Participants:
Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000060S
|
00:06 Sermon #S032 - 'What To Do, When Your On The Verge" - (Part 1)
00:20 Pastor Snell: And so today's saints, we're going to go ahead 00:21 and jump into the words that, all right, so do me a favor, 00:24 stand to your feet as we get ready to go to the scriptures today. 00:26 And for those who are watching online, do me a favor. Be a digital disciple, 00:32 be an apple apostle, be an electronic evangelist. If you're watching on Facebook, 00:36 hit that share button a few times. If you're watching on YouTube, copy that link and send it to somebody. 00:42 I'm going to invite you to go with me, your Bibles to Exodus chapter 12. 00:47 And we're going to begin together at verse number one Exodus chapter 12. 00:55 And we're looking together at verse number one. When you get there, say, pastor, I'm ready. 01:02 Exodus 12:1. No say this. When you get there, say, 'Pastor, I'm on the verge'. 01:08 [Congregation: Pastor, I'm on the verge] 01:10 Amen. Amen Exodus 12:1. I'm going to invite those who are on the outside if you want to go ahead 01:19 and slip on in. And those who may need to slip out if you can do that. So it's to minimize distraction. 01:26 Those who need to slip on in do so at this time. Exodus 12:1. The Bible says, now the Lord spoke to Moses 01:33 and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying This month shall be the beginning of months 01:39 and it shall be the first month of the year to you. This is an Israel-like New year. 01:44 Y'all catching this. This is how they start the new year. 01:47 It says, speak to all the congregation of Israel saying on the 10th of this month, 01:53 every man shall take for himself a what? A lamb according to the house of his father, 01:59 a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, 02:04 let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of persons according to each man's need. 02:12 You shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish a male of the first year 02:20 and you may take it from sheep or the goats. Now you shall keep it until the 14th day of the same month. 02:28 Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight and they shall take some of the blood 02:35 and put it on the two door posts and on the lentil of the houses where they eat, 02:40 then they shall eat of the flesh on that night, roasted in fire with unleavened bread, 02:47 with what kind of herbs? Bitter herbs, they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw nor boiled with water, 02:56 but roasted with fire. Its head with its leg and its entrails. And you shall let none of it remain until morning 03:05 and what remains of it Until morning, you shall burn with fire and thus you shall eat it with a belt on your waist, 03:14 your sandals on your feet, your staff in your hand. 03:19 So you shall eat it in haste for it is the Lord's Passover for I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night 03:29 and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast and against all the gods of Egypt. 03:36 I will execute judgment for I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be assigned for you on the houses where you are. 03:43 And when I see the blood, I will pass over you and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you. 03:51 When I strike the land of Egypt, in verse 14 says, so this day shall be to you for a memorial 03:58 and you shall keep it as a feast unto the Lord. Throughout your generations today's saints, 04:06 I want to talk to you for a little while under the subject, what to do when you're on the verge of something. 04:15 I want to talk about what to do when you're on the verge of something. Let's pray together. Father, in our text, 04:24 we were glad that on that night you passed over, but in this service, we're asking for you to stop by. 04:34 We pray that you would make thy presence so dense in this space that it smothers all riving principalities. 04:43 And so Father, I'm praying that in the hearing of the word that faith will be multiplied exponentially. 04:49 Lord, there is somebody that is on the verge of something and they need a push. They need a prompting, 04:55 they need a directive. Lord, would you give clear instructions to your people? 05:00 And so Lord, would you hide in the shadows of the cross that Jesus alone might be seen, 05:05 that Christ alone would be heard? And at the end of our time together, may Jesus alone be praised. 05:11 We ask this in the name of him who is altogether lovely. It is in the name of Jesus that we pray. 05:17 Let those who believe say together. Amen and amen. 05:20 [Congregation: Amen] 05:22 You may be seated in the house of the Lord today. Invite you to come in quickly 05:40 and be settled Again talking to you under the subject what to do when you're on the verge of something. 05:54 You know, church, I believe that most of us listening today are on the verge of something. 06:07 I believe that some of us are on the verge of the supernatural. 06:14 I believe that this year somebody's health is going to be restored. 06:20 I believe this year somebody's marriage is going to take form. 06:25 I believe this year somebody's vision will become reality. I believe this year that miracles are going to take place. 06:35 I believe that this year, this church and these institutions will reach new heights previously unseen. 06:43 I believe that somebody is on the verge of something big. And the reason that what I believe sounds like hype is 06:54 because you don't believe you're looking at me crazy because of what I believe. 07:01 And I'm looking at you crazy because you don't believe it. 07:06 [Congregation: Amen] 07:07 And the reason that God led us into this series is 07:10 because the truth is most people don't know how to navigate the space of being on the verge of something. 07:19 In fact, friends, your Bible is filled with people who were on the verge of a move of God 07:26 and did not know what to do with the opportunity. You see in the book of numbers, 07:31 we find Israel on the verge of crossing into the promised land before their faith collapsed 07:38 and they were sentenced to 40 years of wondering. You realize that Esau had the birthright. 07:44 He was on the verge of headship until he allowed his appetite to overwhelm his anointing. 07:52 You see, Sampson was on the verge of routing the Philistines, but he was defeated not by sword or by spear, 07:59 but by well-toned curves and lacey lingerie 08:03 and see the problem friends is that most of us get stuck on the verge of something, 08:10 never realizing God's divine purpose. There are some that get stuck on the verge because they lack courage. 08:18 Some get stuck on the verge because they lack character. Some get stuck on the verge because they don't have faith. 08:27 But most folk get stuck on the verge 08:29 because they lack the spiritual awareness to know that they're on the precipice of a mighty move of God. 08:38 And see there are some that never realize God's plan because they're comfortable just being on the verge of something. 08:46 The truth is that there are some of us that like being in a space of anticipation, 08:52 but we never have the courage to enter into the reality of God's movement. 08:57 But I don't know about you saints. I'm at a place where I'm no longer content being on the verge. 09:03 I'm no longer satisfied being close. I'm not just good being on the edge. 09:09 Anybody just tired of talking about the language of faith without experiencing the realities of faith? 09:15 And I need to know if I got at least 8 or 10 saints today that are no longer good talking about it, declaring it, 09:23 waiting for it, I need you to know that this year you are on the verge of something. 09:30 And so friends, today I want to just spend a little time talking about what it means to be on the verge of a move of God 09:40 so that you know how to handle yourself in the days and weeks to come and see. 09:45 The first thing our story teaches us today is that when you are on the verge of something, 09:51 you've got to seek instruction and not momentum. Let me say it again that when you're on the verge of something, 09:58 you've got to look for instruction and not momentum. Here in our text, friends, 10:04 we find the people of God on the verge of deliverance from the house of Pharaoh. 10:10 God has sent nine crippling plagues upon the land of Egypt. 10:16 And yet Pharaoh has refused to let the people go 10:20 and understand that Moses gives them some instruction on how to avoid this judgment. 10:27 They are to set up a lamb and put on its blood on the doorpost and on the lentils, 10:35 and then the plague that judges Egypt will pass over those that are covered by the blood of the lamb 10:43 and see the thing friends, I need someone to get is that what is not expressed is the cynicism that the people of God 10:52 have about the Passover festival. In fact, I need you to get that to some eating. 11:00 The Passover literally feels like random and foolish behavior. It seems as if they're being deceived by Moses again. 11:09 In fact, friends, some of the complaints that were voiced in the wilderness were first 11:15 planted when they begin to take the Passover meal. And it's interesting because I thought, Dr Pollard, 11:22 that they would see the nine plagues as evidence that God was about to move. 11:28 I thought they would see the nine plagues as proof that something was about to shift. 11:34 But for those in Egypt, the nine plagues were symbolic of nine disappointments. 11:42 In other words, when Moses shows up and first performs signs and wonders, 11:47 remember Pharaoh first actually doubled their workload. He did not let the people go 11:54 and understand that every time they got a plague, 11:58 they got their hopes up thinking that this was the night of deliverance only to find their reality just as it was the 12:06 day before. 12:08 In other words, when the rivers turned to blood, they got their hopes up and still, he didn't let them go. 12:14 When lice came upon the land, they believed for it and he still didn't let them go. When the cattle began to die, 12:22 they thought this was it. And Pharaoh did not let them go. And when frogs overtook the land, Pharaoh said, 12:29 I'm going to free you. But when God relented upon the plague, he still did not allow the people to go 12:37 and so understand saints that there is no gradual softening toward Israel. 12:42 They are not loosening the reins gradually they've not implemented policy to make life easier for the children of Israel. 12:51 In other words, their life since Moses showed up has not gotten better. 12:57 In fact, it's gotten harder with greater disappointments. In other words, church, 13:03 they can't see things falling into place. Things are not lining up like they hoped. 13:09 They didn't have any proof that the day after Passover was going to be any different than the day before the Passover. 13:18 In other words, they would think that if God was about to set them free, they would see some momentum, 13:25 that they would see things moving in a certain direction. 13:29 But the ones who are freed from Egypt are freed not because they see momentum, but because they follow instructions. 13:39 Ah! And see, the reason that some of us are having a hard time with this idea of believing you are on the verge of 13:48 something is because you don't see any momentum amongst your circumstances. 13:55 You see, we have a hard time cause we have conflicted belief because you hear what the preacher is saying, 14:02 but you are wrestling with what you are seeing in your reality. 14:06 And the truth is, it's hard to believe that things can get better while things are consistently growing worse. 14:14 And see there are somebody listening to the word and saying, pastor, 14:18 I would believe if I can just see a little shift in the atmosphere. 14:22 Look, I would believe if I could feel my help coming on. 14:25 I would believe if I could see things are beginning to improve on the horizon. 14:30 In other words, there's somebody who's saying, I would believe if I could see a little momentum in my marriage. 14:36 I would believe if I could see her expressing effort or if I could see him recommitting himself. 14:43 There's somebody saying I would believe for healing 14:47 if I could see some momentum in my health if the medicine started working and the pain began to alleviate. 14:54 I would believe if I saw some momentum financially; if I saw some momentum professionally; 15:01 you would believe if you saw some momentum relationally; 15:05 but, what this story teaches is that miracles don't require momentum, right? Oh God, y'all not hearing me today. 15:14 In other words, I need you to know that a divine move of God doesn't require any build-up. 15:20 God doesn't require any runway. God doesn't need a head start. See how many of us know that Jehovah is a helicopter, 15:29 not an airplane. 15:31 [Congregation: Amen] 15:32 Okay, in other words that my God is a helicopter God, he's not an airplane. 15:37 Some of y'all missed your shout. See, you realize that an airplane has wheels but a helicopter has a propeller. 15:45 [Congregation: Amen] 15:46 In other words, an airplane needs a runway. He's got to build up some speed. 15:51 He's got to gather some momentum in order to get off the ground. But my God is a helicopter God. 15:58 He has a propeller over his children. So you don't need to runway. You ain't got to see it coming to past. 16:07 You just stand still and let God lift you. 16:11 [Congregation: Amen] 16:13 Right from where you are. Are y'all hearing me today? Friends? 16:19 And see the problem amongst the contemporary church is that there are some of us that wait for things to line up 16:27 before you believe. See, the problem is some of us have what I call when-then faith as opposed to having trust 16:38 and obey faith. In other words, what when-then faith is where we say, man, when I see this, then I'm going to obey. 16:49 But God is saying that you can't have when-then faith, you got to have trust and obey faith. 16:56 In other words, when you look at all of those in Faith's Hall of Fame, they were not people that had wind then faith. 17:03 They were folk that had trust and obey faith. And in other words, when the priests got to the Jordan River, 17:10 they couldn't say, when the Jordan opens, then I'm going to put my feet in the water. 17:15 They said we are going to have trust and obey faith. I'm going to put my feet in the water 17:20 and I'm going to wait for the waters to part. 17:23 Do you realize that in Babylon the three Hebrew boys couldn't say when the fire goes out, then we won't bow down. 17:31 But they had trust and obey faith that says, no matter what's going on in the furnace, 17:36 I'm going to worship only the true and living God. 17:40 Do you realize that Peter didn't have when-then faith? 17:43 He didn't say, when the storm stops, then I'm going to get out of the boat. 17:47 When God said come, he put all of his weight on the word of Jesus and the people of Israel couldn't say, 17:55 when he sets us free, then we'll eat the Passover. 17:59 We going to eat the Passover in anticipation of the word of God coming the past. Are y'all hearing me today friends? 18:08 And see I need somebody to get out of the whole disposition of saying when God does this, then I'm going to obey him 18:16 and see the problem with that. It is an ultimate insult to God. It is a statement that essentially says when God does it, 18:24 then I'll obey. It's putting God in a position where he has to audition to prove himself worthy. 18:33 But how many of us know that God ain't got to audition for nothing? God ain't got to prove himself worthy. 18:40 There is only one unworthy partner in this relationship and they ain't in heaven. 18:46 You saw them when you looked in the mirror this morning. Are y'all hearing me today? 18:50 And what I'm saying to somebody, is there somebody that's got to act on faith? 18:55 And according to the word, are y'all hearing me today? 18:58 See there are some who are saying when I start making more money then I'll be a good steward. 19:04 There are some who are saying, when I see a potential mate, then I'll stop being unequally yoked. 19:11 Some are saying when I get a good job then I'll stop working on Sabbath. 19:16 Some are saying when my spouse acts right, then I'll recommit to the marriage. 19:21 But I need you to know friends of mine that faith cannot be based upon what you observe. 19:27 Faith is demonstrated in obedience regardless of what you see. Are you hearing me today? 19:35 So the Bible says to us here in verse number eight of verse of chapter 12, go back to Exodus chapter 12 19:42 and verse number eight. When you get there say Pastor on the verge. 19:45 The Bible says, then they shall eat of the flesh on that night roasted in fire with unleavened bread 19:54 and with bitter herbs, they shall eat it. 20:00 You see the second thing this teaches friends is that when you're on the verge of something you need to take a 20:06 little bitterness with you. See when, when you're on the verge of something, don't forget how the past used to taste. 20:20 Okay. Y'all too spiritual for the pastor today. 20:25 So God gives some very unique instructions about the eating of the passover lamb. 20:33 Y'all still with me? Church? So one of the things that God says to them, he says, 20:37 I want you to eat this meal roasted with fire. But then he says, man, 20:41 I want you to make sure that you lace the lamb with bitter herbs while you eat it. 20:48 In other words, friends, their last meal in Egypt is not succulent. This last meal is not enjoyable. 20:57 When they are choking down the lamb, they've got a frown of displeasure upon their face 21:03 because it is laced with bitter herbs. In other words, when they walk out of Egypt, 21:10 God wants them to leave with a bad taste in their mouth. 21:15 In other words, when they leave Egypt, 21:19 he wants there to be some residue of something that doesn't taste good when they leave. 21:26 And see, understand friends that there is a purpose for these bitter herbs. 21:31 See, these bitter herbs were to be symbolic of the bitter days of toil 21:37 and that they experienced for 400 years while they were there in the land of Egypt. 21:44 And the reason that God wants them to leave with a bad taste in their mouth is that 21:50 he knows that the journey of faith is going to be so hard that down the line they're going to begin to look at Egypt 21:59 as being less bitter than what it was. In other words, 22:03 he knows there's some adversity awaiting them that's going to make Egypt seem sweeter than it was. 22:11 And see that's the reason that God wants them to remember their bitterness. 22:15 See, because he knows that on the freedom journey, 22:17 Egypt is going to get a little sweeter looking when there are unknowns and uncertainties. 22:22 Have you ever noticed that in their 40 years sojourned that there was always this sentiment that we should have never 22:31 left Egypt? Do you remember how these negroes talked about how the leaks and the garlic and how the onions were 22:38 and how good the food was in Egypt after they cried out to God To deliver them from the land of Egypt? 22:50 And see, I need us to understand, beloved, that God, he is so awesome, 22:54 he understood that for newly minted slaves that there was going to come a point where oppression was going to be more 23:02 appealing than obedience. He knew there would come a time where dealing 23:07 with unknowns would be less appealing than living in a land of oppression. 23:13 And so God says, I'm going to make you leave with a bad taste in your mouth so that as each year when you celebrate it 23:21 and you have this bad taste, the bad taste about where you were will help you celebrate where you are. 23:28 Okay. Y'all go get mad. But isn't it amazing the reason we keep going back to the same things, 23:42 the reason we go back to the same habits, the reason every year 23:47 we go back to the same people is that we've lost the bad taste in our mouth that made us want to be delivered in the 23:57 first place? And see, the reason we are so quick to revisit certain people and certain relationships 24:05 and certain situations is that we forgot to take a little bitterness with us 24:11 and say sometimes the present adversity makes us forget about the bitterness of the adversity we left behind. 24:19 When we begin following the Lord, y'all mighty quiet today. So, so I want to just say to somebody who is being sanctified, 24:31 because see, somebody is on the verge of amazing spiritual growth. 24:35 There is somebody on the verge of being delivered from the sin that so easily entangles you. 24:42 There is somebody that is about to experience the emancipated power of the Holy Ghost that he's going to bring you out 24:49 with his right hand and his strong arm is going to give you the victory in your inner man or in your inner woman. 24:56 But what I need you to know is that before God delivers you, make sure you take some bitterness with you. 25:04 Let me say to those that have been recently baptized, you've recently come into church culture, 25:11 you need to remember how savage those cats were in the streets so that the first time you get offended 25:19 by somebody in church, you don't go back to a that's worse than what you see in here. 25:25 Okay, let me keep it real. In other words, sister, when you leave him this time, 25:30 Make sure you hang the medical report from when he knocked you upside your head 25:36 and a picture of your black eye so that you don't go, oh, y'all quiet. 25:41 Oh, that don't happen here today. Okay? Oh y'all like that? In other words, sis, when you leave him this time, 25:46 take the picture of the naked woman you found in his phone so you won't be tempted to go back the way you came. 25:53 I'm going preach whether you get mad or not. In other words, brother, when you leave her this time, 25:59 save the text when she called you an SOB and an MF and called you out your name and talked about your mama. 26:07 Oh, y'all mighty quiet today, okay? 26:08 [Congregation: Clapping] 26:10 Before you are attempted to quit the gym, remember the bitterness for when you couldn't fit in them jeans 26:17 or tighten up the top button on your suit or your almighty quiet today. 26:21 Remember the bitterness of substance abuse of all those days where after your high, 26:28 it was followed by a depressing low that made you cry out for deliverance from God before you quit school. 26:37 Remember the bitterness of watching everybody live their dreams, 26:41 but you can't live out your dreams before you leave your husband. Remember the bitterness of always being a bridesmaid 26:51 and having to eat by yourself and go by yourself? Y'all got quiet. No, I'm onto something today. 26:58 In other words, friends, before you leave your celibacy, Don't forget the bitterness of waking up the morning after 27:09 and you feel guilty and empty and ashamed and somebody left you as if you had no value. 27:17 You've got to hold onto your bitterness so that you don't confuse the past as betterness. 27:25 [Congregation: Clapping] 27:28 Thank you so much for joining us for the Breath of Life Television Ministries broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell! 27:35 We hope and pray that you have been blessed by this first message in the sermon series entitled 27:41 “On The Verge of Something.” 27:43 Join us next week for Part Two of the message entitled “What To Do When You're On The Verge.” 27:51 You don't want to miss it! 27:54 (Breath of Life Theme Music) 28:35 [END] |
Revised 2023-03-14