Sermon #S017 - (Claim
Your Benefits 3 Part 1)
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Pastor Snell:  We're going to go
back once again to the Book of
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Matthew 15. And once again,
we're going to look together
verse 21. Matthew 15 and we
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invite you to remain standing
for the word. Matthew 15 and
we're going to look together at
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verse number 21. Good to see my
classmate Dino in the house. God
bless you, brother.
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I'm glad God brought you safely
here. Matthew 15:21. When you
get there just say Amen for me.
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Matthew 15:21. I promise you,
I'm going to finish it today. I
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promise. Matthew 15:21. The
Bible says, "Then Jesus went
thence," actually, let me change
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that to the New King James
Version. Matthew 15:21. The
Bible says, "Then Jesus went out
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from there and departed to the
region of Tyre and Sidon. And
behold, a woman of Canaan came
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from that region and cried out
to Him, saying, "Master, have
mercy upon me, O Lord, Son of
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David! My daughter is severely
demon-possessed." The Bible
says, "But He answered her not a
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word. And His disciples came and
urged Him, saying, "Send her
away, for she cries out after
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us." But He answered and said,
"I was not sent except to the
lost sheep of the house of
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Israel." Then she came and
worshiped Him, saying, "Lord,
help me!" But He answered and
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said, "It is not good to take
the children's bread and throw
it to the little dogs." And she
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said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the
little dogs eat the crumbs which
fall from their masters' table."
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Then Jesus answered and said to
her, "O woman, great is your
faith! Let it be as you desire."
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And the Bible says, "And her
daughter was healed that very
hour." Today, Saints, for just a
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little while, I want to talk
under the subject Part 3, Claim
Your Benefits, Claim Your
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Benefits. Let's pray together.
Father, I pray that in this
little while that you would say
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much. Father, I pray that you
would help us to move from the
concept of faith to the reality
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of faith. Help us to move from
the theology of belief to the
daily practice of belief. So,
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Lord, once again, would you make
your spirits so dense in this
room that it suffocates every
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opposing principality? And so,
Father, I pray that the word
would bring comfort to those who
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are discomforted. But, Lord, I
pray that you would challenge us
in such a way that you
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discomfort those who are too
comfortable. So, Lord, would you
hide me in the shadows of the
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cross that 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 lovely.
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It is in the name of Jesus that
we pray. Let God's people say
together, Amen, and Amen. You
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may be seated in the house of
the Lord today. Yesterday
afternoon, I was leaving
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Huntsville Hospital, and as I
was preparing to exit from the
garage, when you get there to
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the pay stations where you exit,
there were two very long lines
as people were waiting to exit
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the building. And so, in order
to expedite my wait, I pulled
into the shorter of the two
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lines, and as I was waiting
there in line, the person in the
front of my line did not know
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how to use the machine and so,
those to the right of me were
going frequently past and
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exiting the building. And so,
because that line was moving, I
decided to shift over into the
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lane to my right, and as soon as
I got in the right lane, the
person in the front of my line
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forgot their wallet, and so my
line got held up and all of a
sudden, the lane to my left had
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begun to move quickly and so
because I've got somewhere to go
when there was a break in the
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line I shifted back over to the
left lane. And as soon as I get
back to the left lane, all of a
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sudden, the pay station begins
to malfunction and the lane to
my right begins to move suddenly
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again. And so then because of
impatience, I shift back to the
right lane. And as I get into
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the right lane, both lanes are
stuck, and there is no traffic
at all. And after a little
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while, the parking attendant
noticing that the machine in the
left lane was not working, he
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went and opened it up with his
card and because the line was so
backed up, he allowed the next
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20 or 30 cars to go through
without having to pay in order
to exit the building. And if I
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had just stayed in my lane, I
would have gotten out a little
bit quicker and I would have had
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my fee paid, but because I'm
focusing on how fast everyone
else is moving, in the process,
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I forfeit some benefits by
changing lanes. And by changing
lanes, I wind up staying there
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longer, and it cost me more
because I was impatient. And I
guess what I'm saying is that
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when it comes down to faith,
sometimes it's best to stay in
the lane that God has for you.
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Because we're impatient,
sometimes we're always looking
for the shortest lane and when
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you focus on the flow of traffic
instead of focusing on your
path, you will always be tempted
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to switch lanes ahead of
schedule and, see, some of us
are always looking for the
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shortest path to success. We're
always looking for the shortest
path to prosperity. We're always
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looking for the shortest path to
wealth. Some are looking for the
shortest path to the altar and
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wrongly, we think there's a
short path to spiritual growth
and what you don't realize is
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that sometimes it's hard being
in the long line, but do I have
a witness that sometimes there's
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a blessing in the long line? In
fact, I want to encourage
somebody that's in the waiting
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line today to stop looking at
the traffic, to stop living in
your peripheral vision, and just
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focus on the path that God has
for you. Because sometimes, if
you switch up too quickly, you
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might forfeit the blessings that
God has in store for you in the
lane that you are in. And let me
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just say to somebody who is in
the tired space of waiting, I
know it's hard waiting in line.
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Sometimes you get tired of being
on that straight and narrow lane
but the good news about being in
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that straight and narrow lane is
first, it leadeth unto life. But
when you're in the lane that God
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has for you, how many of us know
that every now and then, God
opens up a lane and allows the
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traffic to get unblocked. But
the good news about staying in
the straight and narrow lane is,
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guess what? The fare has already
been paid. In other words, there
is no price to admission. It has
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been purchased and paid for by
the precious blood of Jesus. Are
you with me today, Saints? And
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so, go back with me if you don't
mind to Matthew 15:23, there are
some things I want us to see in
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the scriptures today. Matthew
15:23. When you get there, let
me hear you say, Amen. The Bible
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says, "But he answered her not a
word and his disciples came and
urged him saying, 'Send her away
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for she cries out after us.'"
Understand today, friends, that
today's message should not just
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grow your faith in what God can
do for you. It should also grow
your faith in what you can do
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for other people. In fact, one
of the first things this story
teaches us is that sometimes in
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the church, when we don't know
how to solve a problem, we just
send it away. Now, I share with
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you a couple of weeks ago, that
this test in this story is not
just a test for the woman, it is
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actually a test for the
disciples to see if they
understand their assignment and
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to see if they lay claim to
certain benefits that God has
promised to them. And so,
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remember now this woman comes to
Jesus and she cries out for help
because her daughter is severely
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possessed by a demon and
understand that, in this moment,
Jesus intentionally creates a
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moment of awkwardness because
the Bible says, he does not
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answer her a word. Now, to be
clear, Saints, she is
demonstrable in her expression.
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She is passionate in her plea
and she directs all of her
attention to Jesus, and yet
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Jesus does not even respond. And
understand, this is out of
character for Christ because
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Jesus always has a response and
he always has a clever reply no
matter what the situation is but
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understand that by not
responding, Jesus is
highlighting his disciples
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unreadiness and their lack of
faith to lay claim to his
promises. In other words, when
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Jesus does not respond of the
requests made of him, maybe she
gets to a place where she does
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not ask anything of the
disciples but maybe she just
looks to them to see if they're
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going to advocate on her behalf.
Maybe she just shoots them a
look to see if they're going to
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help her rightly interpret the
silence. Maybe she's just
looking for them to point them
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in the right direction but
because they don't have enough
power to help their impotence,
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literally bring such conviction
that they want to push the woman
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away. And could it
be, friends of mine,
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the reason Jesus does not
respond is he's trying to create
an opportunity for the disciples
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to step in and show who God has
made them to be? Y'all, not with
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me yet. See, she understands
that Jesus's mission is about
two-thirds of the way complete.
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And Jesus knows that in order
for them to function in his name
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after he leaves, they've got to
start practicing how to function
in his name even when he is
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still present and, see, Jesus is
noticing a very dangerous
pattern amongst the disciples
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that when they don't know how to
solve a problem, they just send
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the problem away. What do you
mean, Pastor? Go back one
chapter to Matthew 14, and
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remember when the crowds had
followed Jesus all day, and
before Jesus fed the 5,000,
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remember the instructions of the
disciples to Jesus. They said,
"Master, send them away to the
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villages so that they might get
something to eat." And notice
that Jesus said to them,
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you give them something to eat
but they got all these reasons
why they can't perform anything
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and do anything for the
people and Jesus does in their
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presence, the miracle he would
have wanted them to do after he
had already departed.
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And even one chapter later,
as soon as they face their next
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challenge, as soon as they're
confronted with another
conundrum, instead of addressing
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the problem, their habit
is to send away the problem.
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See, understand, friends of
mine, that in Matthew 10:7,
remember, the instruction of
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Jesus to the disciples, He told
them to go and preach that the
kingdom of heaven was at hand.
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He told them to feed the hungry,
heal the lepers, call the lame
to walk, and He told them to
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cast the demons out. And it's
amazing, friends, because
they're at a place that the only
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thing they have faith to do is
to receive but they don't have
the faith to distribute or to
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give. And, see, the problem,
Saints, is the reason they are
powerless is because they don't
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see themselves as a solution.
Where's the church at today?
See, when you don't see yourself
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as a solution to the problem,
your automatic response is to
send the problem away. In other
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words, friends, I need you all
to see this moment with me. In
other words, when Jesus does not
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reply, He is literally designing
an opportunity, He is creating a
space for the disciples to step
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in and exercise the spiritual
authority that had been
promised, so that, at the very
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worst, they should have begun
petitioning Jesus on the woman's
behalf but at their very best,
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they should have said, "What's
your daughter's name?" And if
she says, "My baby's name is
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Lashawn," they should have said,
"We call out Beelzebub in the
name of Lashawn because of the
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authority we have in Jesus." But
understand that because they
don't have power, the woman's
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need highlights their impotence,
her need highlights their
deficiency and because they
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don't want their deficiency to
be exposed, they just want to
send the problem to somebody
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else. And can I just say this,
friends of mine? That one of the
habits in the body is that
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sometimes, we always tend to
send away problems that we don't
know how to solve. And, see,
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from the outside, their behavior
looks like calculated
indifference or religious
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unconcern. When the truth is
that there is simply
incompetence and then impotence
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to be able to handle the
situation they are facing. And
how many of us agree that
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sometimes when we can't handle a
problem, we just send the
problem to somebody else? And
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the truth is the same, even in
our time, there are certain
problems that we don't know how
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to address so that we just send
the problems away. In other
words, in the church, we don't
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really know how to deal with
mental illness, and because we
don't know how to deal with it,
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we just send it away. We don't
know how to deal with domestic
violence in the church, and
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because we don't know how to
deal with it, we just send it
away. Because we don't know how
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to deal with mass shootings in
our community, we don't know how
to deal with it, so we just pray
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it away. Because we don't know
how to deal with homosexuality,
all we do is just hide it under
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the covers and sweep it away in
the corner because we don't know
how to deal with it, we just
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send it away. And, see, what we
do is we issue statements of
condemnation, but we bypass the
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actual issue. And the thing we
are good at is sometimes, we say
we just need to focus on the
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second coming of Jesus
exclusively. And the reason we
only want to focus on the end is
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because we don't have the power
to deal with what's happening
right now because we haven't
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laid claim to the authority that
God has invested in the sons and
daughters of God. And, see, can
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I just say this during this
general conference session? The
reason we don't know what to do
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is because when we meet, we're
focusing on church policy
instead of community problems.
00:17:50.27\00:17:55.80
You all are not hearing me
today. In other words, we are
focusing on how we function
00:17:55.84\00:18:04.55
instead of how to heal their
issues. Where's the church at
00:18:04.58\00:18:06.28
today? See, the problem with
upper church management is we're
clear on articulating our
00:18:06.31\00:18:11.99
position but we never articulate
a strategy. In other words, we
got a position on gun violence,
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but we've got no strategy for
gun violence. We've got a
position on homosexuality
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but we've got no strategy to
deal with homosexuality. We've
got a position on mental illness
00:18:24.87\00:18:31.37
but we've got no
strategy for mental illness.
00:18:31.41\00:18:34.38
And what I'm saying to the
leadership of the church is when
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we gather, at some point, mass
shootings are to get on the
agenda. At some point,
00:18:38.75\00:18:43.72
domestic violence ought to get
on the agenda. At some point,
community hunger ought to get on
00:18:43.75\00:18:50.96
the agenda. At some point,
police shootings ought to get on
the agenda. We ought to stop
00:18:50.99\00:18:59.73
gathering just to focus on our
policy and figure out a way to
bless our community. Are you
00:18:59.77\00:19:08.58
hearing me today, Saints?
[ Congregation: applause ]
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And, see, friends of mine, I
just don't mean this
specifically to the upper
00:19:10.95\00:19:16.99
management of the church. I need
every member of the body to
understand that there is no
00:19:17.02\00:19:29.23
problem you encounter that
you're powerless to affect. See,
how many of us understand in the
00:19:29.26\00:19:37.67
church that wherever you land,
you've been assigned by God? And
if God has sent you there, He
00:19:37.71\00:19:47.85
has sent you not to just be an
observer but to be a solution to
a problem. That's crazy because
00:19:47.88\00:19:53.36
some of us are still looking at
me and saying, "Well, Pastor, I
can't do anything because I'm
00:19:53.39\00:19:58.99
not a pastor, or I'm not a
preacher or I'm not a famous
person or a wealthy person." I
00:19:59.03\00:20:06.07
need you to understand that you
got to get to a place where you
just use whatever God has given
00:20:06.10\00:20:15.38
you. Can I say that somebody
that if you've got money in your
pockets, and you've got food in
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your refrigerator, guess what?
You can help the issue of hunger
in our community. I need
00:20:22.28\00:20:30.29
somebody to understand, friends
of mine, that if you've got
5,000 followers on Instagram,
00:20:30.33\00:20:36.23
it's because God has given you
influence with people, but
you've got to stop taking
00:20:36.26\00:20:44.04
selfies and start being a helpy.
Where you all at today, Church?
In other words, friends, if
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you've got a spare bedroom, you
can bless somebody. If you've
got room in your backseat, you
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can bless somebody. Do you
realize that you can help
somebody if you just opened up
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your mouth and said, "Let me
tell you what the Lord has done
for me?" Is there anybody that
00:20:57.49\00:21:04.53
understands that your testimony
has the power to deliver the
captives? It is why the devil
00:21:04.56\00:21:11.57
works so hard to make you a
saint of where God has brought
you from, but I want to just
00:21:11.60\00:21:19.14
release somebody today. Don't
ever be ashamed of where God has
brought you from and what God
00:21:19.17\00:21:25.21
has brought you out of and see,
I need you to know that when you
come out, you become the devil's
00:21:25.25\00:21:33.46
worst nightmare because you've
got the combination to the
slavers bands of iniquity. And
00:21:33.49\00:21:40.63
he doesn't want other folks to
get the combination that God has
put under your care. In other
00:21:40.66\00:21:50.17
words, you can help somebody.
You realize that if we just laid
claim to the Holy Ghost as we
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should, do you realize, friends
of mine, that the most
underclaimed benefit in Christ--
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slow it down. The most
underclaimed benefit is the
presence of the Holy Ghost. I
00:22:07.29\00:22:12.76
love what Jesus says, he says,
"If you, being evil, know how to
give good gifts to your
00:22:12.79\00:22:17.97
children, I'm that much more
willing to give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask." See, the
00:22:18.00\00:22:24.54
problem with some is we think
the disciples then get the Holy
Ghost until the day of
00:22:24.57\00:22:29.58
Pentecost. But the Bible says
that he already breathe the Holy
Spirit on them, and there were
00:22:29.61\00:22:34.65
times that the demons were
already subject to them. Are you
all hearing me today, Saints?
00:22:34.68\00:22:42.29
And what I'm saying today is
that there got to be some Holy
Ghost-filled saints who
00:22:42.32\00:22:46.80
understand that the veil has
been removed, that we are not
under the priestly order
00:22:46.83\00:22:53.27
anymore, where only those who
are Levites by genealogy have
access to the oracles of God.
00:22:53.30\00:22:57.97
But how many of us know that we
are under the priesthood of all
believers? So that all of us
00:22:58.01\00:23:05.45
have access to the power and the
agency of the Holy Ghost. In
other words, Church, if somebody
00:23:05.48\00:23:13.69
needs special prayer, you ain't
got to send them to the pastor's
office, you ought to take them
00:23:13.72\00:23:21.26
to a corner of the church and
pray down the fire of God over
their life and their experience.
00:23:21.30\00:23:25.53
If somebody needs a word, you
ain't got to call Pastor
Williams, open up your own Bible
00:23:25.57\00:23:31.41
and go line upon line and
precept upon precept. If
somebody needs something to eat,
00:23:31.44\00:23:36.21
you ain't got to send them to
Community Service, open up your
own wallet, and if you ain't got
00:23:36.24\00:23:44.19
no money, do like Peter and say,
"Silver and gold have I none,
but such as I have I give thee
00:23:44.22\00:23:51.99
in the name of Jesus of
Nazareth." Are you all hearing
the word today? In other words,
00:23:52.03\00:23:56.87
if somebody walks through this
door full of a thousand evil
spirits, nobody shouldn't cry
00:23:56.90\00:24:03.34
and say, "Where is Pastor
Snell?" There ought to be some
00:24:03.37\00:24:11.55
fire-baptized, blood-washed
saints of the most high God that
can roll up on Beelzebub and
00:24:11.58\00:24:22.49
say, Holy Ghost-filled, "In the
name of Jesus of Nazareth, by
the power invested in me, I
00:24:22.52\00:24:28.20
command you to come out because
I got the Holy Ghost." Are you
hearing me today, Saints? [
00:24:28.23\00:24:30.63
Congregation: applause ] Pastor
Snell: And see, the problem is
because we don't have power, we
00:24:30.67\00:24:36.04
want to send away the problem.
And instead of sending away the
problem, we just need to lay
00:24:36.07\00:24:43.81
claim to the power that Jesus
has made available to us. Are
you all hearing me today,
00:24:43.85\00:24:46.45
Saints? The second thing we
learn from this story is that
the only favor you need comes
00:24:46.48\00:25:02.23
from God. I need somebody to
hear me on this. That the only
favor you will ever need comes
00:25:02.26\00:25:11.91
from Jehovah. You see one of the
things I love about this woman
is no matter what these
00:25:11.94\00:25:19.08
disciples say, she keeps her
focus on Jesus. You see the love
that she doesn't try to politic
00:25:19.11\00:25:32.59
her way to Jesus. In other
words, she doesn't try to get
next to Peter in order to get
00:25:32.63\00:25:39.13
close to Jesus. She doesn't
promise favors to John in order
to get close to Jesus.
00:25:39.17\00:25:44.77
She doesn't flirt with Andrew
in order to get close to Jesus.
00:25:44.81\00:25:49.98
In other words, she bypasses all
the middleman and go straight
and makes her request known to
00:25:50.01\00:25:58.32
the Son of David because she
realizes that the only favor
that matters is his.
00:25:58.35\00:26:05.19
See, this is why she is not
offended or put off by how the
disciples treat her.
00:26:05.23\00:26:11.10
Because if she came expecting
their favor, then she would have
been disappointed when they
00:26:11.13\00:26:20.18
rejected her. But see, the one
thing the lady understands is
that it doesn't really matter
00:26:20.21\00:26:27.55
how they feel about her, the
only thing that matters is how
Jesus feels about her. And, see,
00:26:27.58\00:26:33.72
the reason I'm saying this,
Beloved, is that there are some
of us that spend too much time
00:26:33.76\00:26:42.36
trying to get close to important
people. We spend a lot of time
trying to get close to important
00:26:42.40\00:26:49.20
people that we think are able to
do something for us. But how
many of us understand that
00:26:49.24\00:26:57.31
people cannot do for you
anything that God cannot already
perform? See, we spend this time
00:26:57.35\00:27:06.32
trying to develop these
relationships with folk, trying
to get close to that person,
00:27:06.35\00:27:11.76
and, see, there are some of us
that have gotten into this habit
where we try to keep our ear low
00:27:11.79\00:27:20.80
to the ground, we become
connoisseurs of information. It
is why we pledge this sorority
00:27:20.84\00:27:24.81
and that frat in the name of
networking and upward mobility,
and I'm not here to condemn any
00:27:24.84\00:27:32.05
of that but I need you to
understand that it is only God
that opens up doors that no man
00:27:32.08\00:27:38.39
can shut and God shuts doors
that no man can open. Are you
all hearing what I'm saying?
00:27:38.42\00:27:44.33
Thank you for joining us for
another broadcast of The Breath
of Life Television Ministry. We
00:27:44.36\00:27:51.00
hope and pray that you were
blessed throughout the three
part series of the message
00:27:51.03\00:27:58.07
titled Claim Your Benefits by
Pastor Debleaire Snell. Join us
next week for part two of the
00:27:58.11\00:28:00.64
third and final episode in the
series. Claim your benefit.
(Breath of Life Theme Music)
00:28:00.68\00:28:25.07
Hi. I'm Debleaire Snell. Have
you ever been in a place where
as soon as you start believing
00:28:25.10\00:28:31.24
big, praying big and thinking
big, someone told you that you
need to be more realistic.
00:28:31.27\00:28:37.95
It was unrealistic for Jesus to
say, I'm going to lay down my
life and in three days I'm going
00:28:37.98\00:28:44.65
to pick it up again. I would
encourage you to put down your
commonly held beliefs. And it's
00:28:44.69\00:28:52.53
time for us to
get unrealistic. [end]
00:28:52.56\00:29:07.61