(Breath of Life Theme Music) 00:00:01.46\00:00:06.77 Sermon #S037 - Level Up- (Part 2) 00:00:06.80\00:00:20.02 Welcome to the Breath of Life Television Ministries broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell! 00:00:20.05\00:00:26.25 In today's episode, Pastor Snell will continue part two of the dynamic Message entitled: “Level 00:00:26.29\00:00:33.73 Up.” Now, let's grow more in Christ through the study of His 00:00:33.76\00:00:39.50 word. Snell:I need somebody to come to in your mind is clarity about the fact that salvation is 00:00:39.53\00:00:50.18 not an acquittal, salvation is a pardon [Congregation: Amen] 00:00:50.21\00:00:53.68 An acquittal suggests that maybe you weren't guilty, or maybe there wasn't enough evidence to 00:00:53.72\00:01:00.96 convict, but guess what, we don't get an acquittal because, we are guilty. That's enough 00:01:00.99\00:01:09.86 damning evidence to condemn us 10 times over. But we are not saved by acquittal we're saved 00:01:09.90\00:01:13.84 by a pardon. A Pardon is when one with authority grants clemency to the guilty and says, 00:01:13.87\00:01:19.34 they can't be punished anymore for the offense that has 00:01:19.37\00:01:24.25 rendered. Do I have at least 17 folk that are grateful that we got a not-guilty, not because we 00:01:24.28\00:01:31.89 were falsely accused, but because the God of authority gave us clemency and made sure 00:01:31.92\00:01:40.80 we received a pardon in Christ. I need you to know that we are saved by our beliefs and not our 00:01:40.83\00:01:47.10 behavior. Are y'all still with the Pastor today? [Congregation: 00:01:47.14\00:01:48.60 Yes] Even my sanctification is not about my doing, it's about 00:01:48.64\00:01:56.44 my becoming. [Congregation: Amen] 00:01:56.48\00:02:00.38 Do you realize that sanctification is not about what 00:02:00.42\00:02:04.52 you do. It's about who you become and when you become the right person in Christ, it 00:02:04.55\00:02:14.93 begins to influence affect your doing. Are y'all hearing me today? I need you to know, 00:02:14.93\00:02:24.21 that's why your goal in Christ is not to perform, its to be transformed. One of the things 00:02:24.24\00:02:33.88 that happens when I pray and I nourish my soul with the word is I get the DNA of Jesus infused 00:02:33.92\00:02:42.86 in me and that's why when I'm transformed by his DNA, it changes my doing. Are y'all 00:02:42.89\00:02:50.90 hearing me today? Let me say this quick way. Your God has blessed me with two wonderful 00:02:50.93\00:02:55.77 young boys, Jaden and Braden. I need you to get these that those are my boys. It's crazy because 00:02:55.80\00:03:03.88 if you were to see a picture of me at 12 or 7, like, my youngest, it will literally look 00:03:03.91\00:03:08.12 as if you're looking in a mirror back in time. The reason that's the case Brother Dudley is 00:03:08.15\00:03:11.05 because they have my DNA. [Congregation: clapping] When somebody has your DNA, they do 00:03:11.09\00:03:26.70 some things not by effort but by genetics. I didn't teach my youngest son how to be dark 00:03:26.74\00:03:36.24 skin. He's that way because he's got my DNA. I didn't teach them to have a certain inflection in 00:03:36.28\00:03:44.12 his voice. He just got that by his DNA. I didn't tell him to be hard-headed and stubborn. He got 00:03:44.15\00:03:49.46 that because he got his mama's DNA. I'm not hearing me when I was there. I didn't tell him 00:03:49.49\00:03:59.33 y'all pray for me on the way home from church. Listen I didn't tell him to walk or 00:03:59.37\00:04:13.65 certain way or talk a certain way. He's just got your boys DNA and guess what, because he's got 00:04:13.68\00:04:22.72 my DNA, he behaves by nature. When you get the DNA of Jesus, you stop trying, you stop 00:04:22.76\00:04:35.77 working, you stop pushing, you just start becoming, and before you know it, you walk like 00:04:35.80\00:04:44.05 Jesus, and you talk like Jesus, and you love like, Jesus, and you serve like Jesus, because 00:04:44.08\00:04:50.85 you've been transformed into His image. Are y'all hearing in the word today, friends? The word 00:04:50.89\00:04:59.39 says here in Verse 17 and he came down and stood on the level place and the crowd and the 00:04:59.43\00:05:02.26 disciples and a great multitude of people from Judea, Jerusalem and from the sea coasts of Tyre 00:05:02.30\00:05:07.00 and Sidon who came to hear him and be healed of their diseases. The third thing that teaches us 00:05:07.04\00:05:16.24 friends of mine is that Jesus responds to your needs, not your history. [Congregation: 00:05:16.28\00:05:24.52 chanting] Luke communicates this spiritual truth through the details that are given. When 00:05:24.55\00:05:30.16 Jesus comes down to the level place, he lets us know who is there in the crowd. Luke makes 00:05:30.19\00:05:35.46 it clear that there for that there are folks that come from Judea, there are folks that come 00:05:35.50\00:05:40.44 from Jerusalem. But then they're also folks from Tyre and Sidon and he lets us know that there 00:05:40.47\00:05:50.05 are some folk who were there that got some evil spirits inside of them. Are y'all with 00:05:50.08\00:05:56.52 me today, friends? What he is ultimately teaching us, is that in this crowd, you don't just 00:05:56.55\00:06:05.33 have a bunch of morally deserving people that get healed by God because God is responding 00:06:05.36\00:06:10.77 to their need and not their history. In other words, he is making it clear that he got folk 00:06:10.80\00:06:16.34 from tire and Sidon. When you read Matthew 11 Verses 21 through 25, that Tyre and Sidon 00:06:16.37\00:06:23.51 are among four cities that are judged and condemned as tending in need of repentance. In fact, 00:06:23.55\00:06:30.79 the sea coasts of Tyre and Sidon got some folks that know how to turn up more than any student on 00:06:30.82\00:06:37.59 a Saturday night. In Tyre and Sidon, they practice witchcraft, they practice the occult, they 00:06:37.63\00:06:42.63 got all types of Black Arts. In fact, the Bible lets us know that you got some folk there 00:06:42.66\00:06:50.41 that have some unclean spirits that have showed up in the crowd and the reason they've got 00:06:50.44\00:06:55.91 unclean spirits, it's because they've got unclean spirits What he's trying to show us is that 00:06:55.94\00:07:00.65 some of the folks who helped me Holy Spirit, they are not morally deserving folk that just 00:07:00.68\00:07:05.35 need an assist from Jesus and it's crazy. I can see it offends some of us a little bit because 00:07:05.39\00:07:12.73 I need you to get that these folks who come in to see Jesus, they don't really care nothing 00:07:12.76\00:07:19.30 about his theology, they don't care anything about his cause, they never necessarily trying to 00:07:19.33\00:07:25.84 be a disciple. Once some of them get what they want, they won't even come back to say, thank you 00:07:25.87\00:07:35.95 at all. They are just showing up because they toe is hurting, their leg is broke, their 00:07:35.98\00:07:43.26 kidney's not functioning, they got a child that they cannot control. In other words, they 00:07:43.29\00:07:52.83 are not there because of what they deserve, they are there because of what they believe. 00:07:52.87\00:07:54.70 What I need somebody to understand is that sometimes God blesses believing folk more than 00:07:54.74\00:08:03.48 He blesses deserving folk. I knew some of us are going to get mad on this, but when you look 00:08:03.51\00:08:12.02 at the prerequisites in Christ is a prerequisite for a move of God, that you are deserving, or 00:08:12.05\00:08:21.46 is the prerequisite that you are believing. Hebrews 11:6 says that without... [Congregation: 00:08:21.50\00:08:29.37 Faith] Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Those that come to God, must believe 00:08:29.40\00:08:41.85 that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. We've spent so much 00:08:41.88\00:08:49.56 time trying to be deserving, but the miracle is on the other side of your believing. I want you to 00:08:49.59\00:08:54.73 hear me. I am not trying to justify promiscuous or disobedient living. Are y'all 00:08:54.73\00:09:01.00 hearing what I'm saying today? But I need to talk to a particular person in the 00:09:01.04\00:09:09.88 household of faith who literally will not approach Jesus with their needs because their sins 00:09:09.91\00:09:13.52 have convinced them that their past has them alienated from God and that they are forever shut 00:09:13.55\00:09:21.76 out from God's favor and his benefits. I need you to understand that grace by nature 00:09:21.79\00:09:28.30 is undeserved. We operate under this meritorious belief that says that, because I've sinned I 00:09:28.33\00:09:37.01 don't even need to ask God, I just got to live with it, I've just got to sit in it, and I 00:09:37.04\00:09:44.95 become a situational matter willing to die on the altar of my past instead of coming to the 00:09:44.98\00:09:53.56 altar of God and we are functioned with the belief that a habit A is going to disqualify 00:09:53.59\00:10:01.10 me from miracle B. I need somebody to know that we don't serve a tit for tat God, that 00:10:01.13\00:10:09.24 blesses you according to what you deserve. That's not the scripture say that God does not 00:10:09.27\00:10:11.17 deal with us according to our sins or according to our transgressions, but out of the 00:10:11.21\00:10:16.01 multitude of his tender mercies. I need you to know when Jesus is there on the mountain He's not 00:10:16.04\00:10:24.49 screening people, He's not evaluating people, He's not looking up people. He just sees 00:10:24.52\00:10:32.03 the need and responds to it. I'm grateful that I serve a savior that looks beyond all of my 00:10:32.06\00:10:37.93 faults and he sees directly my needs. [Congregation: chanting] Some of us still don't believe 00:10:37.97\00:10:45.71 this. You're saying all Pastor, you're watering down the standard. Let me ask you this. 00:10:45.74\00:10:50.95 If you had a child that you told not to get on the steps or to stay into in the chair and you 00:10:50.98\00:10:59.05 told them not to do it and guess what they did it anyway and they fell down and start bleeding, 00:10:59.09\00:11:10.20 would you just sit there and let them bleed to death, and say no you did what I told you not to 00:11:10.23\00:11:15.60 do? No, as soon as they start crying Mama, as soon as they start crying Daddy, you're not 00:11:15.64\00:11:28.12 going to respond to their history. You going to immediately begin ministering to 00:11:28.15\00:11:38.99 the need. Or y'all not with me yet? That's why Jesus said if you being evil know how to give 00:11:39.03\00:11:50.47 good gifts to your children, how much more willing am I to give good gifts to them than simply 00:11:50.51\00:11:54.41 ask? It's crazy friends because he Jesus heals them physically when he touches them or speaks 00:11:54.44\00:12:08.42 the word. But there is a pre-healing that takes place when he just accepts them. There 00:12:08.46\00:12:17.43 was expecting to get turned away at the door. There was expecting for somebody to check idea 00:12:17.47\00:12:24.34 records, but Jesus says, come as you are all that coming to me, I will in no wise, cast them out. 00:12:24.37\00:12:27.88 The problem is any professed godliness that intimidates brokenness is just worldliness 00:12:27.91\00:12:28.91 in church clothes. Are y'all hear what I'm saying today? This story teaches us, friends. I'm 00:12:28.94\00:12:32.61 almost done. Let me say something that we need to hear. This story shows why the body of 00:12:32.65\00:12:40.72 Christ has to have an emphasis on health. I knew I was going quiet. I know that's why some of 00:12:40.76\00:12:47.66 y'all didn't come to church today young. I'll see you at home. That's why. Because when 00:12:47.73\00:12:53.77 we talk about stay with me, y'all stay with me? [Congregation: Yes] When we talk 00:12:53.80\00:13:05.01 about building the black community, do you realize that it is actually the message on 00:13:05.05\00:13:09.98 health that helps level the playing field? It is why we've got to be able to teach people 00:13:10.02\00:13:15.62 how to operate with prosperity in the confines of their health. Are y'all hearing what I'm 00:13:15.66\00:13:20.83 saying? I need you to know that in America, the ground as it relates to health, it is not a 00:13:20.86\00:13:29.27 level playing field. This is why Jesus did certain miracles for those that did not have access 00:13:29.30\00:13:36.11 to conventional medicine. Are y'all hearing what I'm saying today? Why did the woman with 00:13:36.14\00:13:43.55 the issue of blood show up at Jesus feet? Because she spent all of her money on doctors and 00:13:43.59\00:13:49.42 could not be healed by any of them. In other words, as soon as her resources ran out, guess 00:13:49.46\00:13:57.97 what, her treatment ran out and the only hope she had was to get close to the body of Christ. The 00:13:58.00\00:14:03.94 only hope poor sick folk had was to get connected with the body of Christ oh Dr. Pollard, they 00:14:03.97\00:14:09.38 don't read New Testament. The only hope that poor sick folk had was to get in touch with the 00:14:09.41\00:14:18.72 body of Christ. For those who don't know, we are the body of Christ. I need to understand 00:14:18.75\00:14:25.26 that when it comes down to health, there is not a Level Playing Field. Am I telling the 00:14:25.29\00:14:31.77 truth today? Let me show you something. Did you realize that there are some disparities that 00:14:31.80\00:14:35.47 affect us in a way that it does not affect everybody else? Are y'all still with the pastor 00:14:35.50\00:14:43.11 today? Do you realize that 33% of people in the United States... 33% of the folk that 00:14:43.14\00:14:51.89 have kidney failure are black when we only make up about 12.7% of the entire population. The 00:14:51.92\00:14:59.96 Realize the American Cancer Society says that for most cancers African-Americans have 00:15:00.06\00:15:08.17 the highest death rate, the shortest survival rates, do you realize that African-Americans 00:15:08.20\00:15:16.71 have 20% more trauma than whites, but they're 50% less likely to have access to a 00:15:16.75\00:15:24.32 counselor. When it comes down to covid that we are 2.6 times more likely to contract it, 4.7 00:15:24.35\00:15:33.63 times, more likely to be hospitalized and twice as likely to die. Between the ages of 50 00:15:33.66\00:15:43.37 and 64, 23% of blacks in that category, have diabetes, when only 14% of whites have diabetes 00:15:43.41\00:15:50.28 and that same group, 61% of blacks have high blood pressure with only 41% of whites. What I 00:15:50.31\00:16:08.86 need us to understand it is not because there is a genetic inferiority that there is a lack 00:16:08.90\00:16:15.10 of opportunity, a lack of access, a lack of opportunity to get help for that which is 00:16:15.14\00:16:19.41 punishing us on a day-to-day experience. This is why we've got to learn how to teach the 00:16:19.44\00:16:24.68 message of health as good news. I need you to know it is a form of social justice so that when 00:16:24.71\00:16:35.56 there is no access over there, they can come inside of here and find some truth that's going to 00:16:35.59\00:16:41.93 actually help them get set free. It is why we've got to get our clinic reopen. It is why the 00:16:41.96\00:16:48.04 community health actually clinic needs to be in place because it is the message of health. That 00:16:48.07\00:16:53.71 levels the playing field. This is why. Since you're already mad. We got to stop making 00:16:53.74\00:17:03.69 Health reform health deform. Because we preach it in such a harsh and critical and 00:17:03.72\00:17:10.09 judgmental way. Do you realize that God set it up with a health message so as to make the ground 00:17:10.13\00:17:15.30 level. But all we did was create another hill out of it. We created these tears of 00:17:15.33\00:17:19.00 righteousness, based on how you eat. And instead of it becoming a mode of liberation, we made it 00:17:19.03\00:17:21.27 a method of spiritual inspection. Have you ever heard somebody invites you to your 00:17:21.30\00:17:24.87 house, and then they ask you are you vegetarian, and they're not really trying to get your 00:17:24.91\00:17:29.68 dietary preference. They try to see how spiritual you really are. Y'all going to act 00:17:29.71\00:17:40.22 brand-new on me today? We have these little tears based on how you eat, so that folk they eat 00:17:40.26\00:17:54.64 pork and shrimp man, we got them outside the cave. Y'all mad today. I'm going to stand right 00:17:54.67\00:18:01.78 here in your face. We believe the folk that he liked that. They ain't going to heaven. 00:18:01.81\00:18:03.18 They're outside. But then we got a whole another tier for the folk that eat clean meal, that 00:18:03.21\00:18:11.22 we believe they got one foot in the Kingdom. [Congregation: chanting] We think they got one 00:18:11.25\00:18:24.10 foot in but they ain't all the way saved because y'all be missing using some spirit of 00:18:24.13\00:18:33.17 prophecy quotes. That's what y'all do. We think they have little bit saved but they ain't 00:18:33.21\00:18:41.12 all the ways saved, but then you got this other fake group, their level up They vegetarians but 00:18:41.15\00:19:00.10 they eat fish. I'm all in your Jamaican business right now. I'm vegetarian but I eat fish guess 00:19:00.14\00:19:09.01 what? It's got a face, it got eyes that, it got a head. It don't grow on trees, it don't 00:19:09.04\00:19:24.49 come out the ground, come on say Amen [Congregation: Amen] Then I don't another level up, you got 00:19:24.53\00:19:26.53 the vegetarians they eat eggs. I'm vegetarian, but I eat eggs. The egg is going to become Some 00:19:26.56\00:19:32.67 of y'all just culinary abortionists, you get it ahead before it. Then we got a whole 00:19:32.70\00:19:35.94 another group on top. Yo, the vegans and then you got the plant base and then we assess 00:19:35.97\00:19:40.48 spirituality, based upon what people eat and we go against the express teaching of Jesus 00:19:40.51\00:19:49.82 Christ, which says it's not, what goes in a man that defiles but it's what comes out of your 00:19:49.85\00:19:57.49 mouth. Please don't mishear me. I'm espousing it, but what I'm espousing is correct teaching of 00:19:57.53\00:20:01.46 it. Are, you know what I'm saying? We literally condemn Jesus who fed the 5000. I'm 00:20:01.50\00:20:08.07 done. But see this is why we got to preach it. One of the pioneers of the church that the 00:20:08.10\00:20:17.91 message of health is actually an entering wedge for truth. Your health, or what it does, is it 00:20:17.95\00:20:31.03 levels the ground because one of the things that happens is we have some biases against some 00:20:31.06\00:20:36.10 folks. Some folks think we crazy, they think we cook and some of us kind of are. If 00:20:36.13\00:20:42.97 you're offended. [Congregant: Laughing] Why am I saying this? Because when there's a health 00:20:43.00\00:20:50.18 issue, it is the one thing that'll make you look past everything about that person and 00:20:50.21\00:20:58.59 what they believe. I would love to have a Christian doctor or surgeon, but if you get hurting 00:20:58.62\00:21:10.20 bad enough, if I'm in pain, I just need somebody that can help. What I'm saying is it is 00:21:10.23\00:21:19.04 an entrance wedge so that they're people that look past Sabbath and what you eat and 00:21:19.07\00:21:25.45 different things because men if you can help me deal with the pain, that is afflicting my soul 00:21:25.48\00:21:30.02 then, guess what? I'm going to look past all that other stuff. I'm going to listen to what you 00:21:30.05\00:21:34.12 have to say about Jesus. Y'all hearing what I'm saying today? Last thing the story teaches is 00:21:34.16\00:21:39.66 that one of the great things about faith is that faith teaches you, how to wait your 00:21:39.69\00:21:46.94 turn. It's crazy. You realize that when all these folk amass, like when Jesus shows up men the 00:21:46.97\00:21:53.44 throng they are already there. When Jesus is coming down out of the mountain and they see Jesus 00:21:53.48\00:22:03.08 coming down to the level place there is a tension that runs throughout the entire crowd, 00:22:03.12\00:22:09.62 because the power of God, the Bible says, the power goes out of him. In other words, they 00:22:09.66\00:22:20.90 don't want to be at the back of the line so that when Jesus is coming down out of the mountain, 00:22:20.94\00:22:37.19 if he begins to migrate a little bit to the right, the whole crowd shifts over to the right. 00:22:37.22\00:22:45.19 If he shifts over to the left, the whole crowd shifts over to the left and there is a tension 00:22:45.23\00:22:53.00 as brothers and sisters start pushing and pulling and tugging because everybody wants to be 00:22:53.03\00:23:02.01 first to see Jesus Christ. You got to get this friends because nobody wants to be at the back 00:23:02.04\00:23:06.51 of the line. Everybody wants to be at the front of the line. So some are pushing and stepping on 00:23:06.55\00:23:14.26 one another because they are afraid that somebody's going to get what God had intended for 00:23:14.29\00:23:27.10 them. But because Jesus spent the whole night in prayer, I wish I could have been there as 00:23:27.14\00:23:35.74 the divinity of Christ is just oozing out of the humanity of Jesus. You realize that whenever 00:23:35.78\00:23:47.66 you got power in one place, it makes a sound. When Jesus walks by you just hear this. As the 00:23:47.69\00:23:56.00 surge of divinity is inside of him, his flesh may literally be lighting up like a Christmas 00:23:56.03\00:23:59.87 tree and Dr. Jesus go straight the work. He spits on his finger and touches blind eyes and they 00:23:59.90\00:24:15.28 see. He speaks to your leprosy and it departs. You touch his garments and you get healed. He 00:24:15.32\00:24:31.23 speaks the the word and the lame start walking. He puts his hands on you and your disease begins 00:24:31.27\00:24:41.28 to flee when he walks by in his shadow falls on you the lame get made whole. The Bible literally 00:24:41.31\00:24:48.65 says that he stays there and he heals, Desire of Ages says that he heals until the light of the 00:24:48.68\00:24:59.73 sun wears out. He doesn't heal many. He doesn't heal most and guess what, they get to a place 00:24:59.76\00:25:06.27 where people come to Jesus one way, but they leave in a different way. They come blind, 00:25:06.30\00:25:14.21 but the leave seeing, they come deaf, but they leave hearing, they come limping but they leave 00:25:14.24\00:25:19.88 krumping and strutting because when Jesus touches you, you never leave the exact same way 00:25:19.91\00:25:32.26 you came in. But while some are tripping and pushing and pulling, I believe there are 00:25:32.29\00:25:41.04 some who are of faith, but they like, you can go first. I'm straight here at the back. I'll 00:25:41.07\00:25:46.04 wait my turn. I ain't scarred. Why are some able to wait their turn? Why aren't they trying to 00:25:46.07\00:25:54.02 pull somebody else down? Why don't they have to step on anybody else? Why don't they 00:25:54.05\00:26:00.79 have to pull somebody else off the path? Because they know that they serve a Jesus, that never 00:26:00.82\00:26:11.70 runs out, who never gets tired, they simply understand that what God has for me, it is for me. It 00:26:11.73\00:26:18.17 doesn't matter whether I'm at the front of the line or whether I'm in the back of the line, I 00:26:18.21\00:26:25.98 know that what God has positioned me to have. There is no man that can take it away. 00:26:26.01\00:26:31.62 What I'm saying to somebody today is that if you believe in God, you can sit still, you 00:26:31.65\00:26:38.43 ain't got to pull nobody down, you ain't got to push nobody down because, you know, that God 00:26:38.46\00:26:44.43 has enough to go around. The problem is, we got these petty unbelieving folk that feel like 00:26:44.47\00:26:50.97 you got to pull down somebody else in order to raise yourself up. But remember a promotion 00:26:51.01\00:26:54.64 doesn't come from the east or from the west, but promotion and blessing comes from God. That 00:26:54.68\00:27:02.12 should have said this last week, the problem with some of us is we're praying for other people's 00:27:02.15\00:27:09.92 boat to sink. Don't pray for their boat to sink. Pray for high tide because, when you got 00:27:09.96\00:27:16.10 high tide, it raises all boats and when you're in Christ you swim in high tide and he going 00:27:16.13\00:27:22.37 to raise all of us at the same time so that nobody goes lacking and you can trust that God will 00:27:22.40\00:27:32.98 supply whatever you stand in need of. If you believe it somebody shout, hallelujah In 00:27:33.01\00:27:48.30 this place today. For the past 49 years, Breath of life has been presenting the Gospel of 00:27:48.33\00:27:57.27 Jesus Christ. From a contemporary urban perspective, in 2023, we plan to grow our 00:27:57.31\00:28:02.11 reach. And your donations are what help make that possible. This year, our major goal is to 00:28:02.14\00:28:10.29 launch our Breath of Life weekly broadcast into five new cities. In addition, we're excited to 00:28:10.32\00:28:30.54 introduce our new Breath of Life Kids platform with original content created with your little 00:28:30.57\00:28:45.59