Sermon #S005 - Know Your Worth
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Pastor Snell:  Genesis Chapter
30 and we will begin together at
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verse 25. I will be reading from
the New King James' version of
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the Bible. And I should tell
you, once again, you all look
fantastic here in the house of
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the Lord. Turn to your neighbor
and say, "You look good today."
Turn to the other neighbor
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and say, "The blessing of the
Lord is on you today." Amen.
Genesis Chapter 30,
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and we are going to
look together at verse 25.
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The Bible says, and it came
to pass when Rachel had born
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Joseph, that Jacob said to
Laban, "Send me away that I may
go to my own place, to my
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country. Give me my wives and my
children for whom I have served
you, and let me go, for you know
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my service, which I have done
for you. And Laban said to him,
"Please stay if I have found
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favor in your eyes, for I have
learned by experience that the
Lord has blessed me for your
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sake." Then he said, "Name me
your wages, and I will give it."
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So Jacob said to him, "You know
I have served you and how your
livestock has been with me,
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for what you had before I came
was little, and it has increased
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to a great amount. The Lord has
blessed you since my coming, and
now, when shall I be able to
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provide for my own house?" So he
said, "What shall I give you?"
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Jacob said, "You shall not
give me anything. If you do this
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thing for me, I will again feed
and keep your flocks. Let me
pass through all your flock
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today, removing, from there, all
the speckled and spotted sheep,
and all the brown ones among the
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lambs and the spotted and
speckled amongst the goats. And
these shall be my wages.
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So my righteousness will answer
for me in time to come when the
subject of my wages comes before
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you. Everyone that is not
speckled and spotted amongst the
goats, and brown amongst the
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lambs, will be considered stolen
if it is with me." Laban said,
"Oh that it was according to
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your word." So he removed, that
day, the male goats that were
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speckled and spotted and all the
female goats that were speckled
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and spotted, everyone that had
some white in it and all the
brown ones amongst the lands
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and gave them into the hand of
his sons. He put a three days
journey between himself and
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Jacob, and Jacob fed
the rest of Laban's flock.
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Now, Laban took rods of green
poplar, almond, and chestnut
trees, peeled white strips in
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them, and exposed the white in
the rods. The rods, which had
been peeled, he set before the
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flocks in the gutters, in the
watering troughs where the
flocks came to drink so that
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they should conceive when they
came to drink. So the flocks
conceived before the rods, and
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the flocks brought forth
streaked, speckled, and spotted.
Then Jacob separated the lambs
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and made the flocks face toward
the street and all the brown and
the flock of Laban.
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He put forth his own flocks by
themselves and did not put them
with laban's flock,
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and it came to pass whenever the
strong livestock conceived that
Jacob places the rods
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before the eyes of the livestock
in the gutters that they may
conceive amongst the rods.
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But when the flocks were feeble,
he did not put them in. So the
feebler were Laban's,
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and the stronger, Jacob's. Thus
the man became exceedingly
prosperous and had large flocks,
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female and male
servants, camels, and donkeys.
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I want to read for emphasis,
verse number 30, what Jacob
said, "For what you had before I
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came was little, and it has
increased to a great amount, for
the Lord has blessed you since
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my coming. And now, what shall I
provide for my own house?"
Today, I want to talk to you,
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as we talk about Black
excellence and wealth, about the
importance of knowing your
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worth. Let us pray together.
Father, I pray that in this
little while, you will say much.
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I am praying that there would be
an inspiration in the hearing of
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the word. I am praying that my
vision would be enlarged. I pray
that the faith of your people
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will be multiplied. So, Lord, I
pray that you allow the word to
go forth without interruption or
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human hindrance. Once again,
would you please hide me in the
shadows of the cross, that
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Jesus, alone, might be seen,
that Christ, alone, would be
heard, and, at the end of our
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time together, may Jesus, alone,
be praised. We ask this in the
name of Him who is altogether
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lovely. It is in the name of
Jesus that we pray. Let God's
people say together, Amen.
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You may be seated there
in the house of the Lord.
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As we get into today's teaching,
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one of the things that we have
got to do is begin to amend our
relationship with money.
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One of the mistakes we often
make is we assign certain roles,
traits, or characteristics to
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money. And what sometimes
happens in the black church is
we either treat money as Satan
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or savior. We treat money as a
demon or deliverer, and
sometimes because of a
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misreading of scripture, we
teach that money is the root of
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all evil, when the Bible teaches
that it is the love of money
that is the root of all evil.
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How many of us understand that
money is not immoral? Money is
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actually a moral, meaning it has
no moral quality. It simply
takes on the characteristics of
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the one who possesses it. So,
that the same money used in a
drug deal is also put in the
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offering tray to allow the work
of God to go forward. And so
there are times that we actually
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think that money changes people,
that money makes good people go
bad. That is not true. Money.
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does not change people. Money
just reveals people. So, if you
are kind of a jerk when you are
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broke, all money does is reveal
or create the platform for the
world to see who you actually
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are. So, it is wrong for us to
treat money as Satan, but
equally, it is wrong for us to
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treat money as a savior. In
other words, if you treat money
as a savior, then you are
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destined to worship it. It is
why Jesus said that you could
not serve both God and money.
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And though we will never give
praise to the hundred dollar
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bill, and we will never lift
holy hands to our Amex card,
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sometimes our idolatry is
seen in what money means to us.
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How many of us know that money
should never mean significance,
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that money ought not ever to
equate to security, that money
ought not ever to mean status,
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that money ought not ever
to make you feel important?
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How many of us know that you are
worth is not in how much you get
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paid? Your worth is seen in
the price that was paid for your
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salvation. In other words,
friends, when you allow
significance to be attached to
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money, you make yourself
vulnerable to the enemy.
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Because if the devil knows that
if he can hold your significance
by holding your paycheck,
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the enemy knows that if he can
take your money, he can take
away your security.
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He knows that if your piece is
connected to your money, all he
is got to do is hold up your
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money, and he can confiscate
your peace, and God wants
somebody to know that the
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security and significance and
worth that you are drawing from
money, God designed that you
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were to draw your worst and your
security and identity from him.
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We have got to get to the place
where we stop trying to create a
relationship with the gift,
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and we learn to put our
trust in the One who gave it.
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In other words, our gifts ought
to simply enhance our
relationship with the Giver.
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Are you all with me today? Let
me say it this way. Every now
and then, I am trying to be a
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good husband. So, what I will do
is I will buy a gift by surprise
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for my wife. I remember on one
occasion, I bought her some
flowers and a gift,
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and I put it upstairs where I
knew she would run into it. And
so what happened is,
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when she came into the house, I
greeted her downstairs, and she
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went upstairs. I knew right away
when she found the gift because
once he found the gift,
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she immediately came back
downstairs with the gift in her
hand and began to hug
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and kiss the husband
who gave it. In other words,
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she was not so impressed with
the gift that she did not forget
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to come downstairs and say thank
you before she even opened it.
See, how many of us know that
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Christ is the bridegroom, that
Jesus is the bride? And when the
bridegroom gives a gift, you do
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not get so caught up with their
gift. You run back to the one
who gave it and begins to show
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appreciation to him. In other
words, my gift does not separate
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me from the Giver. It actually
pushes me back toward the God
who gave it. Are you hearing me
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today, church? And so go back
with me, if you do not mind, to
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Genesis Chapter 30 and verse
number 27 as we unpack a few
things together, Genesis 30 and
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verse 27. When you get there,
say, Amen. Genesis 13 verse 27,
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the Bible says, and Laban said
to him, "Please stay if I have
found favor in your eyes,
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for I have learned by experience
that the Lord has blessed me for
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your sake." Then he said, "Name
your wages, and I will give it
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to you." Now, friends of mine, I
need you to understand as we
look at the story of Jacob that
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Jacob is not the most virtuous
cat in the scriptures, but he is
a high-functioning individual.
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And this story, friends, has
implications not just for our
church but the witness we have
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in our daily profession because
what this story teaches us first
is that sometimes, God blesses
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the unbelieving because of the
presence of the believing. Let
me say that again. Sometimes,
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God blesses the wicked because
of the presence of the
righteous. Do I have a witness
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today? In other words, here,
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we find Jacob having fulfilled
his years of service that he
gave as a response to the dowry
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that he wanted to pay to receive
Rachel, and he also completes
the additional years he had to
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serve because of the trickery of
Laban when he inserted Leah into
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the equation. But understand now
that he has come to an end of
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his tenure. It is time for him
to make a profit for himself.
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And so he tells his
father-in-law, "I want you to
let me go, me, my wife,
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and my children, and everything
that belongs unto me."
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Understand that they had worked
with so much skill that Laban's
tiny flock had morphed into a
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significant heard of
financial consequence.
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In fact, the anointing of Jacob
was so strong that Laban does
not just want to keep him around
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as a worker, he is able to
discern that the presence of God
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is on a Jacob, and he just
wants to have him around in the
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estate. In fact, he testifies
from his own mouth, "I have
learned by my own experience
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that God has blessed me just
because you are here." In other
words, he recognizes as an
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unbeliever. Remember that Laban
is not a believing person. He is
literally an idol-worshipping
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unbeliever. And he says, "I do
not want you to go anywhere
because God is blessing me
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because you hang around." And
you see, friends of mine, I need
you to know that this is not an
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outlier in scripture. It is
actually a trend. So, when you
look at Joseph in Egypt,
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one of the things that became
clear is that God blessed Egypt
because of the presence of
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Joseph. Where are
you all at today, church?
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When you look at Daniel and
Babylon, God bless a foreign
nation because he had children
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at work there. Remember when
Paul was on a ship on the way to
Rome with other prisoners
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and criminals that the storm
wanted to destroy the ship,
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but God was able to preserve the
ship because God had one of his
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children there. And the thing I
need somebody to know is that
the blessings of God are not
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stagnant. They do not function
in isolation. I need you to know
that the blessings of God
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function in the overflow.
[Congregation: Cheering]
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Let me say it this way. I need
you to understand that what we
have done is we have made the
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concept of overflows selfish.
But you know how the overflow
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works, that when you are pouring
liquid into a cup or container,
once the container is filled and
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you keep pouring, the content
simply begins to overflow and
fall on everything that is close
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to it. And you see, we think
that the overflow is simply
where God gives us more than
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what we can handle. But how many
of us know that God will bless
your cup so good that the
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blessings of God just overflows
to everybody that is in your
sphere of influence?
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The problem with the
contemporary church is we want
the wicked to just see the
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righteous being blessed. In
other words, we just want the
blessings of the Lord to
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validate us and affirm us, but
we do not want it to fall on or
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impact them. But how many of us
know that if God allows you to
prosper while everyone else is
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suffering, then the suffering
is going resent your prosperity,
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and they are going to wring
their hands at the God who gave
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it? Remember the Abrahamic
Covenant. He said to Abraham, "I
am gonna make of you a great
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nation, and in you, shall
all the nations of the earth be
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blessed." In other words, the
blessings of God were not
supposed to be stored. They were
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supposed to be shared. In
other words, friends of mine,
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I need you to know that the
blessing of protection overflows
whenever the righteous are in a
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place. Is there anybody that
knows that there were some
planes that should have fallen
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out of the sky, but God had some
righteous saints seated in first
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class? Are you all
hearing me today, saints?
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Is there anybody that believes
that the only reason a mass
shooting did not take place in
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Walmart or your job while you
were there was that God had some
of his children stashed on
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station in that place? In fact,
the only reason some tornadoes
did not touch down on your
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street was that there were some
praying people calling on the
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name of the Lord. Do not get me
wrong. I believe that in Adam's
Fallen World, guess what?
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Bad things still happen to good
people. In fact, Jesus said that
the rain is going to fall on the
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just and the unjust, but what I
believe is that we will never be
able to count the number of
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times that weapons have been
formed, but they never got to
prosper because God had his hand
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covering his children. Are you
all hearing me today, saints? So
I need you to know that the
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blessing of protection
overflows. I need you to know
that the blessing of increase
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overflows as well. In other
words, I need somebody to know
that because God has you on the
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job. I need you to know
that the company is prospering.
00:18:17.83\00:18:20.80
I need somebody to believe that
Huntsville hospital thrives
because there are some Christian
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nurses and doctors walking up
and down the hallway, that the
school system thrives
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because there are some praying
teachers laying hands over the
classrooms before you go in.
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I need you to know that your
office is thriving simply
because God has you there as His
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witness. And do not resent
that they share in the blessing
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because you ought to be at a
place where you understand that
the blessing is not just in what
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you receive. Your blessing
is getting to know Jesus for
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yourself. I remembered
probably about 4 or 5 years ago.
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It was my daughter's
third or fifth birthday,
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and see how many of us
understand that whenever one
child has a birthday,
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all the other kids get to be
a part of the party. In other
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words, we had had a party to
celebrate her birthday, but
because we were celebrating her,
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guess what, the cake got to
overflow into all the other kids
that were at the party.
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And so my daughter was right
there sitting on my lap as we
were cutting up the cake,
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and her older brother got a
larger slice of cake, and he
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began to boast and brag that
even though it is your birthday,
I got the bigger piece of cake.
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While she is sitting on my lap,
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she let him know that the only
reason you got some cake was
that I let you celebrate my
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birthday, and she said, "You
might have gotten the bigger
piece, but I got Daddy." You all
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did not hear it today. How many
of us know that you never worry
about the size of the portion as
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long as you got a relationship
with the Father? Because as long
as you got the daddy, you can
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always get a bigger portion. So
do not look at the portion.
Focus on the relationship. Are
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you hearing the word today?
[Congregation: I hear you.]
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Snell: So the first thing you
got to learn is that sometimes
God blesses the wicked
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because of the presence of the
righteous, but the second thing
that teaches us, friends of
00:20:40.90\00:20:45.91
mine, is the value of
knowing your own worth.
00:20:45.94\00:20:52.95
You see, one of the things that
become clear is that not only
does Laban know Jacobs' worth.
00:20:52.98\00:21:00.69
One of these just becomes clear
is that Jacob understands his
00:21:00.72\00:21:07.23
own worth. You see, what
literally shifts the
relationship is that Jacob
00:21:07.30\00:21:15.17
understands his value. What
allows him to dictate the terms
of his next contract is that he
00:21:15.20\00:21:24.21
understands his own value. His
boss comes to him and says, name
00:21:24.25\00:21:29.02
your own wages. Jacob
understands his worth.
00:21:29.05\00:21:31.69
I need somebody to get this that
Jacob has this start clarity
that if my gifts can make you
00:21:31.72\00:21:44.13
rich, then my gifts can enlarge
and enrich me. Yall not hearing
00:21:44.17\00:21:48.74
this today. In other words, he
knows that if what I am doing
can grow your house,
00:21:48.77\00:21:55.54
then these same gifts can be
used to grow my house. Now, I do
want to pause and say this.
00:21:55.58\00:22:01.38
I do not believe that everybody
is called to be an entrepreneur.
00:22:01.42\00:22:05.62
Now, everybody has the
discipline, accounting, vision,
or the ability to make hard
00:22:05.65\00:22:12.33
decisions, but I want to
encourage the body of Christ
that you do not just let your
00:22:12.36\00:22:19.47
gifts make somebody else rich,
but you ought to create some
additional streams that are
00:22:19.50\00:22:24.21
going to bless and grow your own
house so you can give back. Are
you all hearing me today?
00:22:24.24\00:22:31.08
So, Laban says, "What do
you want me to give you?" Notice
00:22:31.11\00:22:38.19
what Jacob says. Jacob says,
"You cannot give me anything."
00:22:38.22\00:22:45.73
Understand the principle at work
that even him offering Jacob a
salary is another form of
00:22:45.76\00:22:56.07
trickery. In other words, even
him giving Jacob a handsome
salary is a way of capping his
00:22:56.10\00:23:02.88
income. It is a way of limiting
his growth. It is making sure he
always remains at a certain
00:23:02.91\00:23:09.92
level. I need you to understand
that even when you get paid a
00:23:09.95\00:23:15.62
handsome salary, your employer
has made a calculation that
whatever they pay you, they will
00:23:15.66\00:23:22.70
give it because they are going
to make three or four times that
off of you. They did not hire
00:23:22.73\00:23:30.47
you to make you rich. They hired
you in order to make them rich.
Are you all hearing what I am
00:23:30.51\00:23:38.41
saying? What Jacob says is, "No,
you cannot give me a salary.
00:23:38.45\00:23:42.02
We got to create a partnership
that allows me to grow at the
same level that the flock is
00:23:42.05\00:23:51.36
going to grow." Are
you hearing me today?
00:23:51.39\00:23:53.46
The thing that I want to say to
us as a community is that we
have been assimilated into the
00:23:53.50\00:23:58.73
larger culture, and we have been
brainwashed to believe that we
come to college, get a job
00:23:58.77\00:24:03.61
and work for somebody else while
immigrants from other nations
come in and they start their own
00:24:03.64\00:24:11.58
businesses, and they do not
function as employees, but they
function as employers
00:24:11.61\00:24:16.55
because they do not think,
"Get a job." They think, "Own a
00:24:16.58\00:24:20.36
business." Are you all
hearing what I am saying today?
00:24:20.39\00:24:23.39
I need you to understand this,
young sister, that if you can do
00:24:23.43\00:24:31.97
some nails, they do not come in
at first because of the name on
the door, but after a while,
00:24:32.00\00:24:37.74
their loyalty is going to be to
you. Are you hearing me? If you
00:24:37.77\00:24:45.68
can do some hair, I may start
coming because of the salon, but
if the stylist goes, "I am going
00:24:45.71\00:24:51.59
wherever she is going." Are you
all hearing what I am saying? If
you can cut some hair, I may
00:24:51.62\00:24:57.73
come because of the shop, but
once I connect with the right
barber wherever he goes, that is
00:24:57.76\00:25:02.16
where I am going. If you are
good at doing massage therapy,
they may come because you
00:25:02.20\00:25:08.50
started at Massage Envy, but if
you work out the knots and kinks
to the right point, wherever you
00:25:08.54\00:25:15.64
go, that is where they will go.
In other words, folks do not
follow the franchise, they
00:25:15.68\00:25:20.98
follow the excellence, and if
you do it with excellence, the
business is going to follow. Are
00:25:21.02\00:25:28.66
you all hearing what I am
saying? Listen, some of you guys
know that my wife is a
00:25:28.69\00:25:32.29
photographer by trade. I
remember when we were in a small
town in Mississippi. She cut her
00:25:32.33\00:25:38.23
teeth at Sears Portrait Studio,
but I need to know. At first,
they came in looking for Sears,
00:25:38.27\00:25:44.07
but after a while, they came in
looking for Miss Snell. And what
we learned is that if we can use
00:25:44.11\00:25:50.81
those gifts to grow them, guess
what? We can open up something
that is going to bless our
00:25:50.85\00:25:54.72
house. Are you hearing me today
saints. The thing I want
somebody to get is that if you
00:25:54.75\00:26:01.92
do not understand your worth,
you will live as a slave to
somebody else's appraisal. And I
00:26:01.96\00:26:09.06
want to say to somebody today,
not only do you need to know
your value professionally, you
00:26:09.10\00:26:13.54
need to know your value
personally. Young people on the
balcony, you need to know your
00:26:13.57\00:26:21.78
value romantically. If you do
not understand your value, your
discount that which still has
00:26:21.81\00:26:27.22
great worth. The reason some of
our singles stay in unhealthy
relationships is that you do not
00:26:27.25\00:26:33.96
understand your worth. The
reason that some of us married
down and not up is that we do
00:26:33.99\00:26:39.89
not understand our worth. The
reason you are willing to share
your significant other is that
00:26:39.93\00:26:46.57
you do not understand your
worth. The reason you lie down
with everyone who asks is that
00:26:46.60\00:26:52.47
you do not understand your
worth. The reason you let her
talk to you in any kind of way
00:26:52.51\00:26:58.51
is that you do not understand
your worth. And even if I did
not make it clear last week, I
00:26:58.55\00:27:03.72
want you to know that even if
you are married, I do not
believe in domestic violence.
00:27:03.75\00:27:06.49
I need you to know that if
somebody is beating you or
abusing you physically or
00:27:06.52\00:27:13.29
emotionally, you are worth so
much that you do not have to
stay in that predicament.
00:27:13.33\00:27:18.00
In other words, church, I am
not going to tell you to get a
00:27:18.03\00:27:22.64
divorce, but I am going to tell
you to get on up out of that
house. Are you all hearing me
00:27:22.67\00:27:27.61
today? Somebody is sitting there
mad saying, "Pastor, the Bible
does not really address domestic
00:27:27.64\00:27:33.15
violence." No, the First
Corinthians 6 says, No, ye not.
Your body is the temple of the
00:27:33.18\00:27:40.52
Holy Ghost." It says that
you are bought with a price.
00:27:40.56\00:27:43.19
Therefore, glorify God in your
body and your spirit, which are
00:27:43.22\00:27:48.63
His. In other words, because my
body belongs to God because He
paid so much for it,
00:27:48.66\00:27:54.87
I cannot let anybody beat it.
I cannot let anybody abuse it.
00:27:54.90\00:27:59.17
How many of us know that
tolerating domestic violence is
00:27:59.21\00:28:07.12
bad stewardship? You cost too
much to let somebody abuse or
denigrate the temple of the Holy
00:28:07.15\00:28:18.29
Ghost. Pastor Snell: Hi
everyone, this is Pastor Snell.
That word blessed me and I'm
00:28:18.33\00:28:24.27
praying that it blessed you. I
want to encourage you that you
make sure you come back same
00:28:24.30\00:28:29.14
time, same place next week. As
we give you installment #2 of
the message entitled "Know Your
00:28:29.17\00:28:35.11
Worth" (Breath of Life Music)
00:28:35.14\00:28:55.93
[END]
00:28:55.96\00:29:11.05