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Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000097S
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00:06 #S050_You're Going The Wrong Way (Part 2)
00:19 Welcome to the Breath of Life 00:21 Television Ministry broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell. 00:25 In today's episode. 00:27 Pastor Snell will continue part two of the powerful message 00:30 titled You're Going the Wrong Way. 00:34 Now let's go deeper into the word of God. 00:39 See? See how many of us know that sometimes God puts you 00:42 in a storm that you can't think your way out of. 00:46 You can't buy your way out. 00:49 You can't maneuver your way out. 00:51 You can't hustle your way out. 00:54 You can't network your way out and see. 00:57 Sometimes God is waiting for you to get tired 01:00 of your human aims and your human devices. 01:03 He's trying to get you to a place where you look 01:06 to the hills from whence come of your help 01:10 and realize that your help comes from God. 01:14 There 01:15 I hear me today, friends. 01:17 I let me just pause and say this real quick, 01:20 because, man, I need you to get, man, that that that that 01:23 these guys realize that there is something different 01:28 about this storm 01:30 because, like, men is crazy because one scholar says 01:33 that man as their own, this storm, the reason 01:36 they realize that is something different 01:39 is because the strength of the storm 01:42 is not commensurate with their outcome. 01:49 This storm is so great that they're looking at it 01:52 and saying we should have been dead by now. 01:56 They looking at it and say we should have gone under by now. 02:00 They're looking. They said, ain't no way. 02:02 We should have made it this long. 02:05 They're looking at this thing 02:06 and saying, man, this storm is toying with us. 02:10 It hits us all the way over and snatches us back. 02:14 It pushes us almost to the edge and brings us back. 02:18 And they realize the storm is testing them. 02:22 The storm is toying with them. 02:25 The storm is tormenting them. 02:27 In other words, the storm is trying to tell them something 02:33 else. 02:34 Let me just say this real quick 02:35 to the high minded and presumptuous 02:37 among us who survived a few storms in your life. 02:41 I need you to understand that 02:43 you didn't survive the storm because you were strong. 02:47 You didn't get through the storm because you had scale. 02:50 You didn't get through the storm because you had willpower. 02:53 You didn't get through the storm because you knew somebody. 02:55 That knew somebody. 02:57 You didn't get through the storm 02:58 because of your own capability. 03:00 The only reason you got through 03:01 the storm was because it wasn't meant to destroy you. 03:05 It was meant to direct you. 03:07 And do I have at 03:08 least five survivors that when you come through the storm, 03:12 you ain't going pats ourself on the back? 03:14 You ain't going to say, look at what I have done. 03:17 Can somebody testify that if it had not. 03:20 Been for the Lord who was on our side. 03:26 That it was Jehovah that rescued you? 03:29 It was God that provided for you. 03:32 It was Jesus that protected you. 03:35 It wasn't by might or by power, but it was God. 03:40 Jesus 03:44 that came to your rescue. 03:47 And He is crazy friends of mine because literally, man, 03:51 that storm is just trying to get them tired enough 03:54 to realize where their help comes from. 03:57 It's crazy. 03:57 I remember one time 03:58 watching a video of a young lady who was in a drowning 04:01 end of a pool. 04:02 And once the lifeguard jumped in the pool, 04:05 the lady was so frantic and in attempt to save herself 04:09 that what happened 04:10 is, man, 04:11 she became 04:12 a danger to the lifeguard because she was flailing about. 04:15 And it's crazy. 04:16 You know, what the lifeguard did 04:17 is a lifeguard just fell back for a minute. 04:21 The lifeguard stayed in close proximity, but he just fell back 04:24 for a few moments. 04:26 And it looks from the outside like he doesn't care. 04:29 It looks from the outside like he's going to let her go down. 04:33 It looks from the outside like he's indifferent to her plight. 04:36 But I need you to know he's not indifferent. 04:39 He's just waiting on her to get tired 04:42 because as long as she's flailing, guess what? 04:46 She can't be assisted. 04:48 And so he's got to let her get to a place where 04:50 she's about to sink, where she's got nothing else to give. 04:54 And the only being can see receive her help 04:59 and see. 05:00 There is somebody that can sense that God is close by. 05:03 But He's not helping. 05:04 It's not cause he won't help. 05:06 He just needs you to get tired enough 05:11 to let him step in and fight the battle. 05:15 That's crazy, because I'm looking at this man. 05:17 I'm trippin 05:18 because I don't know what the spiritual pulse is of these men. 05:21 I don't know, man. They're full belief system. 05:23 But, man, 05:24 they they got enough of a spiritual pulse 05:26 to realize, man, that 05:27 there is something different in this storm right here. 05:31 Now they realize that this one has a different bite 05:34 and a different bean to it. 05:36 They realize that this storm is spiritual in nature. 05:41 And see, the thing I need somebody to give 05:44 is that there is help me, Lord. 05:48 There is a purpose in the storm. 05:53 You see, the storm is not meant to destroy them. 05:56 Are y'all still with me? 05:57 Church 05:58 The storm is meant to intercept them 06:02 and direct them where they're supposed to be. 06:04 Now, remember, Jonah is not fleeing from metaphor. 06:09 He is running from the presence of the Lord 06:12 so that the storm is designed to keep him 06:16 from getting too far. 06:21 The storm is designed 06:22 to keep him from getting too far from God. 06:26 And it's designed to aim him in the direction of God 06:31 and say, I need you to know 06:32 that the storm is designed to tell Jonah something. 06:36 And can I suggest today, friends, 06:38 that there are 06:39 some of us that are in a variety of types of storms? 06:43 You see, there are some of us that are in a storm 06:46 that's designed to teach us that we are going the wrong way. 06:49 Some of us are in a storm that's letting us know 06:52 that our path is off course. 06:54 Some of us are in a storm because we're getting a little 06:56 too far from God. 06:58 Some of us are in a storm because, man, 07:00 our lives have become a little bit too prayer list. 07:03 And sometimes you've got to know 07:05 that the storm has not come to destroy you. 07:08 It's not punishment. It's not judgment. 07:10 It is simply God trying to turn you around. 07:15 Before you get too far from him. 07:17 And so I need you to understand 07:18 that the storm in some ways is God's last resort. 07:22 It is the last barrier to keep you from being destroyed, 07:27 because sometimes God 07:28 says, I couldn't reach you through my Holy Spirit. 07:32 He said, I couldn't reach through through conviction. 07:36 I couldn't reach through through snail sermons. 07:39 I couldn't get to you through your parents. 07:41 I couldn't get to you through godly counsel. 07:44 So the only way I could get to some of you 07:47 is by turning your world upside 07:50 down. 07:54 And it's crazy because the nature of the storm 07:57 in some ways is going to speak to the violation 08:00 that God wants you to avoid 08:01 so that some of us are in a financial storm 08:04 because we've gotten too comfortable robbing God. 08:08 Some of us are in a relational storm 08:10 because the pool of romance is keeping you away from him. 08:14 Some of us are in an emotional storm 08:17 because we've forgotten that the joy of the Lord 08:19 is to be our strength. 08:21 Some of us are in a family storm 08:23 because the family altars have been replaced 08:26 by flat screens and entertainment centers. 08:29 Some of us are in a storm with our children 08:32 to teach us that the screen time should decrease 08:34 and the prayer time should increase. 08:36 I need us to understand that there is a purpose in the storm. 08:43 It is crazy 08:45 because we look at the storm too often as judgment. 08:50 Do you realize that the storm 08:52 is literally God saying, Jonah, 08:55 I won't give you up without a fight? 09:00 It is the way God contends with Jonah. 09:03 It is the way He pulls on Jonah. 09:06 It is the way he preserves Jonah. 09:08 And watch this church online will rejoice with me here. 09:11 But I need you to understand that the curse of God 09:14 is not in the storm. 09:19 I may enjoy this all by myself. 09:22 The curse of God was not in hostile water. 09:25 The curse of God would have been in calm water. 09:31 Because, you know, a calm water would have represented. 09:35 Calm water would have simply meant that God 09:38 had found a replacement for Jonah. 09:41 If the water was calm, it would have simply meant 09:44 that I'm done with Jonah. 09:46 I'm over Jonah. 09:48 I have no need for Jonah. 09:50 I'm going raise somebody up to do what Jonah refused to do. 09:54 And let me pause and say to some of us, never confuse 09:58 God's mercy as you being necessary. 10:01 Beyonce, I said it best. 10:02 Don't you ever get to faking your. 10:07 I see you all the sinners are in the church right now. 10:09 Thank you for revealing yourself. Hey, man. 10:11 See, I need you to know that God doesn't need us. 10:16 Oh, he doesn't need us. 10:18 He wants us. 10:21 In other words, I need you to know 10:22 that when he keeps the water hostile, it's 10:25 because he's still striving with Jonah. 10:28 It's because he's still dealing with Jonah. 10:31 It's because he's saying, I haven't given up on Jonah. 10:34 And I know you don't like to praise God in the storm, 10:38 but the can't be that God has no more use for you. 10:42 It means that God is done with you. 10:44 But can somebody take a moment and say, Lord, I thank you 10:48 for the storm? 10:49 You've got to reinterpret the day. 10:51 You know, 10:52 you've got to reinterpret the information 10:55 because the storm is the evidence that God 10:57 is contending with you, that he's still calling you, 11:02 that he still wants you, that he's still using you. 11:06 I praise God not for calm waters, 11:11 but for seasons of storm 11:14 that drive me back to God. 11:18 Bible says here in Jonah, chapter one and verse ten, 11:21 Can we go back to the book for just a moment? 11:22 I need to see this. 11:23 The Bible says in the man, 11:25 we're suddenly afraid and said to him, 11:27 Why have you done this for? 11:29 The man knew that he fled 11:30 from the presence of the Lord because he told them. 11:32 Then they said to him, What shall we do to you? 11:35 That the sea may become for us. 11:36 For the sea was growing more tempestuous. 11:38 So watch this. 11:39 And he said to them, Are you all looking at this church? 11:43 Pick me up 11:45 and throw me into the sea. 11:47 Then the sea will be calm for you. 11:49 For I know this great tempest is because of me. 11:52 Verse 30 Nevertheless, these men rode hard to return the land, 11:58 but they could not, for the sea continue to grow more 12:01 tempestuous against them. 12:06 Third thing this teach us friends of mine 12:08 is don't let somebody else's drama sink you. 12:15 I told you, I'm going enjoy it if I have to do it 12:17 all by myself. I hear me today. 12:20 Now, that's crazy. 12:22 Church Because this story hanging on life, 12:25 it gets weirder every time I read it. 12:29 Like, I literally read it through 12:30 probably 30 times this week. 12:32 Like the punch line. 12:33 Because there are sequences and there are decisions 12:36 and there are ways of thinking that I just don't understand 12:39 and I do not vibe with. 12:41 In other words, I need you to get this. 12:42 That there, man. 12:43 This this storm has an escalating scale of intensity. 12:47 And it's crazy because they realize 12:49 that it is spiritual in nature, 12:51 but they grow more and more frustrated 12:53 because their spiritual efforts 12:57 are not able to nullify the spiritual storm. 13:00 So literally, they go through man poling, everybody 13:04 to find out who knows a god 13:06 that is powerful enough to stop the song. 13:08 So literally they find Jonah asleep in the belly of the boat. 13:12 They like, do. Why are you still sleeping? 13:14 You downhill living your best life. 13:15 And we are here about to Paris 13:17 and they're like, man, who are you? 13:19 Who we write you from what God's you serve. 13:21 Maybe your God is able to deliver us, man. 13:24 And they implore Jonah to call on His God. 13:27 But, man, you got to catch the absurdity 13:29 that the man of God 13:31 can't pray to God because He is speaking to God. 13:35 In other words, the 13:37 witnessing opportunity after a lifetime is squandered 13:42 because of Jonah's pettiness. 13:45 So they ban Jonah, don't cast the 13:47 and he doesn't confess it first. 13:48 So the Bible says they began casting lots, which is the 13:54 the ancient equivalent of drawing straws. 13:59 Are you hear me 14:00 or flipping coins? 14:03 And the Bible says that the lot falls on Jonah. 14:08 And to his 14:10 credit, at least at some point, Jonah's comes as well. 14:14 What had happened was 14:18 I was supposed to go to Tarsus, 14:19 I mean, to Nineveh, but I refuse. 14:23 I ran from the presence of the Lord any. 14:25 And he raises his hand 14:28 and says, This storm 14:30 is because of me. 14:34 He is forced to confess. 14:36 I bought this drama 14:39 to your boat. 14:41 He say, My chaos is 14:43 the reason you all are about to sink. 14:46 It is crazy. So they were like, okay, 14:49 what do we need to do to you 14:54 so that the storm might get right with us? 14:57 Angle I'll give him some credit cause 15:00 I might have told them something different. 15:03 I might have been like, Man, pray three times, 15:09 click your heels 15:12 and say, Jehovah backwards. 15:14 I hear what I'm saying. 15:14 I mean, but but to why? 15:16 Jonah's like, man, like, if you want it to be okay, 15:19 he says, Throw me over the boat 15:25 now. I don't really know 15:27 kind of what they hear 15:29 and why they're hesitant to do it. 15:32 Maybe, perhaps when you read their prayer 15:35 in chapter one, 15:36 maybe they are afraid of 15:37 God's judgment or what will happen 15:39 if they throw the Prophet of God overboard. 15:42 But the prophet already said, 15:45 If you want to live, 15:47 you better throw me overboard. 15:50 But you notice what happens. 15:52 There is this interesting, misplaced loyalty 15:54 that somehow goes down with the Bible, says that they literally 15:58 instead of throwing Jonah overboard, 16:00 the Bible says that they row even harder and watch this. 16:05 The harder they roll, the more tempestuous, 16:08 the sort the storm actually becomes. 16:11 I don't know what's going through their mind. 16:13 They just like, Yo, Jonah, we got you, man. 16:16 Listen, I need, you know, it's all for one and one for all. 16:19 We need all hands on deck. 16:21 They give everybody an assignment. 16:23 They just like, man, we ride together. 16:25 We are. Y'all hear me? 16:27 He's like, listen, we got to make it together. 16:30 And the Bible says, the harder they row, 16:33 the more intense the storm becomes. 16:36 And your boy, Jonah's over in the corner, like, hey, guys, 16:41 I don't know if y'all know who y'all up against. 16:44 I've tried fighting 16:46 him, and this is why I'm in this predicament right 16:50 now, and I just. 16:51 I don't know. We got to, man, we got to make it together. 16:54 And it's crazy 16:55 cause your boy Jonah's just leaning up 16:56 against the edge of the boat. 16:58 Man They over there, 16:59 man casting off cargo and throwing off imported goods. 17:02 And the storm gets worse. 17:03 And Jonah's just like I told you to throw me overboard. 17:06 They literally take pails, 17:08 and they emptied the boat of water as often as they can. 17:11 And Jonah just over there said, I told you to 17:13 throw me overboard. 17:15 They literally are rolling with all the force they can muster. 17:18 And the storm's intensity is greater than their effort. 17:22 And at some point, Jonah has to put some bass in his voice. 17:26 And it's like, Dude, I told you, you got to throw me overboard. 17:32 Now, notice this, that Jonah, don't 17:35 jump off the boat. 17:41 Jonah, like my mom ain't raised no food, 17:44 ain't jumping off the boat. 17:46 He's saying, You gonna have to throw me over the boat. 17:50 And one of the things Jonah is teaching us is 17:53 that drama will never remove itself. 17:58 That drama ain't going. 18:00 Never go nowhere voluntarily. 18:02 Drama has to be removed. 18:06 Are y'all hearing me today, friends 18:08 and say I need somebody to get that? 18:10 Jonah, in this moment of watching them struggle while not 18:13 removing himself, is illustrating a lesson for us 18:17 because he's saying to them, 18:18 It doesn't matter how hard you work, 18:20 it doesn't matter how hard you row, 18:22 it doesn't matter how much stuff you throw overboard. 18:24 I need you to know the best thing you can do for yourself. 18:28 And the best thing you can do for me is to throw me 18:32 off the boat. 18:35 You see, friends, you know what this shows us? 18:38 It shows us the danger of misplaced loyalty. 18:43 And what happens when 18:45 you develop a savior complex. 18:49 See how many of us understand that saving 18:51 Jonah wasn't their responsibility. 18:54 Saving Jonah was God's responsibility. 18:58 And the best thing they could do for Jonah 19:01 and the welfare of the boat is to muster up 19:04 the courage to throw Jonah overboard. 19:07 Are you are hearing me today? 19:09 And see, 19:09 I need 19:11 somebody to understand that I believe in encouraging people. 19:14 I believe in praying for people. 19:16 I believe in investing in people. 19:18 I believe in Barry Long for people. 19:20 But how many of us know 19:22 that you can't save nobody if your name ain't Jesus 19:26 and your title ain't Christ, you can't save nobody 19:32 that don't want to be saved. 19:33 Are y'all hear me today and see this crazy? 19:36 It's gonna seem like I'm lacking compassion. 19:38 But how many of us are at a place 19:39 where you got your own burdens and you got your own drama, 19:43 and you got so many of your own problems 19:46 that you can't carry your own drama and somebody else is to 19:52 see. This is crazy. 19:53 You know what this is showing us, friends. 19:55 Oh, this is going to be tough. 19:57 I need you to realize 19:58 that most of our drama is not circumstantial. 20:02 It's relational. 20:05 Oh. Oh, 20:07 see, a lot of our drama is not 20:09 brought to us by circumstance. 20:13 A lot of our drama accompanies 20:15 the people 20:18 that we allow in our inner circle and see what God will do. 20:22 Friends of mine is He will allow the source of drama 20:26 at some point to be revealed in your life. 20:29 But I need you to know 20:29 that once God shows you the drama source, 20:32 you've got to have the courage to deal 20:34 with the source of the drama. 20:37 Oh yeah. I like him. Brand new on me today. 20:40 Anybody ever seen 20:41 people that are magnets for drama? 20:45 Do you ever seen somebody that's just a magnet for chaos? 20:49 They're everywhere they go. 20:51 Things bottom out. 20:52 Every time they show up, things get messy. 20:55 Every time they come around, things begin to get tense. 20:58 I need you to recognize that there are times where God 21:01 reveals the sources of drama in your life. 21:04 And I need you to be clear 21:06 that the drama angle never remove itself. 21:08 It's not going to yield voluntarily. 21:10 At some point, you've got to have the courage, 21:12 like the Mariners on the boat, to say, Man, I love you. 21:15 I'm doing this for you and for me. 21:18 I've got to throw some sources of drama overboard 21:22 so I can make it back to God. 21:23 You hear what I'm saying today? 21:26 In other words, brother, 21:28 if you're home, he's sleeping on your couch 21:32 is causing drama between you and your woman. 21:35 Then at some point 21:36 you're going to have to erect some boundaries. 21:38 I throw homeboy overboard, the almighty quiet. 21:41 In other words, Sister, if your girlfriend's counsel 21:44 is causing drama in your house, you're going to have to 21:47 throw up some boundaries or put home girl overboard. 21:51 Y'all mighty quiet today. 21:53 If lending them money is keeping you broke and them dependent. 21:57 At some point, you're going to have to throw them overboard. 22:02 Understand that if you always starting 22:04 fights in fights that you didn't start, 22:07 you won't have to put up some boundaries. 22:09 I throw some folk overboard if you got to be mad with them 22:13 and all of that, be friends with them. 22:15 You've got to throw some folk overboard. 22:19 You are hearing me today, friends 22:21 to see. 22:22 At some point you will have to do some inventory 22:24 in your life and realize on your boat 22:28 the difference between the sales 22:31 and the anchors. 22:34 See how many of us know that 22:35 in every life there are some sales. 22:37 When they get underneath 22:39 the wind of God, they push you where you're supposed to go. 22:43 But there are some that are anchors planted by the enemy 22:48 to halt your progress and keep you from becoming 22:52 who God has ultimately ordained for you to become. 22:57 And so I need you to know you'll never know the difference 22:59 between a sail and an anchor until the wind starts blowing 23:04 and say One of the greatest things of a storm 23:06 is that the storm reveals who your friends actually are. 23:11 It reveals who's 23:12 for you and who's actually against you. 23:16 Listen, I'm almost done. 23:18 That's crazy, 23:20 because. 23:21 God, God, I mean, Jonah literally says this. 23:23 This, I guess, 23:25 is only one way to do it. 23:27 You're going to have to toss me off the ship. 23:31 And it's crazy because, man, they literally pray 23:34 unto the Lord, Jonah's God. 23:35 They're like, Lord, have mercy on us for what we about to do. 23:40 And man, I don't know if it's three or four of them 23:42 that grab Jonah, they pick him up 23:45 and all one, 23:51 two, three. 23:57 And the Bible says that 23:58 as soon as Jonah's body hits the water, 24:04 all of a sudden the sea becomes calm. 24:08 But that ain't even the best part of the story. 24:10 Did you notice that the Bible says 24:13 that God prepared a great fish 24:17 to swallow up Jonah 24:21 Oh, some of y'all, Mr. Shout. 24:23 See, the problem is that so you got to realize 24:26 that when Jonah tells them to throw him over, 24:29 Jonah is not looking for an escape plan. 24:33 You realize that Jonah is planning for his own demise, 24:37 as they are counting. One, two, three. 24:39 He's counting down to his last breath 24:41 like Jonah assumes that this is where his story ends. 24:45 Jonah is under the assumption that he's gone too far 24:48 beyond the mercy of God. 24:50 He is getting ready to face final judgment and consequence. 24:54 In other words, he can't see his eyes, 24:57 can't see his ears, can't hear his heart, has not received 25:02 what God has prepared for Him. 25:05 And as soon as Jonah's body hits the water, 25:08 the Bible says A great whale swallow us up, Jonah. 25:13 Now, some of y'all still look it funny 25:15 because we thought the whale was punishment, 25:19 but the whale was not punishment. 25:22 The whale was protection. 25:24 The whale was how God spared him. 25:27 The whale was how God kept him. 25:30 The whale is how God preserved him. 25:33 Jonah was preparing to be destroyed, 25:36 but Mercy said not so. 25:39 And he's sorry. 25:40 Jonah, you can't just preach on your spot. 25:43 You can't live on your time. 25:46 And because of God, you can even die when you get ready. 25:51 I'm in control of every area of your life. 25:55 I'm the sovereign God. 25:57 There is none before me. 25:59 There's none beside me There's none after me 26:04 Oh, God, all by myself 26:08 And beside me there is no other 26:12 kidnap anybody that praise God that he controls your seas, 26:18 controls your time, and I need you to know 26:21 it looks like you may be about to go under, 26:24 but God has prepared something to save you financially. 26:29 There's a world that's to save you medically. 26:32 He's got a way of escape. 26:35 Your eyes haven't seen it. 26:37 Your ears haven't heard me. 26:39 That has entered into the heart of man 26:42 that which God here 26:45 has prepared for those who love Him. 28:05 Breath of Life Music 28:23 END |
Revised 2023-11-30