Sermon #S038 -
Conncect The Dots - (Part 2)
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Welcome to the Breath of Life
Television Ministries broadcast
with Pastor Debleaire Snell!
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In today's episode, Pastor Snell
will continue part two of the
powerful Message entitled:
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“Connect the Dots.” Now,
let's go into the Word of God.
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Pastor Snell: The second thing
this story teaches us is that
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sometimes you'll never
know what's on the other side of
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God's no. The Bible says to
listen; they just want to go
preach to Malcolm. They want to
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go preach the word. And the
Bible literally says that the
Holy Spirit forbids them to go.
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Now, I need you to get that in
Greek, the word forbid is the
word calientes, which literally
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means to prevent, it means to
obstruct, means to get in the
path of. [Congregation: Amen].
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In other words, it literally
paints the mental image of
somebody going down a certain
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road, somebody standing on the
other side to oppose their
journey. And it literally paints
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a picture of a loved one saying,
you are going the wrong way, but
in order to go the wrong way,
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you going to have to get through
me first. Are you all hearing
what I'm saying? Now, the reason
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for the blockade is not
necessarily given in the
scriptures, but most scholars
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agree that there is some type of
danger that they might not be
able to survive, which is why
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God forbids them to go. Some
suggest that they will face
persecution in Asia, that they
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will not be able to live and
tell the story. And is there
anybody that understands that
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sometimes God requires you to
pivot, where sometimes the path
is obstructed by God? Sometimes
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God will close doors. Sometimes
God will cause your loved one's
man to sound the alarm.
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Sometimes things will not work
out as you hope them to be. See,
the thing I look about God is
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that he never takes away the
power of choice, but he makes it
hard to act on bad choices.
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[Congregation: Amen]. Anybody
glad that every now and then God
gets in your way, that he keeps
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you from a mistake that he says,
man, I'm not going to stop you
from going the wrong way, but
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you going to have to fight me in
order to have to get there. Are
you all hearing me today,
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friends? And can I just pause
and just say this briefly, but
as seriously as I can, there's
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some of us man that need to make
a pivot because there's some
danger on the road that you are
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on that you will not be able to
recover from. I need to speak a
word of sabotage to somebody who
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thinks that because nothing
happened last time or the time
before that, grace is a license
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to sin. But how many of us know
that every now and then, God
turns you around? [Congregation:
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Amen]. See, there are some of us
that need to make a serious
moral pivot because there are
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some of us that are on the path
of smoking and vaping, and you
don't realize that there is no
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road to recovery on that path.
There are some that need to
pivot from the path of sexual
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experimentation and
homosexuality because there is
no recovery on that path.
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There are some that need to
pivot from a life of vengeance
because there is no recovery on
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that path. There are some that
need to pivot from a life of
cuffing in the winter because
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there is no recovery on that
path. There are some young
people that need to pivot from
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thug life or imitating thug life
because that is a road that
leadeth to death. You might not
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recover from that path. And see,
some of us have been ignoring
God so adeptly that we are
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immune to the convictions of the
Holy Spirit. We are numb to win;
God even tries to create
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roadblocks and obstacles to keep
us on a safe path. And I need
somebody to know that for some,
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the road of a pivot is actually
on the path of repentance. Does
anybody realize that the word
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repent means to turn away or to
turn around? And see the problem
with the current church is that
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we are good at confession, but
we are very bad at repentance.
You see, salvation is God's work
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on your behalf, but repentance
is God's work in you to turn
around from certain things.
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[Congregation: Amen]. See, I
need you to know that not only
do you have to be forgiven,
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there's got to be some forsaking
of the evil way. Are you all
hearing what I'm saying today?
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[Congregation: Yes].
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And let me just pause and say
this, that there is this, what's
the term? There is a praise that
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is too often omitted in the
church. There is a praise that
is somewhat imbalanced.
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You notice that you really have
anybody preach this story that
I'm talking about today.
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And the reason sometimes we
don't preach about it or
reference it is because there is
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no obvious miracle in the story.
We are not clear as to why God
forbids them or he does not
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permit them to go into a
perceived area of danger. It's
crazy because we love to shout
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about how God saved Daniel from
the lion's den. And we good over
we're shouting about how God
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saved the 3 Hebrew boys from the
fiery furnace. And we know how
to rejoice and how God rescued
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them from the Red Sea. And we
know how to rejoice when God
allows David to defeat the
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Goliath. And the reason we
rejoice in those stories is
because the danger is obvious,
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and the danger is more visible.
And the problem is that some
will only praise for divine
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rescue, but we will not praise
for divine redirection.
[Congregation: Amen].
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Okay. In other words, I need you
to know that what Providence
does is that Providence sees the
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trap down the line and calls you
to pivot way back so that the
plague doesn't even come near
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until you are dwelling. See, I
serve the God that sits high,
and he looks low. He sees
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through time as though it were
invisible. Can anybody praise
God that looks around the
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corner? He sees past last month,
he sees past next year, he sees
ten years from now,
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and anybody can praise God that
he intercepted you so far from
the danger that you never even
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saw the danger. In other words,
I was telling the kids in
worship two Friday nights ago,
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they say, Man, Daddy, we want to
see more miracles. I said, don't
worry about seeing miracles;
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you've got to learn how to count
your mercies. [Congregation:
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Amen]. In other words, I thank
God for how he kept the Hebrew
boys in the fiery furnace.
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I thank God for how he
kept Daniel in the lion's den.
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But I believe if they were here
to preach, they would say, I
thank God that he kept us in the
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furnace. I think he kept us from
the lion's den. But I thank God
when he keeps us from being in
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danger. [Congregation: Amen].
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Okay. See, I need us to get to a
place where we don't just praise
God. See, I praise God because
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he's kept me in car accidents.
But I wake up and praise God
when he keeps me from car
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accidents. I saw you all still
not with me yet. I praise God
that he kept me in some fights.
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But now I praise him that he
keeps me from having to fight.
[Congregation: Amen].
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I thank God that he's kept some
in shootings. But can you praise
him that he's kept you from mass
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shootings? Can anybody praise
him that he kept you in poverty?
But now you can rejoice because
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he's keeping you from poverty.
And see, there is somebody
that's waiting for a miracle.
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How many of us know that you'll
only have 7 or 8 miracles, but
you'll have more mercies than
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you can ever count? It is what
Jeremiah says it is because of
the Lord's mercies that we are
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not consumed by his compassions;
they fail, not they are new
every morning. Can the church
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shout great is thy faithfulness?
You don't realize you just
inhaled the mercy. You just
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exhaled the mercy when you
waved; that was a mercy. When
you stood, that was a mercy.
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When you ate, that was a mercy.
When the plane landed, it was a
mercy. When you got to school,
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it was a mercy. You may only
have a few miracles, but can't
we praise him for the mercies
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that are endless and constant,
and unceasing? Praise God for
his mercies. [Congregation:
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Amen]. Are you all
hearing the word today?
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[Congregation:
Clapping. Amen. Yes].
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Listen, the third thing this
teaches us is that sometimes God
changes your path, so your path
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doesn't change you. So they
sense that the Spirit is telling
them not to preach. So he
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creates a blockade. I mean, I
can't get over this. He forbids
them from going to preach. So
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then they say, okay, we are
going to pivot. We not going to
go over there Tasia, we're going
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to pivot, we're going to go over
it to Bithynia. But then the
Bible says that the Spirit would
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not... your version may say
suffer them to go, another
version says, he won't permit
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them to go. So it's crazy
because that word in the Greek
here is not as strong as the
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word forbid is the word
[foreign], which means that the
Spirit would not leave them
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alone, says the Spirit will not
leave them to their own devices.
So what the Spirit does is he
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constantly pricks them until
they alter their course. Now,
this is an interesting thing
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about Bithynia. See scholars
believe that Bithynia is not
dangerous. Bithynia was just
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going to be fruitless. Okay, all
right. So there's a combination
of things. The Spirit keeps them
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from going to Bithynia, but then
God gives Paul a vision and a
dream of a man in Macedonia who
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is begging and pleading for you
all to come and bring the gospel
over here. And so when I look at
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it in its Samothracia totality,
it's essentially what God is
saying is that there is no
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fruitfulness in your work there.
So I'm going to aim you to
somebody who wants what you have
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to offer.
[Congregation: Clapping. Amen].
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Pastor Snell: Okay?
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[Congregation: Yes].
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So, hear me, they are not going
to receive what Paul has to say
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in Bithynia. It's going to fall
on deaf ears in Bithynia. They
are not going to be met with
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persecution; they're just going
to be met with indifference.
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And see what God is trying to
show the apostle Paul that if
you go over into Bithynia,
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you can sow, but you're not
going to reap. You can invest,
but you're not going to get a
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return. You can work hard, but
there'll be no wages. You can
make all the deposits you want
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in Bithynia, but you will be
able to make not a single
withdrawal from that area.
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And see, the efforts are so
fruitless, and the circumstance
will be so discouraging that if
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Paul doesn't change the path,
the path may change him. See, I
need you to know what Bithynia
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does. It is that fruitless
terrain of life that there is no
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success, and there is no
fruitfulness, and it is no
improvement. No matter how hard
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you pray, no matter how hard you
try, no matter how hard you
believe, because it is not God's
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plan, it is a fruitless terrain
regardless of your effort. And
the danger of Bithynia is that
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it affects your faith. It leaves
a bad taste in your mouth. It'll
cause you to lose months and
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weeks, and years that you'll
never get back. You see,
Bithynia is that stretch of life
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where the ground is fallow and
hard. It represents those
people, circumstances, and
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situations that are not ready to
receive what God has given you.
Are you all listening to your
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boy today? And see, Bithynia is
not a bad place, but it's just
not a ripe place. It's just not
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a fruitful circumstance. Are you
hearing me? It is a place of
wasted time, labor, and effort;
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it is a place of wasted
investment. Bithynia is where
you spent 20 years on that job
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only to still find yourself
overworked and underappreciated.
And after 20 years, you find out
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that there was a lid there and
there was never any room for you
to grow. Bithynia, young adult,
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is when you spend six years with
the wrong person only to realize
you are preparing them for the
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next man or woman. Bithynia is
when you start the business in
the wrong season only to see it
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go belly up because it was ahead
of schedule. Bithynia, seniors,
is when you spend three years in
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the wrong major only to come to
graduation and realize you spent
$60,000 studying the wrong
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course. And see, the danger of
Bithynia, church, is not that it
kills you; it just changes you.
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Bithynia takes something from
you. Bithynia drains you. It
exhausts you because when you've
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given so much to the wrong job,
you show up jaded and
unprofessional when God gives
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you the right job. It is where
you've been so hurt by the wrong
person that now you are cautious
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and rationing out love when God
gives you the right kind of
person. It is that season
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because you started the business
under presumption; now you're
scared to start it when God is
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calling you to act according to
faith. It is that place in life
where you can recover in some
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ways, but what Bithynia does is
it messes with you and breaks
you in areas that you never ever
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recover from. Oh, and can I just
pause and say this, man? What
Bithynia does, and the most
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crushing thing about Bithynia,
is that it causes you to waste
weeks and months and years and
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time that you never recover.
See, I need somebody to get
that. You can regain money, you
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can recover things, you can
rebuild friendships, but the one
thing you never get back is the
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time you have wasted. There is
no reclaiming of the time. Are
you all hearing what I'm saying?
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In all the miracles in
scripture, you have literally
seen God open up the Red Sea.
00:15:36.77\00:15:47.44
You've seen him cause the sun to
be still. He's caused acts,
heads to float. He's called
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money to come out of Fisher's
mouth. He has literally stopped
storms. He has caused the dead
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to rise from their graves. But
the one miracle God has never
done is allow somebody to go
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back in time and get a do-over.
So I'm going to tell especially
the young amongst us, don't
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waste your time. You are only
going to be a teenager once in
your life. You are only going to
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be in your 20s once in your
life. You are only going to be
in your early 30s once in your
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life. And you need to be careful
how you invest some of those
great years of your life because
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there is no recovery once they
are gone. And see folk who waste
time; they want to tell the lie
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that 40 is the new 30. The
arthritis in my knees says the
devil is a lie. [Congregation:
00:16:59.91\00:17:09.22
Amen]. No, 40 is 40. Come on
now; you can get all the
byzantine in your beard; the
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grey is going to still show up.
40 is the new 30. Yeah. All
right, keep telling yourself
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that. Brothers, hear me, don't
waste your time because
everything that glitters ain't
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gold. Young brother, if God
shows you a woman who is the
one, don't do that stupid thing
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where you try to put her on ice;
go live your best life, and
assume she's going to be waiting
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for you when you decide to come
back home. No man, if she is the
one, you better do what Beyonce
00:17:36.38\00:17:42.82
said, "If you like it, you
better, oh, you all spiritual,
you all love the Lord. Okay. I
00:17:42.86\00:17:44.89
can see who ain't saved. Hey,
man, if you like it, then you
better put a ring. Are you all
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hear what I'm saying today? In
other words, ma'am, the one
regret even of a man who marries
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somebody later on, it doesn't
matter how many women he has had
in his youth, he never forgets
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the one that got away.
[Congregation: Amen. Clapping].
And it's crazy because it
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doesn't proverb; Solomon says
it. He says, who can find a
virtuous woman? Because her
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value is high above rubies. No,
I don't know if you all are
getting this. He's saying when
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you find the one, I need you to
know the one doesn't grow on
trees; she is like a precious
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stone that you only come upon
once or twice in a lifetime. Are
you hearing what I'm saying? And
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see, you got to take this from
Solomon, who had all these wives
and all these combines, and all
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these tenths of women because
Solomon teaches us that the love
of many women still falls short
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of the love of the right woman.
Are you all hearing what I'm
saying? See, we are stupid in
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our youth because many women
make you the man, but the right
woman makes you the man God
00:19:10.81\00:19:13.35
intended you to become. Are you
hearing what I'm saying?
[Congregation: Amen. Yes.
00:19:13.38\00:19:19.85
Clapping]. All right. Ladies,
don't waste your 20s and 30s
waiting on his potential. If
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he's 37, that ain't potential,
you are all quiet. That's who he
is, see, man. [Congregation:
00:19:27.93\00:19:33.87
Background chatting]. This is
not in the sermon, but can I say
this, young sisters? And I hate
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to go young; black women pay a
high toll for wasting their 20s
with the wrong guy because the
00:19:51.59\00:19:58.06
inequity of life is sometimes
men can fool around in their 20s
and 30s and come back in their
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40s and 50s and still find a
good woman in the church. But
how many 45-50-year-old single
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men in this church love God, are
successful, and spiritual, and
even if it's 1, you're going to
00:20:12.01\00:20:15.78
have to fight 17 women to get
next to him? Are you all hearing
what I'm saying? [Congregation:
00:20:15.81\00:20:23.15
Clapping]. And seeing this is
why you cannot waste your time
in Bithynia because if you don't
00:20:23.18\00:20:29.29
change your path, the path is
going to change you. Because
what Bithynia does is it takes
00:20:29.32\00:20:35.70
away your faith, it takes away
your optimism, it takes away
your hopefulness, it takes away
00:20:35.73\00:20:42.40
your creativity. It makes you
settle in a place where God
never ever intended you to be.
00:20:42.44\00:20:47.38
So you've got to stop short of
Bithynia. The last thing I'm
going to say before I'm done is
00:20:47.41\00:20:55.68
that sometimes a pivot requires
patience. Now, the reason I had
you read a whole lot at the
00:20:55.72\00:20:59.05
beginning is so that you get
some context for the sequence of
events. I promise you I'm almost
00:20:59.09\00:21:03.36
done. Okay. I'm going to take my
time. Amen. Hey, I was counting
on somebody saying that.
00:21:03.39\00:21:08.40
[Congregation: Laughing]. If we
get out late, blame this front
row right here in the church.
00:21:08.43\00:21:16.40
[Congregation: Laughing]. A
pivot requires patience.
Remember, so God keeps them from
00:21:16.44\00:21:26.28
going to Asia, keeps them from
going over to Bithynia. But then
God shows up in a vision or a
00:21:26.31\00:21:32.75
dream to Paul, and what he sees
in the vision is a man who is
pleading with him to come and
00:21:32.79\00:21:36.12
help us over here in Macedonia.
In other words, God is saying,
listen, they don't want it where
00:21:36.16\00:21:40.06
you're trying to go. So I want
you to take it to those who are
going to receive it. Now, I'm
00:21:40.10\00:21:49.00
not exactly sure exactly how
Paul is going to interpret this
thing. I don't know. When he
00:21:49.04\00:21:55.31
goes to Macedonia, he is
literally going to look for the
man in his dreams that is
00:21:55.34\00:22:01.38
begging for him to come and
help. Now remember when he goes
into Macedonia, he first enters
00:22:01.42\00:22:05.12
the city of Philippi, and there
he meets a woman named Lydia who
is a seller of purple in the
00:22:05.15\00:22:11.26
land of Thyatira. Now,
understand that Paul goes there
looking for a man, but the first
00:22:11.29\00:22:19.50
thing he finds is a woman who is
hungry for the gospel of Jesus
Christ. And the Bible says he's
00:22:19.53\00:22:24.17
already prepared the woman and
opened her heart to receive the
things that the apostle has to
00:22:24.21\00:22:29.61
say so that by the time they get
there, they are hungry and
waiting for the word. And the
00:22:29.64\00:22:37.95
Bible says that she and her
entire household get baptized.
Now, this is the point, I'm sure
00:22:37.99\00:22:44.86
he is rejoicing in their
salvation, but perhaps there is
a dissonance, a disconnect. Why?
00:22:44.89\00:22:55.40
Because that's not the person,
he saw in his dreams. But don't
get so caught up on what you saw
00:22:55.44\00:23:01.31
in your dreams that you pivot
out of the Providence that God
is leading you into. And see,
00:23:01.34\00:23:07.72
what I'm saying to somebody is
that sometimes you got to wait
and allow all of the dots to be
00:23:07.75\00:23:12.89
connected. Because, see, there
is somebody who is literally
frustrated because you made a
00:23:12.92\00:23:17.56
pivot in faith, and you stepped
out, and things have not worked
out like you wanted them to. You
00:23:17.59\00:23:19.83
still don't have the job of your
dreams. You don't live in the
house of your dreams; you don't
00:23:19.86\00:23:27.24
have the person of your dreams.
You're not in the ministry of
your dreams. And what I'm saying
00:23:27.27\00:23:36.78
to somebody is that when you
don't see with your eyes what
God showed you in your dreams,
00:23:36.81\00:23:47.69
you've just got to be still and
allow God to connect the dot.
Are you all hear what I'm
00:23:47.72\00:23:53.66
saying? Okay, stay with your boy
for a second. So, God goes into
the Philippi and sees Lydia, who
00:23:53.70\00:23:57.87
is the seller of purple in
Thyatira. And the Bible says she
and her whole household get
00:23:57.90\00:24:05.14
baptized, and one dot is
connected. But then the Bible
says that they go down into the
00:24:05.17\00:24:12.51
house of prayer, but then they
find a little servant girl who's
got an evil spirit that would
00:24:12.55\00:24:20.49
annoy Paul each and every day.
And your boy Paul gets so mad
that the authority of God
00:24:20.52\00:24:28.33
erupts, and he just calls the
evil Spirit out of that girl.
And then the girl shows up with
00:24:28.36\00:24:33.57
cloth in her right mind. He
didn't come for the girl. That's
not who he saw in his dreams,
00:24:33.60\00:24:40.48
but when he meets the girl,
another dot is connected. Now,
when all the men of Macedonia
00:24:40.51\00:24:45.85
show up, Paul thinks, okay, here
come the men in my dreams. But
guess what? They don't come to
00:24:45.88\00:24:53.62
congratulate Paul. They are mad
because the money is going to
get cut short beca- use he has
00:24:53.66\00:25:02.16
called the evil Spirit out of
that girl, and they begin to
beat Paul with rods, and they
00:25:02.20\00:25:04.17
throw him into jail. And for a
minute, I think your boy Paul
May be tripping Steve because
00:25:04.20\00:25:09.87
Paul is like, "You wouldn't
forbid me to go there because of
the danger there, but you let me
00:25:09.90\00:25:14.84
get beaten here and jailed
here." [Congregation: Yes]. But
the thing I like about Paul is
00:25:14.88\00:25:25.49
that he does not allow his faith
to get overwhelmed by
circumstance. So the Bible says
00:25:25.52\00:25:34.73
that they throw him bloody and
beaten into a prison. But the
Bible says that at midnight he
00:25:34.73\00:25:44.27
wasn't up complaining and
whining. At midnight, the Bible
says that Paul and Silas were
00:25:44.31\00:25:55.25
praying and singing praises unto
God. And the Bible says that the
prisoners heard them, and
00:25:55.28\00:26:04.29
because they were praising at
midnight, the Bible says that
the earth began to quake, the
00:26:04.33\00:26:12.10
ground began to shake, the
prison doors got open, and
suddenly all their bands were
00:26:12.13\00:26:21.88
loose, and all the men were
there listening to the gospel.
And it's crazy now because Paul
00:26:21.91\00:26:28.05
still hadn't seen the man in his
dreams, but then there is a
guard of the prison who has a
00:26:28.08\00:26:30.09
sword and is about to off
himself. And Paul says, do
yourself no harm because we are
00:26:30.12\00:26:35.12
already here. And then the Bible
says that then this man that
Paul saw in his dreams comes to
00:26:35.16\00:26:37.39
Paul begging and asking what
must I do in order to be saved?
[Congregation: Amen]. We didn't
00:26:37.43\00:26:47.90
want it over before, but guess
what? I want it right now, Paul.
They didn't want it in Asia,
00:26:47.94\00:26:54.48
they didn't want it in Bithynia,
but me and these prisoners are
sitting here ready to receive
00:26:54.51\00:27:01.08
everything you have in store for
me. For the past 49 years,
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