Sermon #S041 - Don't Go
Down With The Ship - (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
dynamic Message titled:
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“Don't Go Down with the Ship.”
Now, let's learn more about
God's power through His Word
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Pastor Snell: And see, the
problem with the contemporary
church is that we guard the
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front door, but we leave
some access points uncovered. In
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other words, there are certain
things as human beings where we
have some access points that we
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leave uncovered because we're
watching for temptation in one
direction, not realizing it
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comes in all directions. In
other words, brother, you may be
watching against the other woman
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on your job, but are you
guarding against the other
Instagram models on your phone?
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In other words, young people, we
guard against negative messages
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from other people, but are you
guarding against negative
messages in your music? You're
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on guard, sisters, against those
that try to tear down your
marriage and your family,
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but what about when you're
watching Real Housewives of
Atlanta? Ooh, you all want me to
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end this sermon? Okay,
[Congregation: Laughing]
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We're on guard against crack for
our kids against crack and
ecstasy and heroin,
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but what about the pills in your
cabinet or the lean or the
vaping pens that have no
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consequence? Let me just be
clear that I am not anti-social
media. Some of us are watching
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the sermon on social media, but
as a man of God, I've got to
engage in a very tepid way
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because there is a level of
nakedness that we've just become
numb to that's corrupting us and
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drawing us out of spiritual
purity. And what I'm saying
today, friends, is that you
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can't just guard the front door,
you've got to watch the windows.
It is why we are cautioned, like
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the old school folk used to say,
to guard the avenues of your
soul. You got to guard your
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eyes, where the church at today.
You got to guard your ears,
where the church at today. You
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got to guard where you're
touching and what you're
ingesting because every avenue
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you leave uncovered is a point
of vulnerability for the enemy.
And it's crazy because I need
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you to know, the Bible says
there is nothing new under the
sun. So there are no new
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temptations, but how we access
them is different. Isn't it
crazy how warfare is constantly
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shifting? You realize maybe 200
years ago, soldiers learned how
to use a sword and a shield. 50
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years ago, soldiers learned how
to use a gun. But right now,
soldiers are learning how to use
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a computer because the field,
the battle has changed. And what
I'm saying is we've got to
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realize that some of our
greatest temptations, you ain't
got to leave your house, you
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ain't got to leave your bedroom.
All your kid has to have is a
device and some internet, and
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the beelzebub is all up in
your business. [Congregation:
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Applause] So you can't just
guard the front door, you got to
guard against every access point
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in your house. It's crazy, when
we first moved into our house,
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we kind of out in the country
next to a field, and just a
couple of days after we first
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moved in, there were some little
field mice somehow getting into
the house. And so it's crazy
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Malcolm, like a fool, I'm
walking around checking into the
depth underneath the front door.
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But guess what? The front door
was completely sealed. They
weren't coming in through the
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front door, they weren't
coming in through the window.
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And so when the builder came by,
I was like, "Dude, something is
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about to go down. These
mice keep getting in the house."
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And they made it clear that the
mice are not coming through the
doors or the windows.
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But even though you have a brick
facade at the bottom of the
house, you have what they call
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weep holes. And see, those weep
holes are at the bottom. They're
put there to kind of let the
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heat man escape from the house.
And they made it very clear that
wherever there is an access
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point, a mouse is able to get
in. And so what I had to do was
get these little get steel wool
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and bind it and stuff it inside
of the weep holes so that it
will cut the mice and still
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allow the heat to escape. And
what I'm saying is that there
are some weep holes in our lives
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and you got to find something
that the devil cannot penetrate
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[Congregation: Applause]
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And put it there so that you're
not made too vulnerable. Are you
all hearing me today, friends?
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[Congregation: Yes.]
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Bible says here in Joshua
chapter two and verse number 13,
stay with me in the Scriptures
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today, Joshua 2:13. Look at what
the word says. The Bible says,
"And spare my father and my
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brothers and my sisters," excuse
me, let me actually look over
here at verse number four. So
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the woman took the two men and
hid them, and the men came and
said, "I do not know where they
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are from." And then verse six,
the Bible says, "But she had
brought them up to the roof and
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hidden them with stalks of flax
which she had laid in order on
the roof." Watch this. Third
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thing this teaches us, friends,
is that God plans ahead. Now,
this is a dangerous mission for
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these two men. They go, Joe,
behind enemy lines, unarmed,
without the support of a SEAL
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team. And the cavalry is nowhere
in sight. In other words, they
do this with an immense amount
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of risk because if they get
found out or outed, the king is
going to have their heads. And
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it's amazing because the king
literally comes and somebody, I
don't know what it is, maybe it
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is their accent that gives them
away. Maybe it is they have an
energy that is not in line with
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the likes of the people that
normally fellowship in these
types of spaces, but there is
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somebody that dimes them out and
lets the king know that the
Israelites are in the arena. And
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it's amazing because there is a
small miracle embedded here in
the text because the Bible says
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that the king sends soldiers to
question Rahab and to arrest the
men. But the Bible says that she
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hides the men in a stalk of flax
that is on the roof that had
already been put there.
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[Congregation: Yes, yes.] Okay,
some of you all still didn't get
it. You see, a stalk of flax,
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it is a long kind of group
of vines that are sometimes laid
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out to bleach. And they can be
about seven feet tall and about
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eight feet wide. And they're
tall enough to hide the men even
though they're exposed on the
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top of the walls. See, some of
you all still don't see God. You
see, not only does God send them
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behind enemy lines, God sends
them to the home of a harlot
that's got a soft spot.
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Not only does he send them to
the home of a woman that has a
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soft spot, God has already
provided a safe place on the
wall so that before they got
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outed, before the king shows up,
before the men entered the room,
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God had already provided a
hiding place so that the men
could not be taken away.
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[Congregation: Applause]
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And see, what I need somebody to
understand fundamentally is that
when your steps are ordered by
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God, that God plans ahead. I
need somebody to know that God
is not sitting here at 12:54
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responding to situations that
may arise. God has already
looked into your tomorrow, known
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what is coming down the path,
and he has already put things in
place to make sure that you go
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lacking no good thing. And see,
I need somebody to understand
that God loves you too much to
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let stuff overtake you. I need
you to know that God has made
provision for deficits that are
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18 years down the line. I need
somebody to be clear that God
sits on high, that he looks low,
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and he knows what things you
stand in need of. So I need you
to know, even if you lost a job
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this week, I need you to know
God already has some provision
in place. I need you to know
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that even when they walk out the
door, God knew it was going to
happen and he has put some
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resources in place. I need you
to know that while you are
trying to figure it out, God has
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already worked it out.
Are you all hearing me today?
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[Congregation: Applause.]
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It's crazy. One of the things
that happens on occasion is we
take some road trips in our car,
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and one of the funny things
about it is that then, me and my
wife, we pack differently.
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And it's interesting because
whether we're gone two days or
two weeks, we going to have the
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same amount of stuff in the car.
And one of the reasons that
happens is I plan for the
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destination. She plans with the
family in mind. And so, because
I like to pack real light and
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lean and not have a whole lot of
stuff, but it's crazy because
I've come to understand her way
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makes a whole lot more sense,
especially when the kids are
inside of the car because, man,
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she's planning ahead for every
particular situation that might
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arise. And so I'm mad because we
got all this stuff in the car,
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but she knows that I
don't like to stop for nothing,
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but gas. So she knows somebody's
going to say, "I'm hungry" soon
as we finish eating
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and we ain't got to stop. She's
saying, "Here it is. I planned
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for it." And then as soon as we
get a little further, somebody's
going to say, "I'm thirsty."
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We ain't got to stop
because she's planned for it.
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Soon as we get down the way,
somebody's going to say, "I left
my charger." We ain't got to
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stop because she already planned
for it. Somebody on the way home
is going to say, "I forgot my
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homework." We ain't got to go
back because she's got it in the
back seat. She's already planned
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for it. Somewhere down the line,
somebody's going to say, "I'm
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bored." She's got some, I got
some books I've already planned
for it. In other words,
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we ain't got to stop or make no
adjustments because she's
planned for every possible
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scenario that we might face. And
what I'm saying is, if an
earthly parent can plan for
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every eventuality, what about
your father in heaven? Who knows
every need that's going to
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arise? He knows every deficit
that's going to occur. He knows
every enemy that's going to be
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revealed. He knows every problem
that's going to arise. And I
need you to know you ain't got
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to stop. He's already
packed it. [Congregation: Amen]
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Are you all hearing the word
today, my friend? Fourth thing,
this teaches us today and, and,
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and stay with the past for a
minute, is that some frustration
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is a good thing. Now let me take
a moment to create a narrative
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and some context around Rahab so
that we get a better picture of
who she actually is.
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Now, the Bible says that she is
a harlot. Your version may say a
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prostitute, but the English
translation doesn't really quite
do justice to the word because
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the actual meaning is a little
bit wider and broader than what
the English suggests.
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In fact, what the Hebrew
actually suggests is that the
woman is not necessarily just a
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harlot, but that she is an
innkeeper. Or one phrase says
that she is a keeper of the
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victuals. In other words, I need
you to get this about Rahab, is
that Rahab has a certain utility
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about her. In other words,
she is not just a prostitute.
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Rahab has a particular set of
skills that allows her to be
whoever she needs to be,
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whenever she needs to
be that particular person.
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And so I need you to get that
Rahab is probably on the tail
end of young adult life.
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Why? Because she is able to hear
about how God dried up and
opened up the Red Sea,
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which was at least 40 years ago
from this. So that Rahab is not
just some young erratic toy.
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Her greatest asset is her mind
and her judgment and her ability
to read situations. Are you all
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hearing me today? In other
words, as an innkeeper or keeper
of the victuals, she has a
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business mind as she knows how
to handle money and how to
delegate responsibility. She is
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a trafficker of information. So
she keeps her ear low to the
ground. She doesn't know just
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what's happening in Jericho. She
knows what's happening in all
the surrounding lands. And
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because of some of her uncouth
experience, Rahab knows how to
read, especially men. And she is
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very good at fooling them and
making them think that she's on
their side when she knows she's
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actually not. And I need you to
know that Rahab operates, man,
with this very cold and
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calculating a risk and reward
rubric that helps inform some of
the decisions that she is able
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to make. Now, again, I told you
earlier that prostitution is a
part of the economy, the
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commerce, the tourism in
Jericho. But I need you to
understand that the only way to
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keep a fresh supply of women in
this work, they've had to enact
some pathologies that bring
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oppression to a particular group
of people. In other words, the
way they got all these ladies
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operating in Jericho is because
when Jericho goes and overtakes
another land, they don't destroy
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the women. They imprison and
traffic them, and they bring
them back to operate in the sex
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trade when they get back to
Jericho. Are you all with me
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today, friends? The other way
they do this is through social
conditioning or caste. What do
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you mean, pastor? See, Jericho
is one of those cities where
your dreams really didn't mean
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much because your destiny was
tied to your heredity. In other
words, if your daddy was a
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farmer, that meant you was going
to be a farmer. If your family
was royalty, it meant you were
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going to be royalty. If your dad
was a silversmith, you were
going to be a silversmith. If
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your mom was a midwife, then you
were going to be a midwife. And
guess what? If the women in your
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family were harlots? In other
words, I need you to understand
that this particular path is not
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chosen by Rahab. Maybe it's
chosen for Rahab. In other
words, maybe she is not just
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this immoral person who strayed.
Maybe she is a wounded person
that has had a number of traumas
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inflicted upon her that informs
who she is and why she does what
she does. Are you all hearing me
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thee? And see, let me just say
this to the church, that we've
got to be mindful about how we
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judge people's brokenness.
[Congregation: Applause]
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And I wan to be careful in how I
say this because we can never
absolve anybody completely of
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there choices, but I've kind of
learned that some of us didn't
make good choices. We had good
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choices.
[Congregation: We have.]
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In other words, you chose to
come between Spelman and
Oakwood. You were able to make
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one of two good choices. Are you
hearing me today? But how many
of us understand that there are
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brothers and sisters in our
community that have to operate
on a level of survival where all
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of their options have fatality
attached to them, and they are
constantly choosing between the
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frying pan and the fire? So we
walk around, well, I don't
understand why women stay in
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physically abusive
relationships. Yes, it ain't
going to make sense to you
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because sometimes she's got to
choose whether I'm going to be
beaten by my husband or whether
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I'm going to leave and leave my
children there without somebody
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to protect them. In other words,
she didn't make a good choice
because at a certain point, she
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didn't have a good choice. We
run around, don't understand why
some of these boys join these
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gangs. Do you realize that there
are neighborhoods in this
country that are so predatory
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that sometimes the brother has
to compromise his future and get
with the gang today? Because
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sometimes the walk alone means
that he's going to be beaten and
bullied into submission. There
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are times, friends of mine,
where you got to do the right
thing, but there's somebody that
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wants to keep the Sabbath. But
the boss has told them that if
you go into church this week,
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you going to have to go home and
tell your wife and your kids
that the lights are going to be
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soon to get cut off in your
house. Are you all hearing what
I'm saying today, friends?
00:17:59.67\00:18:02.01
I need somebody to understand
that I'm at a place where I've
learned to reserve judgment
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about what people choose until
I'm able to see what all their
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options are.
[Congregation: Amen.]
00:18:14.12\00:18:15.79
See, I need somebody to
understand that when you look at
what the people's options are,
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it makes sense for
what their choices are.
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And I'm at a place where I've
learned that I'm not going to
judge anybody else until I've
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walked a mile in their shoes.
Are you all hearing what I'm
saying today, friends?
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[Congregation: Applause]
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And let me just
pause and say this
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because I think that there is a
praise that too often we fail to
give in the Church of God.
00:18:34.41\00:18:41.95
See, sometimes you ought to just
say, "Lord, I thank you that I
had multiple good options.
00:18:41.98\00:18:49.39
Oh God, Lord, I thank you that I
had good options to choose from.
00:18:49.42\00:18:54.36
Do you realize I'm thankful
today that I didn't have to
choose between stealing and
00:18:54.40\00:19:01.07
starving? I had to choose
between Morning Star and
Impossible Burger. Bro, are you
00:19:01.10\00:19:06.64
all hearing what I'm saying? In
other words, some of us ought to
say, 'Lord, I thank you that I
00:19:06.68\00:19:12.78
didn't have to choose between
sleeping in the shelter and
sleeping in my car.
00:19:12.81\00:19:14.58
You got to choose which side of
the bed you wanted to sleep on
00:19:14.62\00:19:19.45
last night. Somebody ought to
say, "Lord, I thank you that I
didn't have to choose between
00:19:19.49\00:19:25.03
Sabbath and unemployment. You
got to choose whether or not you
wanted to go to work or not
00:19:25.06\00:19:30.97
yesterday." Somebody ought to
say, "Lord, I thank you that I
don't have to choose between
00:19:31.00\00:19:35.40
paying tithe and paying bills.
All you had to choose was
whether or not you wanted to go
00:19:35.44\00:19:40.74
to Dillard's or Belk." Is there
anybody that can say, "Lord, I'm
thankful that I didn't have to
00:19:40.78\00:19:46.61
choose between helping my family
by getting my education or by
helping my family by quitting my
00:19:46.65\00:19:50.15
education." All you had to
choose from is to see whether
you going to see John Wick or
00:19:50.19\00:19:55.26
Creed 3, tonight. And do I have
at least eight or nine folks
that are just going to say,
00:19:55.29\00:19:58.93
"Lord, I thank you that I got
some good options to choose
from." Oh, you all mighty bougie
00:19:58.96\00:20:04.77
in here today. Can you say,
"Lord, I thank you that I can
choose what I wanted to eat.
00:20:04.80\00:20:09.37
Lord, I thank you that I can
choose what I wanted to wear."
00:20:09.40\00:20:13.44
Is anybody thankful that you can
choose what doctor your kids go
00:20:13.48\00:20:18.28
to? Is there anybody thankful
that you can choose to stay home
00:20:18.31\00:20:22.62
and work? Is there anybody
thankful that you can choose to
homeschool or attend Oakwood?
00:20:22.65\00:20:26.99
Is there anybody thankful that
all of your choices are not bad,
but God has put good options
00:20:27.02\00:20:36.16
before you? Are you
hearing me today, friends?
00:20:36.20\00:20:38.13
[Congregation: Applause]
00:20:38.17\00:20:39.13
No. I do have to say
this as the people of God.
00:20:39.17\00:20:42.67
There are going to be times
where it looks like all of your
options are bad. Are you all
00:20:42.70\00:20:48.91
with me? But you can't let your
options dictate your ethics.
00:20:48.94\00:20:54.18
[Congregation: Amen]
00:20:54.22\00:20:57.45
All right, help me, Holy Spirit.
You can't let your options
dictate your ethics
00:20:57.49\00:21:03.12
because there're going to be
times where this way looks bad
and that way looks bad,
00:21:03.16\00:21:08.76
when this way is immoral and
that way is immoral. I need you
to know, don't just close your
00:21:08.80\00:21:15.77
eyes and choose because there's
always another way that your
eyes can't see. Oh, Lord. See,
00:21:15.80\00:21:29.58
when all your options are bad,
it just means you're on miracle
territory. In other words, when
00:21:29.62\00:21:40.36
Pharaoh's army is behind you and
the Red Sea is in front of you
and all your options are bad,
00:21:40.40\00:21:45.43
it just means God is going to
make a way where there is no
way. And He is going to put a
00:21:45.47\00:21:52.61
highway in the Red Sea. When the
option is to bow down and
worship or go into the fiery
00:21:52.64\00:22:00.42
furnace, you serve a Jesus that
says, "I'll meet you in the
furnace and keep you from the
00:22:00.45\00:22:07.29
flame." When the options are to
pray to other gods or go into
the lion's den, you serve the
00:22:07.32\00:22:15.76
God that'll go into the lion's
den before you and shut the
lion's mouth. When the option is
00:22:15.80\00:22:20.27
to sleep with Potiphar's wife
and go to jail, you realize you
serve the God that can take what
00:22:20.30\00:22:27.18
they meant for evil, turn it
around and use it for good, and
promote you even from the
00:22:27.21\00:22:37.15
prison. And what I'm saying to
somebody is that when all your
options are bad, you are in
00:22:37.19\00:22:43.09
miracle territory, and it means
God is about to do something.
[Congregation: Amen]
00:22:43.12\00:22:46.23
Listen, sometimes it's when your
back is up against the wall that
you get crucified with Jesus.
00:22:46.26\00:22:54.04
That's where you see His power
work. Man, silly childhood
story. [laughing] I remember
00:22:54.07\00:23:02.31
when I was in sixth grade,
right? And we were riding the
public school bus home from
00:23:02.34\00:23:08.28
school, and I was messing with
this little girl in front of me.
I liked her, and that's why I
00:23:08.32\00:23:12.75
was teasing her. And eventually,
I feel a push in my back, and
it's her older cousin, Norman.
00:23:12.79\00:23:18.53
And he's like, "Man, stop
messing with my cousin." He's
like, "I got something for you
00:23:18.56\00:23:22.16
when you get off that bus." Now,
I need you to know, Norman is
one of these guys who was like
00:23:22.20\00:23:27.37
15 in the sixth grade.
[Congregation: Laughing]
00:23:27.40\00:23:29.17
The brother had a driver's
permit in middle school.
00:23:29.20\00:23:31.77
Are y'll hear what I'm saying?
He had as much hair on his face
00:23:31.81\00:23:35.71
as I do right now. Are you all
hearing what I'm saying? So it's
00:23:35.74\00:23:38.05
so crazy. He's like, "Man, I got
something for you when you get
00:23:38.08\00:23:40.35
off this bus." And so, my bus
stop was probably about a tenth
of a mile ahead of his.
00:23:40.38\00:23:44.39
And so, when I get off the bus,
all I hear is a crowd of people
led by Norman and they saying,
00:23:44.42\00:23:51.03
fight, fight, fight. And so
guess what? He's coming down my
way. And so man, I'm bracing
00:23:51.06\00:23:56.97
myself and I'm standing in front
of a ditch. So Norman, man, this
guy's like 6'2 at a time. Man,
00:23:57.00\00:24:04.11
he jumps on me, pushes me down
in the ditch, jumps on top of me
and beats me like I stole
00:24:04.14\00:24:09.88
something, I need to know. I was
on the wrong end of that
whooping that day. I might have
00:24:09.91\00:24:11.58
got one lick in on this
thing. [Congregation: Laughing]
00:24:11.61\00:24:12.68
Pastor Snell: Eventually
some older folk come out
00:24:12.71\00:24:14.42
and so the crowd begins to
disperse like cockroaches when
the light comes on at night.
00:24:14.45\00:24:18.82
And so everybody begins to run.
But Norman is like, "We ain't
00:24:18.85\00:24:23.09
done. I got something for you
when you come to school
tomorrow." So now I'm shook
00:24:23.12\00:24:27.60
because I don't know what
I'm going to do the next day.
00:24:27.60\00:24:30.93
[Congregation: Laughing]
00:24:30.97\00:24:32.60
Pastor Snell: In other words,
all my options seem bad. If I
try to skip school,
00:24:32.63\00:24:37.07
I'm going to get in trouble with
my parents. If I go to school,
I'm going to get beat up by
00:24:37.11\00:24:42.48
Norman. If I snitch and tell my
parents, I'm still going to get
in trouble. 'Cause back then,
00:24:42.51\00:24:48.15
your daddies and your uncles
told you if you get whooped at
school, you going to get whooped
00:24:48.18\00:24:59.03
again when you come home. So I'm
like, "Oh, my options are bad."
And I'm just like, "Lord, what
00:24:59.06\00:25:06.23
do I do?" So I go to school the
next day, man. I'm just like,
"Lord, be with me." I don't pray
00:25:06.27\00:25:11.07
very properly, man. I'm looking
around every corner, man. I'm
watching to see how this thing's
00:25:11.11\00:25:15.61
going to go down. And
eventually, one of my friends
comes to me and they're like,
00:25:15.64\00:25:19.48
"Yo, Snell, you heard about the
boy Norman?" I'm looking like I
thought he was coming. And I was
00:25:19.51\00:25:27.39
like, "What happened?" He says,
"You didn't hear last night that
Norman got picked up by the cops
00:25:27.42\00:25:32.66
for stealing and he had weed on
his possession. So he's in
penitentiary today."
00:25:32.69\00:25:35.33
[Congregation: Applause] Hey,
and you would think I would be
humble, but I was like, "He
00:25:35.36\00:25:42.57
better be glad the police got
him before I got to."
[Congregation: Applause]
00:25:42.60\00:25:44.24
He better be glad. Oh, I had
something for him today. But I
got some real courage.
00:25:44.27\00:25:50.61
[Congregation: Laugher]
00:25:50.65\00:25:52.95
But when I'm saying, when all
your options get bad, that's
where God steps in and fights
00:25:52.98\00:26:04.86
the battle that you can't fight.
Is there anybody that knows that
this battle is not yours, but it
00:26:04.89\00:26:17.47
belongs to the Lord? Are you all
hearing me today? [Congregation:
00:26:17.51\00:26:30.35
Applause] Calling all young
adults. This is Pastor Debleaire
Snell, inviting you to our
00:26:30.39\00:26:39.13
second annual young adult rally.
Last year we went down to South
Florida, where we did it big.
00:26:39.16\00:26:46.17
But this year we're coming right
here to the Windy City, Chicago,
Illinois. Labor Day weekend.
00:26:46.20\00:26:52.47
This year's theme is
"Strengthening Your Core" We're
going to be giving our young
00:26:52.51\00:26:57.88
adults all the tools to prosper
in their inner man or inner
woman so that they might be able
00:26:57.91\00:27:01.25
to thrive in every other way.
We're going to be partnering
with the leadership of the Lake
00:27:01.28\00:27:05.62
Region Conference. And I want
you to know that whether you're
here in Lake Region or on the
00:27:05.65\00:27:09.79
West Coast, East Coast or in the
south, this is for you. That
Friday night, there's going to
00:27:09.82\00:27:16.13
be a vesper service and a
feature live stage play that
00:27:16.16\00:27:19.97
Sabbath morning. Join me at the
New Life Worship Center for our
morning core groups.
00:27:20.00\00:27:24.91
We're going to have breakfast
and then during our divine
00:27:24.94\00:27:28.98
worship service, I'm going to be
partnered with the Music
Ministry of Koryn Hawthorne for
00:27:29.01\00:27:34.35
that afternoon. We're going to
go into our core classes.
There's going to be panel
00:27:34.38\00:27:37.92
discussions. A close out concert
and then Sunday morning before
you head back will conclude with
00:27:37.95\00:27:45.09
a young adult fellowship. It's
going to be a great time of
inspiration. Instruction.
00:27:45.13\00:27:50.93
Fellowship. You're going to
leave better then you came and
your core is going to be
00:27:50.97\00:27:56.24
strengthen. Join us at our
website at www.breathoflife.tv
where you can get link to our
00:27:56.27\00:28:04.85
registration and find more
details. I look forward to
seeing you labor Day weekend
00:28:04.88\00:28:10.22
right here in the Windy City.
(Breath of Life Theme Music)
00:28:10.25\00:28:33.81
[END]
00:28:33.84\00:28:48.86