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Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000089S
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00:05 Sermon #S046 - Something Within Me (Part 2)
00:19 Welcome to the Breath of Life Television Ministries broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell! 00:25 In today's episode, Pastor Snell will continue part two of the powerful Message titled: 00:32 “Something Within Me” Now, let's go deeper into the word of God! 00:39 Pastor Snell: And can I suggest church that in our church, both within the church and the body of Christ, 00:43 we spend too much time rapping about and preaching about and singing about haters. 00:49 We spend an inordinate amount of time talking about those who stand in opposition against us. 00:54 But I need somebody to understand that when you spend all of your time focusing on haters 00:59 and acknowledging haters by focusing on them, all you do is make them important. 01:06 Because at the end of the day, friends, they're going to always be small, petty, insignificant people that 01:13 because they ain't got nothing going on in their world, they're going to seek to destroy yours. 01:20 And what I want to say real quick, hear me on this, is don't spend so much time focusing on the vessel. 01:27 Focus on the spirit inside of it. Don't spend so much time focusing on the vehicle that you don't see who's driving it. 01:38 See, that's why Ephesians six says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities 01:45 and powers against spiritual wickedness and high places. Here is the point for somebody, 01:52 I need you to know flesh is never your enemy. Flesh is never your antithesis. Your coworker is not your problem. 02:00 That coworker is just Satan's avatar. 02:05 Okay. No, that human enemy is just Satan's costume. You all not hearing me. 02:12 No, that's just who the devil is putting on so you can't see who the battle is up again. 02:19 Are you all hear what I'm saying? And what I'm saying is you got to stop battling the costume 02:23 and you got to fight the one wearing. Are you all hearing what I'm saying? 02:29 Listen, I remember my son was a little younger, he had a little Superman outfit 02:32 and he would put it on and come try to wrestle me because he was pretending to be Superman. 02:37 Now because I know who's wearing the costume, I don't go looking for no kryptonite. 02:45 In other words, because I know who I'm fighting against. And see friends of mine, 02:54 this is why I'm generally against you jumping ship because people get on your nerves. 03:06 That's why you can't switch jobs every time somebody don't like you 03:11 because all Satan is going to do is find another avatar at your new job to stand up against you. 03:18 Are you all hearing what I'm saying? That's why you can't hop out of churches every time somebody offends you 03:23 because he's going to find another unconsecrated unguarded soul at your new church to keep you exactly where you are. 03:30 It's why you can't switch ministries every time you get bothered because in the new ministry, the saint, 03:36 so you worried about the vessel and the vehicle, it's the spirit that goes everywhere that you go. 03:43 So Daniel does not respond to haters, he just begins praying. While they're hating, he's praying. 03:58 And I need you to know that when you spend so much time announcing and acknowledging haters, 04:03 it's an announcement that you are not somewhere praying like you ought to be. In other words, 04:08 you can't focus on him and them at the same time. You can't walk us on prayer and protagonist simultaneously. 04:17 You ain't got time to be responding to them and responding to him. 04:21 You've got to get to a place where you realize that the weapons of your warfare are not carnal, 04:29 they are mighty in God to the pulling down of strongholds. Am I preaching to anybody today? 04:37 See, how many of us know that sometimes silence can be a weapon, that a soft answer turns away wrath, 04:45 that there is power in prayer, and that sometimes you just got to step back 04:51 and leave room for God to fight the battle that you cannot fight. 04:58 It's interesting. One of the things that you'll notice is that sometimes when an eagle is in a bat or combat with a serpent, 05:07 one of the things that the eagle will do is once he grabs him with his talons, he don't stay on the ground fighting the snake, 05:16 but he'll take the snake up into the air. Oh, you all not hearing me. 05:21 In other words, as long as he's on the ground, he's on the serpent's domain. 05:28 The serpent has balance on the ground. He can use the ground to balance him when he strikes when he's on the ground. 05:34 But when he takes him up to a higher altitude, guess what? The snake doesn't have balance at a higher altitude. 05:41 His strike is not accurate at a higher altitude. 05:45 And then he takes him to a smothering altitude that's so high that the snake can't breathe once it gets to a certain elevation. 05:57 Who am I preaching to fighting against some snakes today? The reason you are losing is you are fighting on their terrain. 06:06 And what I'm saying is, come to a higher elevation, come to a plane where they can't breathe, 06:13 come to a space where they can't maneuver, get to a place where they have no balance. 06:18 You got to fight in the heavenly and trust God with the outcome. 06:26 Next thing this text teaches us quickly, I need you to get this. That consistency is not proof of strength. 06:38 Now, slow down. I want you to understand something about when you read the Bible. 06:46 Are you all with me? Church, I need you to get that. When you read the Bible, 06:50 there is no story in the Bible that is a celebration of man's goodness. 06:58 Every story in the scripture is a revelation of the goodness, the glory, or the power of God. 07:06 Are you all with me today? And see too often when we read the story of Daniel Six, our takeaway is Daniel's consistency. 07:17 How bad he is, how impervious he is to circumstance. And I need you to know if all you walk away with is, man, 07:25 how astute Daniel is, then you have missed the entirety of the point. There is another question that needs to be answered. 07:35 See, you're asking, man, how did Daniel get so righteous? Do you realize the more important question is, 07:42 what's happening in that upper room? No, the larger question is what's so powerful in that upper room that makes Daniel say, 07:55 I'm willing to risk my life in order to do it. What's happening in that room that is so great that not only does Daniel say, 08:04 I can't miss a day, but Daniel is saying I got to be there several times a day 08:10 and I need you to get that the consistency of Daniel's prayer life is not proof of his strength. It's evidence of his need. 08:22 Okay. See, I need y'all to get that. Daniel does not have an enhanced human nature. He's flesh just like us. 08:33 He does not have spiritual upper hand. He does not have a glorified body. He guess what man? He's got a lustful, 08:40 vengeful, hateful, falling. He puts his draws on one foot at a time. Can I say draws at Oakwood? 08:48 Amen. Puts them on one foot at a time just like everybody. Are you all hearing what I'm saying today? 08:54 So Daniel does not have enhanced nature, but Daniel has enhanced problems. He's got enhanced stresses, he's got enhanced tensions. 09:04 There is a pressure that pushes Daniel into the prayer closet multiple times a day. 09:13 You all realize that Daniel and the children of Israel, they are captives in the land of the Chaldeans. 09:19 They started under the Babylonians but now they're under the Medes and Persians. But understand that man, 09:24 Daniel walks around with a certain weight of responsibility because God's people get a certain liberty 09:29 and freedom simply because Daniel is there. And not only if Daniel mess up, not only does it mess him up, 09:38 it puts the people into further bondage. 09:42 And so I need you all to understand that the takeaway is not just that Daniel is this impervious, immovable person. 09:48 I need you to know who Daniel is. 09:50 Daniel is simply a brother that understands that my tensions are too big to face it in my own might. 09:57 My responsibilities are too great to go at it in my own strength. I pour out too much to not get consistently filled. 10:06 My decisions are too big. I can't be out here guessing. I got too much at stake. I got too much on the line. 10:14 I got too much to lose. I got too much stuff calling at me. In fact, I'm not here because I'm better than nobody else. 10:20 I'm here because I realize I ain't got no other choice. I got to go into the prayer closet 10:26 because I realize that my help comes from God, the Lord who made heaven and earth. 10:32 And I just need to know, do I have at least seven or eight folk like Daniel who realize that I ain't got no better options, 10:40 I ain't got no better choice. I ain't got no other choice but to go into the prayer closet with God. Is there anybody? 10:47 Your problems are too big not to pray. That your issues are too large not to pray. Your decisions are too big to not supplicate, 10:56 you've got too much to lose. You got too much at stake. See, the reason Daniel prays is 11:02 because he realizes his own importance. Stay with me. You'll always stay prayerless if you don't realize your importance. 11:15 Oh Lord, help them to get it. You'll stay prayerless if you don't understand your importance. And when I say importance, 11:21 it is not unto arrogance. But how many of us understand all of us are important to the plan of salvation? 11:34 Mothers, you are too important not to be praying. Daddies, you are too important to not be calling on the name of the Lord. 11:44 Your witness on your job is too important not to be praying. The work you do is too important not to be praying. 11:52 I need you to understand that God wants to help you to realize that you've got too much to lose in order to be going about in your own 12:02 human understanding. That's why we've got to walk in Proverbs Chapter Three and Verse Five, where I say, 12:07 I'm going to trust in the Lord with all of my heart and lean not to my own understanding, but in all my ways, 12:15 acknowledge him and let him direct my path. Okay, watch this. 12:21 That's why I1st Peter 5:7 says, cast all your cares upon him because he cares for you. 12:30 So the more cares you have, the more casting you oughta be doing. Oh God. 12:39 The more worries you have, the more you oughta be before the altar. Okay, some of you all still not getting me. 12:46 It's crazy. Like back in the day in Michael Phelps Prime as in Olympic athlete, 12:51 one of the things they talked about is how his brother would eat like six meals a day and he would eat like 10,000 calories a day. 12:59 And the reason he had to eat so many calories was because he burned so many in the pool. You all sitting, get it. 13:09 Because he poured so much out, he had to be consistently at the table in order to be refueled. 13:18 So what he put out into the world required him to sit at a table and have it replenished. 13:25 And what I'm saying is that if you are burning spiritual calories in the warfare of the spirit, then you got to be at the table, 13:34 not once, not twice, but three meals a day so that your cup is overflowing and you operate with no lack. Are you all hearing me today, 13:45 friends? 13:47 Then the word says here in Verse number 10, the Bible says, but now Daniel knew the writing had been signed 13:52 and he went home and in his upper room he went with the windows open toward Jerusalem 13:56 and he knelt down three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as was his custom since the early days. 14:09 Last thing this teaches friends of mine is that praise has to be accustomed, not a reaction. 14:21 So, friends, the word says that after Daniel finds out that the decree had been signed, 14:28 the Bible says he done address the haters or the protagonist. The Bible says, he goes to the upper room. 14:39 I'm tripping on the opens the blinds. And just in case they missed him the first time, he goes in front of the window a second time 14:54 and a third time, and see what Daniel is saying is that my Christianity ain't in the closet. And he prays three times a day. 15:06 And the Bible says that he gave thanks as it was his custom. 15:10 Now the problem is sometimes we see prayer and giving thanks as two separate acts. 15:17 No, that was the very same act. And there is something I need somebody to get. 15:22 I need you to get that the key to a strong prayer life is a strong praise life. 15:32 See, I need you to understand that a part of your prayer life, friends, before you even ask for anything, 15:39 you ought to give thanks for all thanks. 15:42 See, I need you to get that when you give thanks that there is a twofold miracle that takes place 15:48 whenever a believer gives thanks unto the Lord. See, I need you to get friends that when you get in that prayer closet 15:55 and you begin to say, oh Lord, I give thanks because you are good and your mercy endures forever. 16:01 Give thanks unto the Lord for he is the God of gods. And his mercy endures forever. 16:07 When you get in that prayer closet, unlike the old folks say, Lord, I thank you for waking me up this morning. 16:12 Lord, I thank you for allowing me to be clothed in my right mind. Lord, I thank you that my bed has not become my cooling board. 16:22 Lord, I just give thanks for your faithfulness and your provision. 16:26 I need you to remember what the Bible says. The Bible says that the Lord inhabits 16:33 or dwells in the praises of his people so that when you praise, you set an atmosphere of God all over your living room, 16:44 in your bedroom, and in your prayer closet. Jesus said it this way, if just two or three gather to praise me, 16:52 I promise to be there in the midst. I need you to know you ain't got to ask God to come, just start praising and giving thanks. 17:01 And guess what? Jehovah is going to show up. I'm not saying that's why you praise him. 17:08 I'm just saying that's what results whenever you praise him, the Alpha would say, when the praises go up, guess what? 17:18 The spirit and the blessings come down. Are you all hearing me today, friends? Listen, I need to end this sermon, 17:28 but I got to tell you this because see, the other part of the miracle is this, 17:32 that when you take the time to recount the mercies of God and call to mind the blessings of God, 17:48 there is a faith multiplication that takes place whenever you call on the name of the Lord. 17:57 Stay with me church. Because see, I need somebody to understand this fundamental truth, 18:01 that there is not a deficit of answered prayers in the church. There is a deficit of acknowledgement in the church. 18:10 See, sometimes we can ask God to do something, and sometimes God moves in a glorious way. 18:17 But sometimes God moves in such a subtle way that you can get the blessing and keep on moving and forgot that you even prayed for it 18:27 and ask God to do it on your behalf. And so when you take the time to write down your blessings and recall the mercies of God 18:35 and you begin to list down all the answers of prayer and you begin to see how many prayers have been answered, 18:42 you actually get more faith for your asking. Real talk. A week and a half ago, a little over a week and a half ago, 18:50 my wife and I were out of the country. We were getting ready to come home the next day. 18:53 And as we're sitting there on the beach, man, we just have a little time off of just our family acknowledgement. 19:00 And it's crazy. My wife was there on the beach before I was. 19:03 And when I got there, man, she was already worked up, man, all slain in the spirit right there on the little thing, man. 19:08 And she says, honey, do you realize that our life is an answer to prayer? And we just begin to recall church. 19:18 We begin to recall how the house we live in is an answer to prayer. How the car we drive is an answer to prayer. 19:27 That our children are an answer to prayer. That our work is an answer to prayer. That our marriage is an answer to prayer. 19:35 That even our trials have been an answer to our prayers. And it was crazy because the more we acknowledge what God had done, 19:43 the greater our faith began to multiply. And as we began to pray, 19:48 we had more confidence about what we were asking for when we reflected on the prayers that God had already answered. 19:56 And what I'm saying is that there needs to be a little bit more acknowledgement in the house of God. 20:02 Is there anybody that can testify today that the house you live in is an answer to prayer? 20:09 That the car you drive, is an answer to prayer. That the one you're married to is an answer to prayer. 20:17 You might not feel like it today, but fake a praise with me today. Praise and for the one you're married to. 20:24 Can somebody testify that your work isn't answer to prayer? That getting out of the hospital was an answer to prayer. 20:32 Getting your kids in school was an answer to prayer. The degree on your wall is an answer to prayer. 20:39 That being protected is an answer to a prayer. Anybody know your children is an answer to the a prayer? 20:45 Anybody know your trial is an answer to a prayer? You don't wanna praise them for the trial. 20:52 But remember you prayed, Lord, build my faith. Lord, grow my character. You prayed, Lord make me like Jesus. 21:01 So even the trial was an answer to your prayer. Can somebody praise him that he hears? 21:09 Can you praise him that before he calls, he is already answered and you got more answers than you have denials to your prayers? 21:22 Are you all here in the pastor today? 21:27 And what I'm saying is friends, there ought to be a little bit more celebration. There ought to be a little bit more gratitude. 21:34 That there ought to be a little bit more thanksgiving in the house of God. And see, this is epic church because praise was his custom, 21:44 not his reaction. See, the problem is, we ain't got enough real worshipers in the church. 21:51 See, fake worshipers will praise in response to something good. But if your praise is always a response, it's going to be inconsistent. 22:07 If it's not accustomed, if it's just a reaction. See all these fake worshipers, they'll only respond to a good song. 22:15 They'll only respond to a good sermon. They'll only respond to a promotion. They'll only respond when things go well. 22:22 But when praise is your custom, you become like Paul and Silas so that even when you are in jail in the midnight hour, 22:31 you can be heard praying and giving praise unto God. 22:35 I need some Job-like worshipers who will say the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. 22:42 But blessed be the name of the Lord. Is there anybody that will praise him like David and say, 22:51 I will bless the Lord at all times and his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make his voice in the Lord. 23:02 The humble shall hear thereof and be glad. Oh Oakwood, would you magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together? 23:17 Praise him in the good times. Praise him in the bad times. Praise him when you got money. Praise him when you ain't got no money. 23:26 Praise him when they talk good. Praise them when they talk bad. Praise him in the temple. Praise him in the firmament. 23:36 Praise him on the high signs symbols. Praise him with the string instruments. Let everything that has breath praise the name of the Lord. 23:51 Are you all hearing me today, friends? Listen last thing, I'm done real quick. 23:58 And this is the key because this is where somebody's living right now because prayer doesn't just save you from, 24:10 prayer braces you for. I'm done. Play something soft. You better get me off. Yeah, I got a plane to catch. 24:31 Amen. See, Daniel's consistent prayer life, it didn't keep people from hating him. It didn't keep people from disliking him. 24:43 It didn't keep people from talking about him. It didn't keep people from coming for him. 24:51 It didn't keep the plan from being thought about. 24:55 It didn't keep the plan from materializing His prayers don't keep the weapon from being formed. 25:00 His prayers can't even keep him out of the lion's den. So the prayers of the righteous don't keep you from every trial, 25:14 But you know what the prayers of the righteous do? Is they brace you for every adversity that the enemy throws your way. 25:25 Listen, one last real quick quote from prophets and kings, like you need to give you this. Listen, 25:29 5:45 from the story of Daniel's deliverance. We may learn that in seasons of trial and gloom, 25:36 God's children should be just what they were. Are you all with me? When their prospects were bright with hope and their surroundings, 25:47 all that they could desire, Daniel in the lions' den was the same Daniel who stood before the king as chief amongst ministers of state 25:54 and as the prophet of the highest God, 25:57 a man's whose heart is stayed upon God will be the same in the hour of his greatest trial as he is in prosperity when the light 26:07 and favor of God and man beam upon him. Are you all hearing the word today, friends? 26:15 See, the miracle of this story is not that the lions didn't destroy him. 26:21 The miracle of the story is that his adversities did not change him. 26:27 That's the miracle, that's the shout that he is the same when it storms outside as it is when all is well with his soul. 26:39 And this is the miracle for the believer. See, again, I don't want to paint it in human picture. I know that he was nervous. 26:45 Man, I'm sure that he probably stayed up. I'm sure that there was uncertainty like he would be less than human. 26:50 But guess what, man? He had something within him that braced him. 26:56 That made him say, I'm not going to change my mind about God no matter what happens. 27:06 So I would love to say, Lord, save me from the accident. Lord, save me from the termination. 27:10 And Lord, save me from the sickness. And Lord, keep me from my enemies and keep me from being talked bad about it. 27:15 Keep me from... but guess what, Lord? If you don't keep me from it, I need you to brace me for whatever you in your providence decide, 27:28 I can handle. See, the witness of faith is not just in what you avoid is in what you survive and how you hold on to God's unchanging hand. 28:29 [END] |
Revised 2023-10-09