#S070 - “Stop Watching Other People Eat” (Part 1) 00:00:06.77\00:00:13.54 I want to invite you to remain standing 00:00:20.12\00:00:21.25 because we go to the scriptures today. 00:00:21.28\00:00:22.82 Judges, chapter six. 00:00:22.85\00:00:24.59 Judges, chapter six. 00:00:24.62\00:00:26.62 And we're going to begin together 00:00:26.65\00:00:27.66 at verse number one, judges chapter six. 00:00:27.69\00:00:30.76 And we will begin together at verse number one. 00:00:31.79\00:00:35.00 When you get there, let me hear you say a man 00:00:35.03\00:00:37.23 judges. 00:00:39.20\00:00:39.73 Chapter six. 00:00:39.77\00:00:41.34 We're going to look together at verse number one. 00:00:42.40\00:00:44.81 You get there, you see past the room there. 00:00:46.41\00:00:49.38 I'm going to try to be quick today. 00:00:49.41\00:00:55.72 I just said them a try and we'll see where it lands. 00:00:55.75\00:00:59.39 The Bible says then the children of Israel 00:01:01.12\00:01:03.79 did evil in the sight of the Lord. 00:01:04.63\00:01:07.13 So I want you to notice how the Lord responds to this 00:01:07.20\00:01:09.80 so the Lord deliver them into the hand of 00:01:10.67\00:01:13.90 Midian for seven years, 00:01:13.94\00:01:15.60 and the hand of 00:01:16.57\00:01:17.71 Midian prevailed against Israel because of the midnights. 00:01:17.74\00:01:21.14 The children of Israel made for themselves dens, 00:01:21.18\00:01:24.41 the caves and the strongholds which are in the mountains. 00:01:25.65\00:01:28.02 And so it was when ever Israel had sown 00:01:28.95\00:01:31.89 Midian nights would come up also a malachite 00:01:32.89\00:01:36.19 and the people of the east would come up against them. 00:01:36.22\00:01:39.26 Then they would encamped 00:01:40.03\00:01:41.16 against them and destroy the produce of the earth 00:01:41.20\00:01:44.70 as far as Gaza and leave no sustenance for Israel. 00:01:45.80\00:01:48.80 Neither she nor ox 00:01:49.30\00:01:50.87 nor donkey, for they would come up with their livestock 00:01:50.91\00:01:54.54 and their tents coming in as numerous as locusts. 00:01:54.58\00:01:58.48 Both they and the camels were without number 00:01:59.41\00:02:01.78 and they would enter the land to destroy it. 00:02:02.78\00:02:04.32 So Israel was greatly impoverished 00:02:05.09\00:02:07.62 because of the midnights 00:02:08.19\00:02:09.46 and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord 00:02:09.49\00:02:12.29 and it came to pass when the children of Israel 00:02:13.36\00:02:15.60 cried out to the Lord because of the midnight, 00:02:15.63\00:02:18.23 so that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel 00:02:18.27\00:02:20.90 who sent them to them. 00:02:21.47\00:02:22.30 Thus they as the Lord God of Israel. 00:02:22.34\00:02:24.57 I brought you up out of Egypt and brought you out of the house 00:02:24.61\00:02:28.18 of bondage, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians 00:02:28.21\00:02:32.08 and out of the hand of all those who oppressed you 00:02:33.11\00:02:34.92 and drove them out before you and gave you what 00:02:35.95\00:02:39.82 their name. 00:02:40.89\00:02:42.32 Also, I said unto you, I am the Lord your God. 00:02:42.36\00:02:45.53 Do not fear the God of the Emirates 00:02:46.33\00:02:48.53 in whose land you dwell, but you have not obeyed my voice. 00:02:49.76\00:02:53.50 Verse 11 00:02:53.54\00:02:55.07 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terrible tree 00:02:55.10\00:02:59.64 which was in O'Farrell, which belonged to Joash the Beza 00:03:00.84\00:03:04.38 right while his son Gideon Thrace, wheat in the wine 00:03:04.41\00:03:08.28 press in order to hide it from the midnight, 00:03:08.32\00:03:12.32 and the Angel of the Lord appeared 00:03:13.15\00:03:15.42 to him, 00:03:15.46\00:03:16.66 anybody ever thankful that God still appears to His people? 00:03:16.69\00:03:19.73 The Bible says the angel of the Lord appeared to him 00:03:19.76\00:03:22.16 and said unto him, 00:03:22.66\00:03:24.27 the Lord is with you, mighty men of valor 00:03:24.30\00:03:27.74 and Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, 00:03:28.64\00:03:30.87 if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? 00:03:32.07\00:03:35.91 And where are all His miracles which our father 00:03:36.95\00:03:40.22 has told us about? 00:03:40.25\00:03:41.85 Saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from the land of Egypt? 00:03:41.88\00:03:45.22 Now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us 00:03:46.22\00:03:48.92 into the hands of the mighty. 00:03:48.96\00:03:50.43 And then the Lord turned to him and said, 00:03:50.46\00:03:53.40 Go in this might of yours 00:03:54.00\00:03:56.73 and you shall save Israel from the hand of the midnight. 00:03:57.93\00:04:01.27 Have I not sent you? 00:04:01.80\00:04:04.07 And again I want to reprint persist verse number four. 00:04:05.24\00:04:07.31 Then they went in camp against them 00:04:08.14\00:04:09.68 and destroyed the produce of the earth 00:04:09.71\00:04:11.78 as far as Gaza and leave no sustenance for Israel. 00:04:12.88\00:04:16.72 Neither sheep nor ox 00:04:17.25\00:04:19.39 nor donkey today states for a little while. 00:04:20.29\00:04:22.59 I want to talk to you under the subject. 00:04:22.62\00:04:24.69 Stop watching other people, even 00:04:24.73\00:04:26.96 stop watching other people eat. 00:04:28.73\00:04:31.20 Let's pray to God their father. 00:04:32.10\00:04:38.17 All that I have 00:04:38.21\00:04:40.61 in all that I am. 00:04:40.64\00:04:42.04 It's yours. 00:04:42.08\00:04:44.21 So, Father, I'm praying that in this moment 00:04:45.15\00:04:46.92 that you would do a miracle, that you would give us the power 00:04:46.95\00:04:51.55 to hear and act upon your word. 00:04:52.25\00:04:54.72 Lord, would you feel this space with your spirit? 00:04:55.76\00:04:58.79 And at the end of our time together, 00:04:59.79\00:05:01.63 may heaven along with earth rejoice 00:05:01.66\00:05:04.20 because your people have heard 00:05:04.90\00:05:06.07 your word in hearkened unto your voice. 00:05:06.10\00:05:08.20 So, Lord, I'm praying that we would not just see in this text. 00:05:09.44\00:05:12.57 Gideon But Lord, may we see ourselves. 00:05:12.61\00:05:16.71 Hide me in the shadows of the cross. 00:05:17.58\00:05:19.81 That Jesus alone might be seen. 00:05:19.85\00:05:21.72 That Christ alone would be heard. 00:05:21.75\00:05:24.12 And at the end of our time 00:05:24.75\00:05:25.62 together, let Jesus alone be praised. 00:05:25.65\00:05:27.46 Bless us. 00:05:28.09\00:05:28.99 To this end, we ask in the wonderful name 00:05:29.02\00:05:30.76 of Jesus, our Lord, and those who believe, say together, amen, 00:05:30.79\00:05:34.20 and you may be seated in the House of the Lord. 00:05:35.23\00:05:45.57 You know, friends, I want you to know that 00:05:45.61\00:05:49.74 I love our churches theology, 00:05:49.78\00:05:53.92 but sometimes I struggle with 00:05:55.02\00:05:57.62 our church's thinking. 00:05:57.65\00:06:02.09 You see, too often there is this willingness to embrace 00:06:02.12\00:06:05.89 small. This 00:06:06.29\00:06:08.60 so that we even 00:06:10.00\00:06:11.07 demonize biblical terms like overflow 00:06:11.10\00:06:14.77 abundance, prosperity, harvest, 00:06:15.47\00:06:19.74 because we see that as first day language. 00:06:19.77\00:06:25.41 We are the Church of prophecy, but we truly believe 00:06:25.45\00:06:29.55 all visions died with Ellen White in 1950. 00:06:29.58\00:06:35.86 And at a certain point. 00:06:35.89\00:06:37.26 CHURCH We've got to have testimonies beyond 00:06:37.29\00:06:40.36 just thanking God for life, health and strength. 00:06:41.40\00:06:44.63 And let me be clear, I'm thankful for those things. 00:06:44.67\00:06:47.94 But do you realize that those are mercies 00:06:48.84\00:06:50.77 that God gives to those who don't even believe? 00:06:50.81\00:06:54.54 You got to have a testimony that's greater than God. 00:06:54.58\00:06:57.65 Pay the bills and God help me till the end of the month. 00:06:58.85\00:07:01.72 And God, I'm just thankful to have a job. And 00:07:01.75\00:07:04.85 let me be clear, we are thankful for those things. 00:07:05.89\00:07:07.76 But I want God to do more than just pay my bills. 00:07:08.82\00:07:12.13 I want to be able to pay several people's bills. 00:07:13.13\00:07:15.63 Y'all not hear me today? 00:07:16.20\00:07:17.30 I'm not just glad to make it to the end of the month. 00:07:17.33\00:07:21.54 I want to 00:07:21.90\00:07:23.00 have enough and reserves so I can handle months of famine 00:07:23.04\00:07:26.11 when they appear. 00:07:26.14\00:07:27.64 In other words, 00:07:27.68\00:07:28.74 you shouldn't just be praising God for good health, 00:07:28.78\00:07:31.51 but you ought to expect 00:07:32.08\00:07:33.11 to prosper in health as your soul prospers. 00:07:33.15\00:07:36.79 In other words, you are not just thank God 00:07:37.75\00:07:39.29 to get the loan, you are to be the one giving the loan 00:07:39.32\00:07:42.79 and living on the interest that is repaid. 00:07:43.76\00:07:46.03 I don't want to just wake up in the morning. 00:07:46.96\00:07:49.06 I want to have a reason to wake up in the morning 00:07:49.10\00:07:52.63 and say, Please, friends, don't just take my word for it. 00:07:53.80\00:07:56.84 You need to hear and receive the language of Scripture 00:07:58.01\00:08:00.48 and Deuteronomy 28 did not God say to an obedient Israel 00:08:01.68\00:08:05.68 that if you walk in my covenants and keep my ways, 00:08:06.72\00:08:09.18 he says, I'll make you the head and not the tail. 00:08:10.22\00:08:12.92 I'll put you above and not beneath. 00:08:13.76\00:08:15.82 You will be a lender and not a borrower, he says. 00:08:16.89\00:08:19.73 The blessings of the Lord will chase you down and overtake you. 00:08:19.76\00:08:25.67 Do you realize, friends, that you are more than a survivor? 00:08:26.94\00:08:29.94 Romans eight says that we are more than conquerors 00:08:30.97\00:08:33.98 through Christ Jesus who loved us. 00:08:34.81\00:08:36.41 In John ten, in verse ten, Jesus said, I have come 00:08:37.51\00:08:40.58 that to might have life and have it more abundantly. 00:08:41.72\00:08:45.49 Ephesians 320 says now unto him 00:08:46.19\00:08:49.16 that is able to do exceed ingly and abundantly. 00:08:50.23\00:08:53.29 Above all, you can ask our thing and the problem is 00:08:54.30\00:08:57.53 that some of us 00:08:57.57\00:08:58.63 are still looking at me with this logical disgust 00:08:58.67\00:09:02.54 because you're still sitting on the premises 00:09:03.54\00:09:05.67 instead of standing 00:09:06.21\00:09:07.21 on the premises and apart church of our excuse 00:09:07.24\00:09:11.18 this journey 00:09:11.21\00:09:12.31 is a call for some of us to come out of survivors space. 00:09:12.35\00:09:16.08 God is trying to deliver you from a just get by mentality. 00:09:17.32\00:09:21.26 I want more than a barely passing mindset. 00:09:21.29\00:09:24.73 I want my life not to reflect my reality. 00:09:25.66\00:09:28.43 But my life ought to reflect what God promised to me. 00:09:29.56\00:09:32.00 Oh, okay. 00:09:33.07\00:09:33.60 Let me say it this way. 00:09:33.64\00:09:35.04 I remember church on my senior year in high school. 00:09:35.07\00:09:37.87 I was getting ready to go to the prom 00:09:37.91\00:09:39.91 and I remember I was blessed. 00:09:40.61\00:09:41.44 The date 00:09:41.48\00:09:42.58 had already been secured and the rental car was in place, 00:09:42.61\00:09:45.58 but I still needed to get a tuxedo for the prom. 00:09:46.65\00:09:48.65 And I remember that day my dad had given me the opportunity 00:09:49.88\00:09:52.75 to choose the tux. 00:09:52.79\00:09:54.12 In fact, he wrote the name of the tuxedo shop. 00:09:54.16\00:09:57.66 But what he did not do was write an amount in the check. 00:09:58.79\00:10:01.56 And so he said, Son, I want you to choose 00:10:02.50\00:10:04.13 whatever tuxedo you want. 00:10:04.77\00:10:06.30 And so I remember going to the place 00:10:07.17\00:10:08.60 and I saw the cheap tuxedos and the expensive tuxedos. 00:10:08.64\00:10:12.41 And when I was about to get the expensive one, 00:10:13.44\00:10:14.74 I thought to myself, This must be a test. 00:10:14.78\00:10:17.45 I began to get afraid. 00:10:18.01\00:10:20.12 I was anticipating a lecture on overspending, 00:10:21.12\00:10:23.42 and when I got home 00:10:23.95\00:10:25.05 and gave him the receipt for the cheap tuxedo, 00:10:25.09\00:10:28.06 he actually began to fuss at me for spending less 00:10:29.09\00:10:32.13 than what he had provided. 00:10:32.16\00:10:34.20 In fact, he said, Son, your problem 00:10:34.23\00:10:36.73 is that you say too small. 00:10:37.37\00:10:39.17 If I was worried about the amount, 00:10:40.00\00:10:42.04 I would have written it in. 00:10:42.70\00:10:44.27 In other words, 00:10:44.71\00:10:45.91 if I didn't give you a limit, why did you assign a limit? 00:10:45.94\00:10:50.11 And what I'm saying 00:10:50.15\00:10:51.45 is that we need a church with a blank check faith. 00:10:51.48\00:10:54.58 And if God didn't give you a 00:10:55.75\00:10:58.12 limit, why are you assigning I limit? 00:10:58.15\00:11:01.72 You are to walk in what he promised us, 00:11:02.59\00:11:04.76 not what you think that he has designed you. 00:11:05.76\00:11:09.23 You are here in the world today, friends. 00:11:09.26\00:11:12.27 And so as we unpack the word a little bit further today, 00:11:13.47\00:11:15.80 I want you to just see some things in the Scripture. 00:11:16.94\00:11:19.14 You see, our text 00:11:19.17\00:11:20.21 today is filled with powerful nutrients for the soul, 00:11:20.24\00:11:24.28 but the first thing it teaches is that when you make 00:11:25.41\00:11:28.18 excuse says you wind up having to watch other people eat. 00:11:28.22\00:11:35.92 Let me say it again. 00:11:35.96\00:11:36.76 When you make a bunch of excuses, 00:11:36.79\00:11:38.49 you wind up in a position 00:11:38.53\00:11:40.00 where you have to watch other people eat now. 00:11:40.03\00:11:43.47 Now, this is a 00:11:43.90\00:11:44.97 very strange thing, because when you disobey God, 00:11:45.00\00:11:48.70 he reverses the promise of some 23. 00:11:49.50\00:11:52.47 Instead of preparing a table for you 00:11:53.34\00:11:55.64 in the presence of your enemies, he prepares a table 00:11:56.71\00:11:59.68 for your enemies in your presence. 00:11:59.71\00:12:01.68 So Jordan didn't catch that. 00:12:01.72\00:12:03.32 Instead of preparing the table in the presence 00:12:03.35\00:12:06.25 of your enemies, he prepares the table for your enemies. 00:12:06.29\00:12:09.99 In your presence you see here in Judges six, the Lord employs 00:12:10.03\00:12:15.30 a strange form of chastening against his very own people. 00:12:15.33\00:12:19.83 Now recall Israel has failed God in two particular ways. 00:12:21.04\00:12:24.17 The first is that when God gave them the land, 00:12:25.21\00:12:27.24 they did not drive out all the foreigners. 00:12:28.21\00:12:30.25 They allowed them to remain attached. 00:12:31.15\00:12:32.61 And the second thing that they did 00:12:33.45\00:12:34.92 was they committed idolatry in the land that God promised. 00:12:36.15\00:12:39.39 But notice what God's tasting was, not 00:12:40.29\00:12:42.79 God did not drive Israel from the land, 00:12:43.73\00:12:46.29 and neither does God curse the land or the harvest. 00:12:47.40\00:12:50.27 God simply lays up the bounty of the harvest for their enemies. 00:12:51.50\00:12:55.30 In other words, I need you to catch this. 00:12:56.37\00:12:58.44 He does not cause the land to be barren. 00:12:58.47\00:13:01.34 The land bears its fruit 00:13:01.91\00:13:03.21 and its seeds and the vine cast for its fruit. 00:13:03.24\00:13:07.05 When it is time the livestock grows in abundance, 00:13:08.15\00:13:11.12 God does not take away the harvest. 00:13:11.95\00:13:13.92 God just outsources the harvest. 00:13:14.62\00:13:16.52 You are not with me. 00:13:16.56\00:13:17.79 In other words, every year 00:13:17.83\00:13:19.16 the land this plus every year the land gives fruit. 00:13:19.19\00:13:23.16 Every year the oxen are fat. 00:13:23.20\00:13:25.50 And guess what? 00:13:25.93\00:13:27.10 As soon as the food is edible, the Midian knights come up 00:13:27.14\00:13:31.44 and they raid every thing inside and they leave Israel 00:13:32.54\00:13:35.91 with nothing but barrenness 00:13:35.94\00:13:38.28 and understand, friends that God had initially set it 00:13:39.45\00:13:42.78 up, that he would prosper Israel in such a way 00:13:42.82\00:13:46.65 that when the other nations watched them eat, 00:13:47.69\00:13:50.19 it would make them curious about God. 00:13:51.06\00:13:53.50 But because they became curious about other gods, 00:13:53.53\00:13:57.23 Israel now is having to watch other people eat. 00:13:58.27\00:14:00.57 Now remember church. 00:14:02.47\00:14:03.30 This is 00:14:03.34\00:14:04.54 the land that God promised to Abraham and His descendants. 00:14:04.57\00:14:07.34 And God says, I'm going to bless the land. 00:14:08.24\00:14:10.28 God says I'm going to produce the land 00:14:11.18\00:14:13.55 and notice that God makes good on His promise. 00:14:14.58\00:14:16.85 God causes the land to prosper in an abundant fashion. 00:14:18.02\00:14:21.06 God causes the harvest to go into the overflow. 00:14:22.02\00:14:24.93 God does not curse what He gave to them. 00:14:25.86\00:14:28.20 He simply gives what was playing to them, to somebody else. 00:14:29.36\00:14:32.20 You all missed it today. 00:14:32.23\00:14:33.80 And the reason I'm saying this is because there are times 00:14:33.84\00:14:36.87 where we get discouraged by the prosperity of the wicked. 00:14:38.01\00:14:41.14 But how many of us know 00:14:41.71\00:14:42.91 that sometimes the prosperity of the wicked 00:14:42.94\00:14:46.08 is simply the blessings forfeited by the righteous? 00:14:47.22\00:14:49.58 In other words, sometimes they get blessed 00:14:51.12\00:14:53.99 simply because we are acting like them 00:14:54.82\00:14:56.96 instead of acting like him. 00:14:57.63\00:14:59.33 And there are times where we get mad because they 00:14:59.36\00:15:02.40 we think they're being blessed more than we are, 00:15:02.43\00:15:05.60 but they're only being blessed because of how we are. 00:15:06.74\00:15:11.94 Oh, Lord. 00:15:11.97\00:15:12.87 And see, this is important 00:15:13.94\00:15:15.34 because somebody is about to miss God's planned 00:15:15.38\00:15:19.28 blessing for your life 00:15:19.85\00:15:21.12 because of a season of disobedience, 00:15:21.15\00:15:23.99 you see, because you are not acting on the vision 00:15:25.05\00:15:27.62 or the dream. 00:15:27.66\00:15:28.82 God gives you God out sources the blessing of the dream 00:15:28.86\00:15:33.23 to somebody else. 00:15:33.26\00:15:36.50 Okay? 00:15:36.80\00:15:37.53 When God gives a vision or a dream, I need you to know 00:15:38.70\00:15:41.10 He also gives an assignment that is also a call to action. 00:15:41.14\00:15:45.91 And what somebody needs to know 00:15:46.61\00:15:47.91 is that when God gives you a vision, 00:15:47.94\00:15:50.08 the vision is not the 00:15:50.65\00:15:51.88 intellectual property of the one who receives it. 00:15:51.91\00:15:55.48 It is the property of the God who gives it. 00:15:56.48\00:15:59.02 And so if you will not act in obedience with the dream, 00:16:00.26\00:16:02.96 God is not going to cancel the dream. 00:16:03.83\00:16:05.43 He's not going to censor the dream. 00:16:06.19\00:16:07.83 He's simply 00:16:08.20\00:16:09.40 go reassign it to somebody who's going to do something with it. 00:16:09.43\00:16:12.57 You are not acting like now hear me today 00:16:12.60\00:16:14.64 and see, this is critical because there are some of us 00:16:15.80\00:16:18.04 that are just content to be dreamers. 00:16:18.07\00:16:21.34 See, we love to run around in church world 00:16:23.21\00:16:26.51 and talk about how we see things and the spirit 00:16:27.48\00:16:29.85 and how God gives us visions and dreams 00:16:30.75\00:16:32.79 and how God showed you something in the night sees it. 00:16:33.89\00:16:36.32 And for many of us, the dream alone is the trophy. 00:16:37.43\00:16:40.43 But how many of us know that 00:16:42.30\00:16:43.50 only about 5% of those who receive dreams 00:16:43.53\00:16:47.20 actually act upon the dream that God has given them? 00:16:48.34\00:16:51.24 But I need somebody to know 00:16:51.91\00:16:53.04 that visions are not for your spiritual entertainment. 00:16:53.07\00:16:56.58 Visions are not for your church potluck conversation. 00:16:57.68\00:17:00.82 Visions are a call to act upon that with God 00:17:01.82\00:17:04.62 has put in your hearts. 00:17:04.65\00:17:07.92 I see friends of mine. 00:17:07.96\00:17:08.72 I need you to get that. 00:17:08.76\00:17:09.89 When you don't do what God has called you to do, 00:17:09.92\00:17:12.43 you show 00:17:12.73\00:17:13.80 that you're not a worthy steward of the vision God 00:17:13.83\00:17:16.13 has assigned to you. 00:17:16.16\00:17:17.33 You see, church. 00:17:19.07\00:17:20.54 If I don't act on the vision, 00:17:20.57\00:17:22.84 I miss out on the provision. 00:17:23.64\00:17:25.64 Okay. Okay. Yeah. 00:17:26.61\00:17:28.58 See? See, we wonder why they come in the back 00:17:28.61\00:17:30.35 if I don't act on the vision. 00:17:30.38\00:17:32.58 Are y'all here? Me, church? 00:17:32.61\00:17:34.18 I miss out on the provision and see like Israel, 00:17:34.22\00:17:37.59 God is not going to curse 00:17:37.62\00:17:39.22 the harvest that comes from the drain. 00:17:39.25\00:17:41.66 He's just going to reassign the harvest to somebody else. 00:17:42.89\00:17:45.26 Okay. Let me ask you this. 00:17:45.89\00:17:47.23 Has anybody ever been in a place in your life where you saw 00:17:47.23\00:17:50.63 something bearing fruit, you saw something blowing up? 00:17:50.67\00:17:55.24 Maybe it was an idea, maybe it was an app, 00:17:56.20\00:17:59.17 maybe it was a book, 00:17:59.71\00:18:01.08 maybe it was a song, maybe it was a company. 00:18:01.11\00:18:04.31 And when you saw it blowing up, you felt something like this. 00:18:05.55\00:18:07.82 I thought of it first. 00:18:07.85\00:18:09.95 Anybody ever 00:18:11.39\00:18:12.55 had that happen where you saw something invented on QVC? 00:18:12.59\00:18:15.66 Come on and say, man 00:18:15.69\00:18:17.06 and you thought to yourself, Man, I could have did that. 00:18:17.09\00:18:20.36 But the problem is that when God gave it to you, 00:18:21.40\00:18:23.40 it was also a prompting or a vision for you to act on. 00:18:24.57\00:18:28.34 But guess what? 00:18:28.77\00:18:29.54 If you don't act on it, guess what? 00:18:29.57\00:18:31.41 God isn't going curse the dream. 00:18:31.44\00:18:33.51 Guess what is still going to prosper is still going to blow 00:18:34.74\00:18:37.58 up, is still going to bear fruit. 00:18:37.61\00:18:39.98 It's still going to be big. 00:18:40.65\00:18:42.08 God is just going to hand it to somebody else. 00:18:42.12\00:18:46.86 Okay? 00:18:46.89\00:18:47.79 I need somebody to be clear that God is going got somebody 00:18:49.02\00:18:51.46 is going to write the book you are sitting on. 00:18:52.49\00:18:53.90 Somebody is going. 00:18:55.46\00:18:56.60 Patton The invention you keep in your notebook, 00:18:56.63\00:18:59.40 somebody is going to act on the idea that you're 00:19:00.47\00:19:02.44 smothering somebody who's going to publish the recipe. 00:19:02.47\00:19:05.67 God gave you. 00:19:05.71\00:19:07.11 Somebody is going to marry 00:19:07.14\00:19:08.44 that woman you are taking for granted 00:19:08.48\00:19:10.65 saying you're going to be mad and 38 hot when you having 00:19:11.85\00:19:14.42 to watch somebody else eat are you are hear me today 00:19:15.55\00:19:17.05 and I need somebody to be 00:19:18.45\00:19:19.62 clear that the vision is not your intellectual property. 00:19:19.65\00:19:22.86 It belongs to God 00:19:22.89\00:19:24.89 and see, the message for somebody today 00:19:24.93\00:19:27.03 is that when you see others being blessed 00:19:28.00\00:19:29.33 and you see others eating, guess what? 00:19:30.23\00:19:31.60 We ought to rejoice with those who rejoice. 00:19:31.63\00:19:34.04 The truth is that you ought to congratulate 00:19:35.00\00:19:36.30 those who are walking in calling. 00:19:36.34\00:19:38.37 The truth is that you ought to celebrate 00:19:38.41\00:19:40.34 and not become a hater. 00:19:40.38\00:19:41.98 But how many of us are at a place 00:19:42.01\00:19:43.78 where, even though I'm glad to watch you eat, 00:19:43.81\00:19:46.38 I'm not content 00:19:46.82\00:19:47.78 to just sit at the table watching you chow down. 00:19:47.82\00:19:51.25 I want to eat as well. 00:19:51.82\00:19:53.46 I don't want to just sit and watch. 00:19:53.49\00:19:55.49 I want to eat if I'm at the table. 00:19:55.52\00:19:58.09 Listen, listen. 00:19:59.16\00:20:00.03 I just this last week, 00:20:00.06\00:20:01.30 my brother and his wife and my nine month old niece, 00:20:01.33\00:20:04.40 they were here in town for Mother's Day weekend. 00:20:05.47\00:20:07.27 And it's funny because like I remember, 00:20:08.10\00:20:08.94 we would sit down at the 00:20:08.97\00:20:10.14 table and eat and my niece, nine months has just moved past 00:20:10.17\00:20:13.88 the point where she's graduating from milk to table food. 00:20:13.91\00:20:17.31 And it's funny because one time 00:20:18.01\00:20:19.35 my brother took a little too long getting her her food. 00:20:19.38\00:20:23.02 And so we're all sitting down at the table 00:20:23.99\00:20:25.25 and she sits down and she looks to the left 00:20:26.25\00:20:27.32 then and smiles and she looks to the right. But. 00:20:27.36\00:20:30.33 But nobody's feeding her anything but quickly. 00:20:30.36\00:20:33.36 That smile turned into a frown, and all of a sudden 00:20:33.40\00:20:36.43 she took that sippy cup and start banging it on the table. 00:20:36.46\00:20:40.04 And all of a sudden 00:20:40.57\00:20:41.77 she began to grab my brother's arm and try to steer his spoon. 00:20:41.80\00:20:45.47 And after a while 00:20:45.51\00:20:46.64 she grabbed her daddy's shirt and began to yank on it. 00:20:46.68\00:20:49.81 And after a while she grabbed the beard in his face 00:20:49.84\00:20:53.31 to let him know, 00:20:54.52\00:20:56.18 Daddy, I'm not just sitting here to watch it. 00:20:56.22\00:20:59.35 I'm here because I'm hungry and I need something to eat. 00:21:00.92\00:21:05.16 And I just need to know, do I have $0.07? 00:21:06.03\00:21:08.46 Donald, grab your daddy's hand and grab your daddy's shirt 00:21:09.70\00:21:13.37 and grab your daddy's beard and say, Lord, 00:21:14.34\00:21:17.34 I don't want to just sit at the table. 00:21:17.37\00:21:20.04 I'm tired of watching other people. 00:21:20.91\00:21:23.45 We Are y'all here? 00:21:23.48\00:21:25.75 Me today? Friends. 00:21:25.78\00:21:27.38 Come on. 00:21:28.28\00:21:30.25 Second thing this teaches church is that when God calls you, 00:21:30.29\00:21:34.32 he calls from the future. 00:21:34.96\00:21:40.30 You notice 00:21:40.33\00:21:43.97 that God steps into a space with Gideon 00:21:45.10\00:21:48.24 where Gideon is actually trying not to be noticed. 00:21:49.27\00:21:52.64 The reason he is threshing wheat in a wine press is so that 00:21:53.81\00:21:58.45 his activity will not be noticed by the media knights. 00:21:58.48\00:22:02.08 In other words, 00:22:02.52\00:22:03.69 Gideon is making it clear that I'm not about that life. 00:22:03.72\00:22:06.96 I just want to live and let live. 00:22:07.79\00:22:09.69 I just want to get my groceries and go home. 00:22:10.63\00:22:12.66 Y'all catch me today. CHURCH 00:22:13.33\00:22:14.10 But did you notice something 00:22:15.56\00:22:17.47 that when God steps into this space, Julian, 00:22:17.50\00:22:20.40 I need you to notice how he steps to Gideon. 00:22:21.34\00:22:23.57 When he shows up and appears to Gideon, he refers to Gideon 00:22:24.81\00:22:28.11 as mighty man of valor. 00:22:28.68\00:22:31.21 Oh, God. 00:22:32.21\00:22:33.42 In fact, man, there's a disconnect 00:22:34.25\00:22:36.18 somewhat in the conversation, 00:22:36.89\00:22:37.99 because Gideon is just kind of like, no, no, 00:22:38.02\00:22:40.09 you must not be talking to me. 00:22:40.79\00:22:42.29 In fact, man, I'm the weakest man from the weakest tribe. 00:22:42.32\00:22:46.39 When God refers to him 00:22:46.43\00:22:48.00 as mighty man of valor, Gideon, just like, Oh, you must think 00:22:48.03\00:22:51.40 I'm one of my brothers. You'll 00:22:52.10\00:22:53.27 never confuse me and listen all the time we look alike. 00:22:53.30\00:22:57.17 But that's not really. I'm not really that one. 00:22:58.14\00:23:00.04 But God shows up and calls him not what he is. 00:23:01.08\00:23:09.32 God doesn't call him what He is. 00:23:09.35\00:23:11.49 God calls him what He will become 00:23:12.42\00:23:14.99 and see. 00:23:16.99\00:23:17.96 The reason that Gideon is missing it is because 00:23:17.99\00:23:21.43 he's operating in the space of assessment 00:23:21.46\00:23:24.43 and God is operating in this space of prophecy. 00:23:25.47\00:23:27.87 Oh, you're not hearing me the day 00:23:27.90\00:23:30.31 to. The reason 00:23:30.34\00:23:31.41 that Gideon is missing this moment is he's so busy 00:23:31.44\00:23:34.91 a setting his family and assessing his history 00:23:35.94\00:23:38.68 and assessing his capability that he's missing out 00:23:39.78\00:23:42.62 on what God is actually prophesy saying about him 00:23:43.62\00:23:47.66 and see if this is critical for somebody today. 00:23:48.72\00:23:50.69 Because I need you to get out of the assessment 00:23:51.73\00:23:54.00 business. 00:23:54.03\00:23:58.47 I need somebody to be clear on this truth 00:23:58.50\00:24:01.24 that you will never do anything for the glory of God 00:24:02.30\00:24:05.97 if you always live your life assessing what He is. 00:24:07.08\00:24:10.31 Because God, when He calls 00:24:12.05\00:24:13.75 us, He doesn't call us what we are. 00:24:13.78\00:24:16.92 He calls us 00:24:18.02\00:24:19.65 what we shall 00:24:19.69\00:24:22.76 take your time. 00:24:24.53\00:24:25.36 He calls us what we saw become and see. 00:24:25.39\00:24:28.80 The problem is that when you spend 00:24:28.83\00:24:30.93 your life in assessment, you live in a limited reality. 00:24:30.97\00:24:34.90 You see, the truth 00:24:35.40\00:24:36.44 is that some of us are planning our future finances 00:24:36.47\00:24:39.04 based upon our current financial assessment. 00:24:40.04\00:24:42.44 There are some 00:24:42.48\00:24:43.68 that are planning our ministry initiatives based on assessment 00:24:43.71\00:24:47.22 of the size of the team. 00:24:47.25\00:24:48.55 Right now, some of us are planning our romantic future 00:24:48.58\00:24:52.25 based upon the current crop that is before us. 00:24:53.29\00:24:55.49 And I need you to get to a place where you don't live your life 00:24:56.73\00:24:59.03 based upon what you can assess in the present. 00:25:00.13\00:25:02.23 But you got to live your life 00:25:02.26\00:25:03.70 according to what God says about your future. 00:25:03.73\00:25:06.74 Can I say this to somebody in the church? 00:25:08.10\00:25:09.84 You got to learn how to live your life with your eyes closed. 00:25:09.87\00:25:17.18 Because how many of us live in a space 00:25:17.21\00:25:19.18 where sometimes you see 00:25:19.21\00:25:20.48 something different when you close your eyes 00:25:20.52\00:25:23.12 than you do when you open your eyes and see 00:25:24.05\00:25:27.09 God speaks to us sometimes when our eyes are closed. 00:25:27.12\00:25:30.96 But what happens is you've got to always be mindful 00:25:32.03\00:25:34.30 to never interpret your vision through the lens of your sight. 00:25:35.50\00:25:41.54 Because how many of us know that sight will corrupt vision? 00:25:41.57\00:25:44.84 Sight will discredit vision. 00:25:45.51\00:25:47.28 Sight will overwhelm vision. 00:25:47.94\00:25:49.58 Sight will make you think that the vision was a hallucination, 00:25:50.81\00:25:53.75 simply because sometimes what you see when you close your eyes 00:25:54.98\00:25:57.95 won't match what you see when you open your eyes 00:25:58.95\00:26:01.79 and see friends of mine. 00:26:02.56\00:26:03.73 I need you to know that God is not here in the present. 00:26:03.76\00:26:07.83 Looking forward 00:26:08.96\00:26:09.86 to the future. 00:26:09.90\00:26:13.87 Know that Jesus said when he introduced himself 00:26:13.90\00:26:16.07 to the church in Revelation. 00:26:16.74\00:26:17.57 He says, I am the one who was and is 00:26:17.61\00:26:21.28 and I'm the one who is to come so 00:26:22.11\00:26:24.31 that God is not in the present, looking forward to the future. 00:26:24.35\00:26:27.78 God is already in the future, 00:26:28.48\00:26:29.88 waiting for the President to catch up with where He is 00:26:29.92\00:26:33.15 and because God is already in the future, guess what He does? 00:26:34.39\00:26:37.26 He calls you from the future 00:26:37.93\00:26:39.66 and some of us will miss the moment 00:26:40.53\00:26:43.30 and you will assume that God is talking to somebody else. 00:26:44.50\00:26:46.57 You will assume that God is not talking about you 00:26:47.57\00:26:49.47 because He's calling you by your future name. 00:26:50.41\00:26:52.54 And there's somebody that don't have the faith 00:26:54.24\00:26:56.21 to receive what the pastor is saying, 00:26:56.24\00:26:58.18 because I need you to know you ain't even finished school yet. 00:26:58.21\00:27:01.48 But God is calling you mighty professor. 00:27:01.52\00:27:06.45 You haven't written anything, 00:27:06.49\00:27:08.26 but God is calling you bestselling author. 00:27:08.29\00:27:10.73 Y'all not here. 00:27:10.76\00:27:12.09 The music industry is hard, 00:27:12.13\00:27:14.00 but God is calling you Grammy Award winner. 00:27:14.00\00:27:16.73 Now maybe you can't get pregnant, 00:27:17.50\00:27:19.60 but God is calling you mother of three. 00:27:20.50\00:27:22.14 Maybe today 00:27:22.54\00:27:23.74 you're just a real estate agent, but God is calling you mogul. 00:27:23.77\00:27:27.44 Maybe your life is full of sin, 00:27:28.14\00:27:29.94 but God is calling you saint of the most high God. 00:27:31.05\00:27:33.68 Do I have seven folks that know how to answer to your 00:27:34.78\00:27:37.39 future name? 00:27:37.42\00:27:38.75 Thank you for joining us for the Breath of Life 00:27:39.92\00:27:42.62 Television Ministries broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell. 00:27:42.66\00:27:48.06 We hope and pray that you have been blessed 00:27:48.10\00:27:50.87 by this fourth message in the new sermon series 00:27:50.90\00:27:54.47 ExcuseLess Join us next week for part 00:27:55.34\00:27:58.64 two of the message “Stop Watching Other People Eat”. 00:27:58.67\00:28:03.04 You don't want to miss it. 00:28:03.08\00:28:06.51 (Breath Of Life Music) 00:28:07.08\00:28:19.59