead, buy a building. Like, you know, we're gonna help people all over the earth with an F. I don't know why you say it that way, but what ended up happening, beloved, is I walked away from that. And I wasn't willing to walk away from what I thought would establish the providence and the covenant over my life, because there's some things that we pursue thinking that will fulfill the thing that God spoke. And I was stuck in that because I was still traumatized, because I had a scarcity mindset. And my spiritual father, our founder, turned to me and he said, charles, I hear what you went through, but that's not your portion. That's not your portion. Question. What is your portion? Not your experience, but what's your portion? And when I say portion, to translate this, I mean the thing that God, before you were formed in your mother's womb, God spoke over your life and therefore resourced for. For your life. Did you know that you're not here by accident? Did you know that every single breath that you take is one that God measured in the atmosphere to make sure that there was the right atmospheric pressure and balance such that you could breathe? Did you know that the God of your salvation literally knows the hairs on your head? 1. And the point is, when we think about the goodness of God, beloved, you have to be careful when the trauma that you experienced becomes the worldview that you carry. And you see even God through that lens. And that's what we're here to confront today. You see, the problem is the pattern. God gives a promise, but then takes you through a process where he in therapeutic terms, kind of in a cognitive, behavioral, therapeutic kind of way, but more so mindset reframing works with you. Now, theologically, we would call this sanctification. I want to really re examine sanctification in a different kind of way because we've treated sanctification as I wear certain kinds of clothes. I don't what was it? Smoke, chew and run with those who do. And all the things the phrases. We treat sanctification as an external thing. May I submit to you that sanctification has far more to do with the inward parts of your mind, body and soul, the inner man, such that when we begin to understand sanctification as healing, not correction. I'm trying to bring y' all into a space because some of you have fought religion because all religion was and was experienced as you is a bunch of do nots rather than be's. Did it ever occur to you that the person that you were partying, smoking, drinking, sleeping with whoever, doing drugs, all the other kind of things. Did it ever occur to you that actually that wasn't the real you? Did it ever occur to you that that was the scarcity mindset version of you that has to have because one of the things of scarcity actually at a biological level is what we call impulsivity that actually leads to addiction. That leads to a whole different other kinds of behavior. So you're not even sure why you sent the text inviting this person over because you didn't necessarily want them to come, but they're here little close. You didn't necessarily want to go out for drinks, but you did. Impulsivity. And hear me, this is not a shame game. I'm trying to put you on to what the enemy does that prevents you from being able to see yourself as whole. Because you're looking at yourself and identifying with the scarce version of you as the true version and the one that God is calling as the one that you have to eventually become, when in fact the opposite is true. This is who you truly are and this is what your environment shaped you to be. And the delta between the two is wholeness and healing and sanctification. What we see in this story is that the presence of God. This is my first point is the I know, I know. We have eight minutes left. I'm gonna get you out on time. I bet you. I bet you I will. I bet you I will. Amen one. Amen. We're here. Abram was 75 years at the time that this promise was given. In Genesis 12:75 years old.1. The presence of abundance does not equal the absence of obstacles. Scarcity rewires you. It fundamentally rewires you. Scarcity, there's a couple different ways that it shows up, but there's what we call tunnel focus, which is we focus on all the things we don't have. There's stress systems that are constantly activated. You're constantly vigilant. Constantly vigilant for my friends. Some of you on this, some of you while you're driving, you can tell when the person behind you is going to get into the next lane. Yes, you can, my brother. Right here. I got you. You walk into a room and know where the exits are. You literally child. I was at Joey's. Yes, it was a blessing with my goddaughter. I'm at Joey's, okay, If you're not familiar, Joey's is a blessing first of all, but it's in a neighborhood where one pray tell does not have to, you know, be so vigilant. You know, people walking around with ice cream, Labradoodles. These are environments that are typically safe. Okay, Jesus, let's see another labradoodle. They're fine. They're wonderful dogs. God creates them. God love them. Point is, I still sat with my back a little, you know what I mean? Just a little bit, just in case. What happens? I don't know. But the point is, when you've experienced these kind of things and scarcities of reality, you adapt to things unconsciously. Your reward processing changes immediate rewards feel better. Some of you buy your wants and beg your needs because your reward system through scarcity has changed how you think. There's a mental load. In other words, you do not have the capacity to think clearly because you're constantly ruminating on what could go wrong. You don't have peace. So you come here. And it's not that you're not spiritual, it's that your mind does not allow you to stop. It's not you not loving God. It's that your mind hasn't been renewed. And because of the trauma and the experiences you've had and the scarcity mindset that you live in, there is no peace that you find necessarily. And if it is, it's short lived. But there's the last one, which is a learned helplessness, which is you have reduced motivation to try new things and believe that effort won't change your outcomes. In other words, why try? It doesn't matter. But abundance is something that is wired into you. Scarcity is something that is adapted and wired into you. In other words, scarcity is something that we experience and something that becomes a part of who we are. Abundance is something we have to wire into ourselves. In other words, it requires some effort quickly. Yeah, that was. There's no gracious way to, you know, Almost, you know, £225 formal football player take down sacred thing. Okay, all right. Point is when we think about abundance, beloved, and here's what I want you to hold. Abundance mentality requires consistent experience of enough. In other words, you have consistent experiences over time of getting your needs met. It's reduced chronic stress. It's rewiring interpretation of patterns. For example, I might lose everything if this fails. And shifting that to this is one of many paths I can learn or create another opportunity. Hear me, this is one of many paths I can learn or create another opportunity. And then the other thing is exposure to non zero sum environments. Which is to say collaboration is an abundance mentality. Stop feeling like you have to do everything by yourself. Let me challenge you theologically. Dr. Anita, we have to clean this up. I'm gonna need you. When we think about God, God is what God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In other words, there's community and there's fellowship. When God said let there be, there was phases and iterations of what he spoke. And all of these things created were interdependent. Question. Why do you think you're different? Why do you think you have to be the only one? May I challenge you that that kind of thought process is found in an archangel who wanted to ascend higher than God because he did not want to to depend on God. May I challenge you? Hear me. I'm not, let's be clear. Disclaimer. I am not calling you demonic. I'm not calling you the weird stuff. I'm saying there is a spiritual mentality that the enemy has lodged in the earth that makes you feel like you have to do things by yourself. Because in a scarcity mindset, I'm the only one I can depend on. On. And God is challenging some of you. The reason why your deals are failing is because they're too small. It would only impact your monthly revenue, not kingdom purpose. And it necessitates people being a part of it. That's. That was, that was worth the price of admission in Jesus name. That's going prophetically. Somebody you're going to read, you're going to take this perspective and you're going to revisit that deal. And God has had partners that he's been Waiting to release to you that you can be trustworthy with, that you can be in business with. And through that partnership, the vision that God spoke is going to come to pass in Jesus name about this time next year. But when we think about this, it takes a level of rewiring. May I submit to you that the journey from Genesis 12 through 18 is God rewiring Abram and Sarai? Could it be that the sanctification process that we see in Scripture from the time that Joseph receives the promise, David receives the promise, it doesn't matter who you are. That the journey in the time that we see is not God being uncruel, it's God rewiring you? Could it be that if you got the thing that God gave you in your scarcity mindset, you would blow it because you do not understand the abundance attached to it? In Genesis chapter 15, what we begin to see. And this is my second point, changed name. Okay, yep, yep. Changed names, changed frames. What ends up happening is we experience a couple things, which is to say that in advance of God changing their names, God has a conversation with Abraham in Genesis chapter 15. And he brings Abram out and he says, as numerous as the stars are in the sky, so shall your descendants be. Abram's response to this amazing. Like, you know, you've seen Aladdin. Like, it's like a whole new world with God, right? You know, I'm not gonna sing it. Cause that's not my gift. But just think about this amazing moment where God says, literally, as numerous as the stars are, that's how big this blessing is gonna be. Do you know what Abram's response is? He says, well, I guess that one of my, I guess cousins, Eliezer, in Damascus, he's gonna have to inherit everything that I have because I don't have a kid. So thank you for showing me the stars, but I don't have a child. This is a great. That's a nice consolation. Wow. Is that the Big Dipper question? And we chuckle. And I've been here before. But hear me pay attention to how you talk to God in response to things that he's speaking to you. Because what I do not want to presuppose is that God is just silent in your life. Let me dispel that God talks to you a lot more than you realize. Because we're not conscious of it. We assume that if it's not a burning bush or an angel, that God is not talking. No, God is constantly talking to you. Question. When he talks to you. What do you say back, God is speaking in terms of abundance, and he shifts the conversation back to scarcity. There's healing in you confronting that in this season. Beloved, if you begin and continue down the same path that you've been on, and I don't mean this as shade, but it is somewhat of a spiritual read. Some of you in this room, your conversations with God are essentially telling him all the things he's not or has not done. And it's not because you're irreverent, you're disappointed, and he's too good for you to turn away from Him. But your situations are so bad that you can't walk fully towards Him. And God is saying, you have to look at the things that I'm speaking to you because there's an abundance mindset and a scarcity mindset that I'm addressing. And after he has this moment with God, God says to him, again, I'm going to do this. And Abram believed it in his heart. Despite his disappointment, he believed it in his heart. And the Bible says God counted it to him as righteousness. The next thing that happens after this, which is so profound, there is an offering that Abram offers to God. Footnote. Be mindful of moments of offering, because if Abram's life tells us nothing else, there is power in what you offer back to God. And after the offering, God begins to speak to him about the things that will happen 400 years from now. The reason why you sowed that seed when you sowed it into this ministry is because there's moments that God is going to be speaking to about the next couple of hundred years. This is not me being dramatic. Some of you, God talks to you in that level, and you feel weird because you're like, how in the world is this being revealed to me? It's because of your offering. And hear me, this is not a financial thing. There's offerings that we give to God that open up supernatural porters. But the thing that I want you all to think about is change names, change frames. Some of you are going through a name change. You see, Abram's name originally was Abram, which is to say exalted father, meaning of high status or noble patriarch. Abraham means father of a multitude. Sarai means my princess or my lady, which represents a personal and restricted dominion. Sarah, however, represents means princess, very similar to Sarai, but it also means mother of nations. Mm. The enemy of your soul seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. But that is not his only aim. The next S word that he tries to get you to do is settle. Abram means exalted father. So you're kind of the blessing that God said, but not fully. Are you willing to settle for a kinda in your life, you know, like, he's kinda a good dude. You know, he's kinda, kinda Luke, but kinda, kinda warm. Some of y' all caught it. Okay? She's such a. Like, this is. Again, this is not trying to reduce this down in relationships. The point is you have to be careful, because in this season, for some of you, prophetically, and I need you to write this down, the biggest temptation that you are gonna face is the enemy's desire for you to settle. In a court settlement, you have two parties who are opposed, and you have one who is trying to make sure that there is a fulfillment of what was supposed to take place. The settlement is never the fulfillment. It's what I agree to. To start this argument. And some of you are in a space where you're dealing with spiritual settling, where God is saying, no, this is what I promised you. And the devil's saying, well, why don't you just take this? And if you're not careful, the settlement that you have is the compromise that you will have to walk in. When we begin to look at Judas through a different lens. Let me invite you into the conversation. Judas thought that he was doing a righteous thing because he was angry about the fact that there was a type of worship that went before Jesus where this salary's worth of ointment went on Jesus feet. And he tried to make it off like there was some kind of righteous indignation that he had. The reality is he was upset because he could have hustled up on some more money because he could have sold that, maybe pocketed because he was stealing the whole time. The challenge for some of you is when you don't understand how the enemy moves in your life. Judas sin was the fact that he settled for silver when he could have had the gold of heaven and the gold in terms of the streets, the gold in terms of the righteousness, the gold in terms of the tabernacle that was dwelling amongst them, tabernacled with God. God would go the tabernacle. He expended that at a settlement to betray the Jesus that we love so much. Footnote. Be careful what you settle for in the season, beloved. But moving from this, I want to bring us to year 24. You see, this is the passage that we find ourselves in as I get ready to close. Amen. Look at God. The point is, like 60% of your audience reengages. When you say, like, I'm about to wrap, you're like, oh, thank God, I get to go to brunch. Okay, Kidding. But when we think about this, this is year 24. God comes to him and says, about this time next year, you're going to hold a son. Some of you. And this is the prophetic declaration. You are in year 24. You've held on for a long, long time. Abram was 75 when he got the promise. He's now 99 when he receives this word. And whether you're a younger person or somebody who's more tenured in life, that's not the point. The point is there is a prophetic release that is taking place in your life where about this time next year, the thing that you, frankly, are so overwhelmed by in terms of unbelief and disbelief is the thing that God is going to do. Hallelujah. It's the thing that God is going to bring forth. It's the thing that God is going to manifest in your life, because it was never about your performance. It was about your belief. If you walk away with nothing today, I want you to thank God for the fact that you still believe. Still believe, believe and have questions, believe and have doubts. But you still believe nonetheless. Because about this time next year, it's coming, y'. All. I saw a post the other day which is to say, if you knew that you were 50 no's away from the yes that you've been waiting for, every no would get you more excited. Mm. If you knew that you were 50 no's away from that one yes, 50, no. Yes, 49. No. Yes, 48. Like, there's an excitement that you have, not at the rejection, but at the proximity that you're getting to the yes. And I hear God saying to you, if you would just remove the scarcity mindset off of your life, I'm not asking you to heal it. That's my job. Because I heal it with my consistency. I heal it with my goodness. I heal it with my ability to show up every single day. And even if it's not what you thought you wanted it to be. Children of Israel, the fact that I brought you from enslavement into freedom because you had a lot of people who were complaining, but then you had a lot of people who witnessed every single day that cloud that would fall over them and create shade and then that fire by night that would keep them warm. See, some of us have that kind of praise, which is. I don't need filet mignon. I don't need croissants. I don't need biscuits. The fact that I'm not somebody's slave anymore. The fact that I'm not addicted anymore. The fact that I'm not drinking alcohol like that anymore. The fact that I'm not partying that way anymore. The fact that I don't invite men into my space and into my body anymore because of affirmation. The fact that I don't seek sex from women for validation. The fact that I do not have that appetite anymore. I'm willing to endure things that taste bland but are actually fulfilling. Nourishment has a way of tasting bland. Be careful when spice causes you to sin where because it tastes good, beloved, and you have an appetite for it, you're enticed by the thing that is actually poisoning you. But then, through the consistency of God, I want you to reframe even your life right now. I want you to acknowledge maybe you're hurt, maybe you're disappointed, maybe the parent walked out, maybe you didn't have. Maybe you went without. But I want you to revisit it. Keep that, but revisit it and say, well, my dad wasn't there, but you know what? God? There was this coach that took me under their wing. Mm. There was this. My mom called me stupid, but there was this teacher that spoke life into me. I was hungry, but there was a neighbor that fed me. I didn't have the gas money, but I swiped the card knowing I didn't have enough money for today, but I was gonna get paid on Friday. And it went through. If you could ever just give God that. Remember how we started, which is that there's that there's God, you are my everything. God, you are my everything. Moments chronicled in your life. Some of you have it today where you know that bullet was for you. You know that that boyfriend who was abusive wanted to take your life. I'm just going to keep it real. We don't do the fake stuff here because you go through enough life. We don't need to placate y' all in here. You know that you overdosed. You know that you could be unhappy in a career but being paid well, but you'd be miserable. You know that you got the deal and got the wealth and still wanted to take your life because there was an emptiness and there's a fulfillment that only comes through God. As we come to this point in the service, I want to do an altar call, and I want you to respond if you feel like call one. Scarcity has scarred you. It scarred you. You still look for that shoe to drop. Something starts breaking. You learn how to adapt without it, because trying to fix it is something you're not used to. You're not even vulnerable, frankly, with your own friends. You show up, you smile, but you hold things because scarcity has taught you that nobody sees you. Scarcity has taught you that nobody cares. Scarcity taught you that you have to adapt. And then, in addition to you having to adapt, you have to adapt and then still worship God. Can I be honest with you? As a pastor, you know what breaks my heart sometimes in service? Having grown up in church. Not this church, but church in general. And I'm not saying this is a negative thing around church if you're not careful. Pastor, you try to hype your people into holiness, and you try to hype your people into holiness at the expense of recognizing their broken hearts and broken souls. Not everybody wants to shout and scream a praise. You should and you can. But some of us are so lamented and broken because we haven't seen the goodness of God in the same way that you see it. Even if God has been equally good in my life, I can't see it because my scarcity mindset prevents me from seeing it. But we serve a God who's so compassionate, where even In Genesis chapter 12, verse 18, they receive a promise, they get a promise, God shows them the promise. Again, as numerous as the stars are in the sky. You're gonna have a child. They take that information like, we're gonna have a child. Awesome. Hey, Gar, come here. Like, this is just wild, the way that they try to fix stuff and make it happen. And despite the dysfunction, despite the decisions, God still chooses them. May I tell you that God still chooses you. You're still chosen. You're still his. And the promise that he keeps on speaking to you is still on. But the question I have to offer ask you today is, are you willing to release the scarcity mindset that in one moment of your life, you think it served you, but it really just helped you survive? God didn't come here for you to survive. He says that I come that you may have life more abundantly. So I want to open up the altar for those who feel like scarcity has scarred you. The second invitation is you sense that you have stepped into your now, that this is a. This is a provided purposed time that God has spoken to you. You're getting excited about things that make no sense to people who on the other side of that excitement have not been able to understand why you're sensing what you're seeing. It's because God's not talking to them at the same frequency. Third group is, Jesus is calling you. The reality is, beloved, when we think about this walk with the Lord, God doesn't promise us things for things sake. He promises them for his purpose. And so my encouragement, beloved, is for us to lean into that space. So I want to invite you to the altar. We're going to do a prayer. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. We're gonna do a prayer. And the reason why we're gonna pray and seal this moment is because God is just that, faithful. There's a release that's gonna take place around this altar and we're gonna get you to your seats and get you out. Oh, you have the altar. Oh, I thought you. Okay, sorry. Amen. Misinterpretation. Amen. Thank you, Holy Spirit. As you're coming to the altar, can I ask you to do something that's gonna sound strange and as you're standing from your seats too, because some of you may be. May or may not be able to make it down. I want you to take that thing or things, and I want you to in a way that makes sense or resonates with you. I want you to lay it down. I want you to lay down. Not having enough. I want you to lay down feeling like you're not enough. I want you to lay down the moments where you saw maybe the other kids who had this, but then you never had that. And you always felt like there was something wrong with you, and there's a shame that the enemy has used against you. I want you to lay it down. I want you to lay down. God, I thought I would be further along by now. God, you told me that this was gonna come to pass. God, you said, and I haven't seen. And God, I'm upset, I'm hurt. You keep promising me all these things, you keep sending me. Here's the interesting thing. Whether you're at one or another church, the same message would be visiting you. It's not about this church. It's about wherever God leads you, he's gonna send you to where that word is for. And the challenge for some of you, you've been running from church to church, community to community, podcast to podcast, social to social, trying to find something different. And God continues to speak the same thing to you because his promises are yes and amen. So you have a choice. You have a choice to accept the promise? Or because you're disappointed to throw a spiritual tantrum that doesn't serve you, it only hurts you. There's healing in this room, beloved. I'm not asking you to cry here, but some of you need to cry. Some of you need to release. Some of you at a limbic level have been carrying the heartbreak, the pain, the disappointment. And then you can't worship. And it's not because you don't love God, is because your spirit can't pierce through the thickness of your soul. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Devil, we serve you. Notice in the name of Jesus that you have no power or authority over any person in this room under the sound of my voice. Not because I'm special, but because the authority of God is in this room. The supernatural power of God is in this room. Deliverance is in this room. We break the back of addiction in the name of Jesus, we break the generational curses in the name of Jesus. We break generational patterns that no longer serve us. In the name of Jesus, we break the perspective that I have to have this fixed and figured out right now. In the name of Jesus, beloved. Deliverance always doesn't feel like deliverance. I used to struggle, and there was just this break that took place. And the pattern of the struggle was still there, but the thing was, the appetite for it had left. Hear me. Some of you are going to experience a familiar pattern, but the power is no longer there. Hallelujah. And the sanctification and the abundance mindset will afford you the opportunity to embrace what alternative paths towards the same thing that God said. In other words, you don't have to respond the same way to the same thing because you're not the same person. Thank you, Holy Spirit. So I want you all to pray this prayer with me. Father God, I come to you now thanking you, God, for your son, Jesus. I believe he lived, he died, he got up on a cross for me. He was resurrected on the third day with all power in his hands, all authority, all dominion. And because he has it, so do I. Holy Spirit, come into my heart. Fill my heart to the overflow. Shut the door. In Jesus name we all said Amen. Amen. Amen. God bless you, family. This is year 24.
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Hey, family. Well, I pray that you were just as blessed by this teaching as I was. I'm just so grateful again to be a part of a dynamic community full of love, full of revelation and wisdom. One has been a movement that's been blessing people for almost over two decades, and I'm so glad that you got an opportunity to experience it. I also have a podcast called the called it's right here on wherever you're listening to this Spotify or Apple or wherever you're listening to this podcast. You can just look up the call T H E C A L L E D with myself, Ture Roberts. This is designed for entrepreneurs, leaders and business people. It's a weekly podcast and it will bless you do. But hey, I enjoyed having you here. Meet us here next week. Check out the called. Much blessings to you. We'll catch you next time.