Participants:
Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000016S
|
00:01 (Breath of Life Theme Music)
00:09 Sermon #S009 - (Every Little Step I Take - Part 2) 00:20 Welcome to the Breath of Life Television Ministries broadcast! 00:23 In today's episode, we will pick up from Part Two of the message entitled: 00:28 “Every Little Step I Take” by Pastor Debleaire Snell. Let's take a radical step of faith through the Word of God. 00:37 Pastor Snell: See I need us to understand, beloved, the purpose of trials and satanic attack. 00:42 You all need to know the devil ain't no fool. 00:45 He knows that the angel of the Lord encamps about those that fear Him. 00:50 The devil knows that the weapons formed against you will not be able to prosper. 00:56 He knows he can't have your health. He knows he can't have your kids. He knows that he can't touch your life. 01:04 Listen, when he came for Job, do you remember what God said? He says, "Have you considered my servant Job?" 01:11 Do you remember what the devil said? The devil said, "No. I know who he is. You got a hedge about his house, 01:17 about his life and about everything he has." How did the devil know that job had a hedge? 01:23 Because he had already come for Job, but the hedge kept them and made the devil so that he could not touch him. 01:37 The devil knows that he can't take you under. But like the storm, he knows if he makes enough noise, 01:45 if he sends a little lightning, if he sends the rush away, if he can get you to start looking at the rush 01:55 and stop focusing on Jesus, he knows that he can take you down. 02:01 This is why, friends of mine, it's so critical that we spend this week mastering our distractions. 02:06 Can you say amen? If the enemy can get you to focus on the crisis and not on Christ, 02:18 he can cause you to begin to sink. Right, so won't get mad at me for a minute here. 02:25 If he can get you to focus on Putin, eventually, he'll get your faith to sink. 02:35 If he can get you to focus on Instagram, more than you focus on your intercessor. 02:42 Oh, where are you all at? 02:43 He can cause your faith to sink. 02:46 If he can keep you focused on the state of the Lakers as opposed to the God who can calm the lake, 02:55 he can cause your faith to begin to sink. 02:58 If he can keep you focused on the news instead of the new thing that God is about to do, 03:04 then guess what? He can cause your faith to begin to sink. 03:08 If he can keep you looking so much at the job report and the stock market, 03:14 if he can keep you looking at the price of gas, eventually, you will begin to lose your hold on God. 03:23 Are you all hearing me today, saints? 03:25 The one thing about unrealistic faith is that unrealistic faith is focused. Are you all hearing me today, 03:30 saints? The thing about unrealistic faith is unrealistic faith is not ignorant. 03:37 Unrealistic faith is not unaware of the problem. 03:41 What unrealistic faith does is it focuses on the solution more than the problem. 03:48 Are you hearing me today, saints? Unrealistic faith is aware of the rush, 03:54 but what it does is it keeps its look downfield on the God who is able to fix it. 04:03 Are you all with me? I'm tripping on this, you all. I'm wondering like if it's storming the whole time, 04:10 why does Peter stop looking at Jesus and start looking at the storm. You all still with me, church? 04:19 [Congregation: Yes.] 04:20 Pastor Snell: I got a little insight from a little book Desire of Ages 380. 04:24 Put this up on the screen. I need you to see what caused your boy Peter to lose his way. Humanity is so petty. 04:32 She says, "Looking unto Jesus, Peter walks out securely. But as in self-satisfaction, 04:46 he glances back toward his companions..." Come on. You all with me? "...in the boat. 04:54 His eyes are turned from the Savior. The wind is boisterous. The waves roll high, 05:01 and come directly between him and the master. He is afraid. 05:06 For a moment Christ is hidden from his view and his faith gives way." Did you all catch this? 05:15 It just shows that it doesn't matter how stormy your life is. Humanity is going to find a way to be petty. 05:26 Like he is in the middle of a storm and he finds the time to look down on the eleven who are still in the boat. 05:37 Now, remember the argument they're always having. It's about who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom. 05:44 Understand that walking on water is going to give Peter a head start in this race. 05:52 Peter is feeling himself so much, that he looks at his voice. 05:58 So as to say in the words of Kool Moe Dee, How Ya Like Me Now? Are you all hearing what I'm saying today? 06:06 It's crazy because I can see this thing where first he's walking out there, 06:10 and even though he's walking with conviction, he's a little bit nervous and maybe at first, 06:15 his knees are a little bit trembling and his hands are shaking. 06:19 The reason I know that he walk for little ways on the water is he walked long enough to get arrogant. 06:28 In other words, at first, he's stepping with kind of a little bit of a fragility, 06:32 but after a while, Peter starts feeling himself. After a while, he's getting the dirt off his shoulder. 06:38 After a while, he's leaning with it and he's rocking with it. 06:43 After a while, your boy Peter's all in his feelings, and it's crazy. 06:49 He turns around to look at them. And then the storm says, "Hey. Look at me." 06:56 It seems the waves right between him and Jesus, and just like that, he begins to sink. 07:05 Now, hear me on this, saints. The word is holding Peter up. The word can hold these fears. 07:13 It can hold his flaws. Oh, Jesus. The word can hold these fears. It can hold these flaws. 07:21 It can hold this anxiety. The word will hold everything, but your ego. 07:30 Your boy Peter, he's already planned his boast for when they get back on the ground. 07:37 He's already ready to tell them about themselves. 07:41 I guess what I'm saying to the church is that when God lets you start walking on the water, 07:48 you ain't got no time to be looking down your nose at those who are still in the boat. 07:55 You've got to learn how to keep your eyes on Jesus every single step of the way. 08:02 Are you all hearing me, saints? 08:04 That's why I love what the Bible says, what Paul says, if I'm going to boast, let my boasting be in Jesus. 08:10 Come on and say amen. Say to the Living God. 08:14 This is why I think it's critical that no matter how high you get in life, that the higher you get, 08:22 that's the higher you ought to lift up Jesus in every single thing He does for you. 08:28 Are you hearing me today, saints? In other words, in all of your boasting, 08:32 let your boasting be in the power of the cross. 08:35 In other words, don't you ever let me hear you talk about how you got the degree. 08:39 No, you better open up your mouth and say it was God that gave them the money for school. 08:44 It was God that gave me the sense to study. It was God that helped me get through the class. 08:49 Don't you ever talk about how you started the business. 08:52 You ought to tell the story about how God opened up doors that no man can shut, 08:57 and God shut doors that no man could open. 09:00 Don't ever let me hear you talk about how your good driving allows you to get out of the accident. 09:05 How many of us know that it was the hand of God that steered us in trouble, 09:10 and God is the one that steered us out of trouble? 09:13 I just need to know. Do I have at least seven saints that are so thankful for what God has done? 09:18 That you want to take a moment and just boast in the Lord. You just want to take a moment 09:23 and say it was God that got me through school. It was God that put me in the house. 09:30 It was God that got my business off the ground. It was God that helped me finish the dissertation. 09:37 It was God that helped me get out of the hospital bed. It was God that kept my marriage together. 09:43 It was God that kept my kids out of jail. It was God that kept me in my right mind. 09:49 There ain't no reason for you to be in your right mind. 09:53 The truth is you just don't look like what's you've been through. 09:58 The reason you don't look like it is because the hand of God has covered you, kept you and preserved you. 10:09 Let's boast in the Lord for 10 seconds in this place. 10:13 [Congregation: Clapping] 10:16 Pastor Snell: Are you all hearing the word today, saints? Hallelujah. Now it's going to get good in a minute. 10:31 There is an overlooked portion of this story, saints. Peter, he's feeling himself on the word, right? 10:45 He's walking with such confidence that he forgets where he ends and where Jesus begins. 10:54 He's thinking it's him, so Peter begins to sink, right? Then, he cries out, "Lord, save me." 11:02 Then Jesus picks him up, and then we shout right there. But there is something that blows my mind. 11:12 Jesus is talking to Peter, but have you ever noticed where this conversation takes place? 11:23 No, no, no. The Bible says the boat doesn't come to where Jesus and Peter are. 11:32 Jesus is having this conversation and saying, "Peter, you were doing so good. Why did you doubt?" 11:39 But you know what they stand in? They are still standing on the water. The boat doesn't come to where they are. 11:54 In fact, Jesus grabs him hand-in-hand. After Peter doubted, he still walks on water to get back into the boat. 12:08 Oh, church. No, no, no. After he doubted, Jesus should have brought the boat to him, 12:17 but he still walked on water, even after he doubted, in order to get to the boat. 12:25 Okay. How do I know that I won't sink if I operate in faith. 12:33 All I got to do is look at how God kept me when I had doubt. 12:40 If God helped me walk on water after I doubted, how much can I do if I continue to believe? 12:50 In other words, Saints, if God kept you when you weren't returning a tithe. 12:54 Oh, you all. Come on church and stay with me. 12:57 What will happen if you start returning a tithe? If God bless you when you were working on Sabbath, 13:04 won't God bless you when you take a stand for the Sabbath? If God bless you when you were filled with complaints, 13:11 won't God bless you once you start giving God the praise? 13:15 What I'm saying is all you've got to do is look at how good God was when you are unfaithful. 13:21 It ought to give you the confidence that if you start acting with faith and trust in God, 13:27 that if he can uphold you in disbelief, won't God keep you when you start believing? 13:38 Are you all hearing today, saints. 13:41 [Congregation: Yes.] 13:43 Saints, there is something I want you to think about with this story. The last thing this teaches us, 13:49 friends of mine, is that sometimes, you got to learn not just to focus on the final steps. 13:57 Sometimes, there are something you can learn from those first steps. Most of us, 14:07 when we read the story and we see how Peter falls at the end, we consider it some negative because 14:15 Peter didn't make it all the way to Jesus. Watch this, church. 14:21 No matter what you say about Peter and how he fell along the way, 14:28 there ain't nobody else that ever walked on water besides Jesus, but the Apostle Peter. 14:38 Are you all with me? 14:40 I don't believe there'll be arguments in heaven, 14:44 but let's just say that when we got to heaven 14:51 and the old patriarchs wanted to have a debate about who is a part of the best miracle, 14:58 I think your boy Peter might have the upper hand. In other words, man, 15:02 I can see Moses standing up and say, you all ain't got nothing on me. 15:08 I opened up a Red Sea. But then Joshua stand up and say, "Moses, the Red Sea was standing still. 15:17 But I opened up the Jordan River when it was overflowing its banks." 15:22 And then maybe the three Hebrew boys would stand up and say, "I was in a fiery furnace. 15:29 "But then Daniel will stand up and say, "I was in the lion's den." Oh, you all not hearing me. 15:37 Maybe one of the disciples will stand up and say, "I heal the sick and the lame." 15:44 But then Paul would get in the conversation and say, "I had so much anointing, 15:50 that when I walk down the street and I will take the sick and the lame. When my shadow fell upon them, 15:58 the sick would get well and the lame would start dancing." 16:02 Maybe then Elijah will stand up and say, "I resurrected the widow's son." 16:09 But then Elijah will get it at and said, They put a dead man on my bones, 16:17 and that dead man got up and start running around." 16:22 And then Peter would stand up and say, "A lot of you all healed. 16:26 A lot of you all did miracles. A lot of you all did resurrections. 16:32 But there's only two that ever walked on water." He goes and stands next to the lamb 16:40 and let them know that only me and Jesus have walked on the water. 16:52 Watch this. Because one of them going to stand and will say, "Well, Peter, you walked on water, 16:59 but remember at the end, you failed." But then Peters go get some bass in his voice and say, "I failed, 17:08 but at least I tried." Why am I saying this? Because I think, saints, 17:16 we got to reframe the narrative around our failures. 17:21 We will only give props to those that make it to the destination. 17:27 I'm learning how to give some love to those that at least got the courage to get out of the boat 17:35 and walk for a little while, even if you don't make it the whole way. When Peter gets to the shore, 17:44 his conclusion is not that it was unrealistic to walk on water. Those final steps don't dictate his thinking. 17:55 Those first steps give him enough proof to know that it's possible. 18:03 Okay. What are you saying today, pastor? Because there's somebody who's looking at failure in the wrong way. 18:10 You're saying, "Well, pastor, I started out and the business did good. After a while, it went into bankruptcy." 18:17 We focus on the final steps, 18:20 but you ought to look at those first steps when it was doing good as proof that you can do it again. 18:26 Okay. Somebody is saying" Pastor, you don't realize me and my spouse. We got in an argument last night." 18:34 I need you to know that if you're arguing, at least the doors of communication are open. Oh, good. 18:41 It ain't dead because you're fighting. It ain't dead until you stop fighting. Oh, where are you all at today, 18:46 church. 18:48 There's somebody who's saying, "Pastor, I was walking good six months without drinking or smoking, 18:53 but I fell off the wagon." No, don't focus on the fact that you failed. Praise God for the six months. 19:00 The six months is the proof that you can do it again. Somebody say, "Pastor, I lost weight." 19:08 Guess what? I gained it back again. Guess what? Don't focus on the fact that today they're back. 19:14 Look at the fact that God helped you lose it in the first place. If you can lose it one time, guess what? 19:22 You can lose it again. Are you all hearing me today, saints. 19:26 There's somebody who's saying, "Pastor, we had a miscarriage at seven months." 19:30 But if you have a miscarriage at seven months, it means that God sustained you for seven months. 19:38 If God can get to the seven, next time, he'll get you to nine. 19:42 Sometimes, we look at how it ended as proof we should have never got out of the boat. 19:48 No, what you ought to conclude is that next time, as long as I keep my eyes on Jesus 19:55 and I don't let myself get distracted, every little step that I take, 20:02 I'm going to get a little closer and closer and closer to Jesus. 20:07 Some of you all laughed when you heard the title. 20:11 Because you know this was a Bobby Brown song, but Bobby Brown was talking about a woman. 20:16 Today, we're singing about Jesus. He said, "Every little step I take, you will be there. 20:24 Every little step I take, we'll be together." Is there anybody that knows that when you walk with Jesus, 20:32 every little step you take, he's going to be there? Every little step you take, we're going to be together. 20:40 How do you know, Pastor? He said, "I am with you always even till the very end of the earth." 20:49 He says, "When mother and father forsake you, the Lord is going to take you in." 20:55 He says, "All that come unto me, I will in no wise cast you out. Every little step you take, 21:04 I'm going to be there. Every little step you take, we're going to be together. 21:09 The Bible says that a just man falls seven times, but he rises up again. Is there anybody that's fallen before, 21:20 but you ought to say that I'm getting back up again by the grace of God, 21:26 by the might of God, by the power of God? I only may have had a few good steps, 21:33 but a few good steps is the proof that next time, I'm going all the way with Jesus. 21:42 Let the redeemed say hallelujah. 21:45 [Congregation: Clapping] 21:46 Pastor Snell: Praise God for every step that you take and see. 21:54 God is wanting somebody to get to a place where you don't focus just on the final steps. 22:02 Remember, Peter walked long enough to become arrogant. I need you to know that sometimes, 22:10 when you make a little progress and it falls down, sometimes you say, "Man, that was all for nothing." 22:21 Don't focus on the last steps where it went wrong. Look at all the progress you made. 22:31 Is there anybody that has this testimony where you can say like the old folk, "I'm not what I ought to be, 22:41 but I praise God that I'm better than what I used to be." 22:46 Guess what? You might have failed last night, but look at all the progress you made so far. 22:56 Those steps you made where you got some victory, where you overcame the drinking and you overcame the smoke, 23:02 and then you stayed away from him or her, or you walked away from that particular temptation. When you failed, 23:08 that doesn't mean it's all for nothing. Those steps that you made in faith are the proof that next time, 23:16 if you keep your eyes on Him and you keep your hand in His hand, next time, 23:22 you are going to go all the way in Jesus name. Let the people of God say amen today. 23:35 [singing] 23:37 Female Soloist: I try, but sometimes I fail. Now, I realized that I need Your help. 23:45 'Cause I can't make it all by myself. I need You, You, You. I should know by now there's no way, no. 24:02 How that I can live without You. Still get caught up in myself. I talk to You less and less. 24:12 But every time that I do, I come right back to You. But all my mistakes, I know that I have to change. 24:23 So I put my life in Your hands. 24:28 Choir: Because I try, but sometimes I fail. Now, I realized that I need Your help. 24:38 'Cause I can't make it all by myself. I need You, You, You. 24:48 Female Soloist: I wish I could undo some things that I have done in my past. 25:00 But I can't erase all the things that have taken place. So from now on, I'll try to do my best. 25:11 'Cause after all my mistakes, I know that I have to change. So I put my life in your hands. Ohhh. 25:21 Choir: I try, but sometimes I fail. Now, I realized that I need Your help because I can't make it all by myself. 25:37 I need You, You, You. 25:43 Female Soloist: And nobody wants to fall, but we fall sometimes. 25:48 Choir: We fall sometimes. 25:49 Female Soloist: And You were there to help us out every time. 25:53 All the time, You forgive myself 'cause You know I need another chance to make it right. 26:02 You forgive me 'cause I try. 26:06 Choir: I try, but sometimes I fail. 26:09 Female Soloist: Now, I realized. 26:12 Choir: I need Your help. 26:14 Female Soloist: That I can't make it. 26:17 Choir: All by myself. 26:19 Female Soloist: No, no, no. 26:20 Choir: I need you. 26:22 Female Soloist: I need You. 26:23 Choir: You. 26:24 Female Soloist: You. 26:25 Choir: You. 26:25 Female Soloist: Need You. 26:26 Choir: I try. 26:27 Female Soloist: I try. 26:29 Choir: But sometimes I fail. 26:30 Female Soloist: Now, I realized. 26:33 Choir: I need Your help. 26:35 Female Soloist: I cannot make it. 26:38 Choir: All by myself. 26:41 Female Soloist: No, no way. 26:43 Choir: I need You. 26:43 Female Soloist: I need You. 26:44 Choir: You. 26:45 Female Soloist: I need You. 26:46 Choir: You. 26:47 Female Soloist: I need You. 26:48 Choir: You. I try. 26:49 Female Soloist: I try. 26:50 Choir: But sometimes I fail. 26:51 Female Soloist: Now, I realized. 26:55 Choir: I need your help. 26:57 Female Soloist: I cannot make it. 27:00 Choir: All by myself. I need You. 27:05 Female Soloist: I need You. 27:06 Choir: You. 27:07 Female Soloist: I need You, God. 27:08 Choir: You. I try but sometimes I fail. 27:14 Female Soloist: I realized. 27:17 Choir: I need your help. 27:19 Female Soloist: My God, I can't make it. 27:22 Choir: All by myself. 27:25 Female Soloist: No way. 27:27 Choir: I need You. 27:28 Female Soloist: I need You. 27:29 Choir: you. 27:31 Female Soloist: I need You. 27:32 Choir: You. 27:33 [end of singing] 27:35 (Breath of Life Theme Music) 28:28 [End] |
Revised 2022-05-11