Participants:
Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000145S
|
00:03 #S075 - “Able and Willing” (Part 2)
00:19 Welcome to The Breath of Life 00:21 Television Ministries broadcast with Pastor Debleiare Snell. 00:26 In today's episode. 00:27 Pastor Snell will continue part two of the powerful message. 00:32 “Able and Willing. 00:34 Now let's go deep into the Word of God. 00:39 How many of us know that strong spirituality 00:43 does not negate the woes of your humanity? 00:47 In other words, I need you to look at some of 00:50 the heroes of our faith 00:52 and how it is that they dealt 00:53 with the everyday struggles of life. 00:55 Because your 00:56 spirituality does not cancel out your flawed humanity. 01:01 In other words, nor was spiritual. 01:04 But he was so overwhelmed by the trauma of the flood 01:06 that he got sloppy drunk 01:08 and cursed out everybody in his own house. 01:12 David was spiritual, yet he was still lustful. 01:15 Eliza was spiritual. 01:18 Yeah, he got suicidal. 01:19 Eli was spiritual, but he still had stupid kids. 01:24 Peter was spiritual. 01:25 Yeah, he was still bias. 01:27 Samson was spiritual. 01:29 Yeah. He still chose poorly. 01:30 Thomas was spiritual, but he still had that. 01:34 John the Baptist was spiritual. 01:36 But it got so hard that he sent a message 01:39 just to Jesus to say, Are you the one 01:44 or should I look for somebody else? 01:47 And it's crazy because of pride. 01:50 Some of us will go see a doctor when we're physically sick 01:53 because of pride. 01:55 Every prayer request has to be unspoken because of pride. 02:00 Couples will be in trouble and won't sit down with nobody 02:03 because of pride. 02:04 Things are not well inside and we won't connect with somebody 02:08 because we prioritize our privacy 02:11 more than we prioritize our wholeness. 02:13 But friends, I'm a little different 02:14 from some of y'all because God has delivered me 02:18 from caring what any of y'all have to think. 02:21 So if I'm going through, I'm going to tell you exactly 02:25 what you need to be praying for and I'm not. 02:28 Go hide the prayer request because if you don't tell folks 02:32 what to pray for, 02:34 it affects the way that they're praying. 02:37 So if I have cancer, I'm going to tell you it might be cancer. 02:41 If my wife is about to leave. 02:42 I'm going to ask you to pray 02:44 for the spirit of reconciliation in my home. 02:47 If I'm struggling with saying, I want you to pray 02:49 for the spirit of deliverance in my life, 02:53 and I'm not going to worry about what nobody thinks because 02:55 all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 02:59 The Bible says that we overcome by the Word of our 03:04 test them on Hey and you got to want to be 03:07 whole more than you want to be proud. 03:11 Are you out here in the church today? 03:12 Friends 03:15 and so friends. 03:16 One of the things that we're it teaches us today is that 03:19 you serve a God who is able. 03:24 You see friends. 03:26 One of the things that makes this text so powerful is that 03:30 the man doesn't even make an appointment to see Jesus. 03:35 He don't get on Jesus calendar. 03:37 In fact, I need you to see how this thing goes down. 03:40 In fact, what this man has done, he's probably been 03:42 stalked, Jesus, from a distance from some time. 03:46 In other words, he's been doing reconnaissance work 03:49 well beyond the distance, so as not to be observed 03:52 unnoticed by the crowd, 03:53 so that he has been watching Jesus from the brush. 03:57 He has been checking out Jesus in the cleft of the rock. 04:01 He has been watching Jesus from a distance. 04:03 And the writer of Desire, Major, says that faith is welling up 04:07 in the man's heart 04:08 because he is seeing how Jesus is able to heal so many. 04:12 But guess what? 04:13 You know 04:14 what makes the man's faith so radical is that he approaches 04:18 Jesus without the assurance that Christ is even willing 04:24 to bring about healing. 04:26 And you realize that there is risk for this, 04:29 because if a leper who is filled with leprosy leaves his colony 04:33 and goes into public space, ritual law 04:36 allows them to stone him to death. 04:40 So if Jesus done 04:41 heal him, he dies on the spot. 04:46 But I'm like this about the brother. 04:48 He says, If I don't go to Jesus, I'm going die. 04:52 And so if I'm don't die, I'm going to die trying. 04:56 Do you hear me today? 04:58 Do I have anybody that says, if I don't go to Jesus, 05:01 I know how is going? 05:03 So if I'm going to take a risk, 05:06 I'm go roll the dice and put my money on Jehovah. 05:10 Y'all hear me today, friends? 05:14 And it's funny because his brother puts his 05:16 his need for wholeness above his desire for privacy. 05:20 And so he has been watching for a distance for quite some time. 05:23 He waits for this moment where the crowd thins out. 05:25 Perhaps this is at the very beginning of the day. 05:29 And it's amazing because he comes and races toward Jesus. 05:32 And as they notice that this man is full of leprosy, 05:36 the car crowd falls back and opens up like the Red Sea. 05:39 And the words say is that the man comes 05:41 with a desperate race and any guilt, a sense of fear 05:44 about condemnation, so much so that he does 05:47 not even lift up his eyes to look upon the Savior 05:51 and with his face bowed down to the earth. 05:53 Notice what he says. 05:54 He says, Lord, if you are just willing, 06:00 I know you can make me whole 06:04 and know this kind of what he is suggesting in his request. 06:08 He is simply saying, Lord, I know 06:12 I am clear. 06:14 And the fact that you're able. 06:17 The only thing I'm not sure of is if you're willing and see. 06:21 I just want a pause 06:23 to tell somebody who is trying to handle life 06:27 in your own devices 06:28 and according to your own wisdom in routines. 06:32 I need you to know that you serve a God. 06:35 Oh, God. I'm about to burst. 06:37 You serve a God who is able. 06:42 Oh, I love the question 06:45 that comes through the prophet Jeremiah. 06:48 Well, the question is posed, is anything 06:51 too hard for God? 06:54 And I just need to announce to somebody today 06:58 that nothing you go through 07:00 is too hard for your God. 07:03 I need you to know your bills are not too great for God. 07:07 Your enemies are not too strong for God. 07:11 Your tuition is not too hard for God. 07:14 Your baby mama is not too hard for God. 07:17 Your stress is not too hard for God. 07:20 He owns the cattle upon a thousand hail. 07:23 The silver and gold belongs to him. 07:27 You serve the God who speaks and is done. 07:29 He commands it and it stands fast 07:32 that God does not look forward to the future. 07:36 But God sits in the future, looks back on the present, 07:39 and God wants you to know that no matter what 07:42 you are dealing with, your God is able 07:47 not. Now. 07:48 The reason this is important 07:49 is because you got to maintain church. 07:52 What theologians refer to as a high view of God 07:57 is because when you have a love you of God, 08:00 it actually dictates what you even ask God for. 08:03 So that when you have a love, you have God. 08:04 All you ask for is for God to pay the bills. 08:08 When you got to love your God, are you asked for for God 08:10 to give you a good parking spot at the front of Wal-Mart? 08:13 When you have a love your God, all you ask for 08:15 God to do is help you get to the end of the week. 08:17 But how many of us know when you have a high view of God 08:21 and you know the God that you serve, you ask and expect. 08:24 Oh, let me say it again. 08:26 You ask and you expect 08:29 on a whole different plane, because you serve a God 08:33 that is able to do all things well. 08:38 Are you hear me? Church 08:39 is crazy. 08:41 I'm okay at age when my kids wear their own on the tail 08:43 end of believing that their dad is invincible 08:47 and is crazy because they when they are small 08:48 they have a certain view. 08:49 So be 08:50 my son will be out and about and they'll see 08:52 somebody like six, five and a muscled up and hooked up 08:55 and has such a belief in his that he'll look at him and say, 08:56 Daddy, you can beat him, can't you? 09:01 And I'll be like, Yeah, yeah, I know 09:05 they are. 09:06 They'll ask for certain things. 09:07 I'll be in Florida or somewhere in the Caribbean, 09:08 and my daughter will get on face time. 09:10 You know what you asked me to see? 09:11 Like Daddy without flinching. 09:13 Bring me back a palm tree. 09:16 And she didn't have any doubt in her mind 09:20 that it was going to actually be able to be done. 09:23 And what I'm saying is that 09:24 if kids can have that type of confidence in a flawed 09:28 and finite and weakened earthly parent, 09:32 shouldn't you be asking and believing 09:36 on a whole different level for the God 09:40 who says there is nothing 09:44 to heart for me? 09:46 But then he says, Listen, 09:50 Jesus, 09:52 if you're willing, I know 09:57 you can make me whole. 10:00 So he's saying, God, I know you're able. 10:02 I saw what you do. It would buy me. 10:04 I saw what you did with the lamb. 10:05 I saw what you did with the crippled. 10:07 I saw what you did with the cancer. 10:09 I saw what you did with the infant. 10:11 In other words, Jesus, I've Googled you. 10:14 I know who you are, and I know what you're able to. 10:18 The only question I have got is, are you willing 10:22 to make me clean? 10:25 And it's a very interesting situation 10:27 because he's questioning not God's ability, 10:32 but he's questioning God's willingness. 10:35 And I love what Jesus does. 10:38 The word literally says that he goes down 10:41 and he touches the man by the hand. 10:43 And guess what, Prince? 10:44 This is the beauty of the whole sermon. 10:48 It's not when he heals the man, but he simply says to 10:50 the man, Come with me. 10:55 Oh, see, see and see. 10:58 I need you to see what is happening in that moment. 11:01 Jesus is not just speaking to the man's situation. 11:06 He's speaking past the man's predicament, 11:09 and he is speaking to every believer 11:12 that will be in this man's lineage. 11:15 It is an announcement to all of humanity 11:20 that you serve a God that is willing 11:25 to step in your situation 11:29 and bring resolution to the chaos you are facing. 11:34 Stay with me. 11:34 We're good. We're good 11:37 because some of y'all are listening to this 11:39 and it still doesn't jive with you. 11:42 You're listening to me and you're saying 11:44 I don't really resonate that there is a cognitive dissonance 11:49 because you're saying that doesn't line up with my reality 11:52 because you're saying if God is willing, 11:55 why am I still at the same job? 11:57 If God is willing, why am I still living in 12:00 the same house? 12:01 If God is willing, why am I still single 12:04 and without a spouse? 12:06 If God is willing, why haven't things gotten better or change 12:10 if God is willing? 12:11 Where is God showing up in my life? 12:15 If He's willing. 12:17 And so today, before I take my seat, 12:19 can I just give you a few traits and a blueprint 12:23 on how to interpret the willingness of God? 12:24 Are you still with me today? Church? 12:26 I'm going to take you to about four places in the world, 12:28 and I'm going to be Don, 12:29 go with me 12:30 some 84 and verse 11, when you get to let me say, man 12:33 over there in the Old Testament, Psalm the 84th chapter 12:37 and verse 11, I want you to see some things in the world today, 12:40 Psalm 84 and verse 11 there in the Old Testament. 12:43 When you get there, let me say, Pastor, I'm there. 12:46 Psalms 84 and verse 11 hear the word of the Lord, 12:52 Psalm 84, in verse 11, say, pass from there 12:55 the Bible 12:55 say for the Lord, God is a son, 12:59 and she'll the Lord will give grace and glory. 13:02 And what's this? 13:03 No good thing. 13:05 Oh, Lord, shouting with me today. 13:07 No good thing will he withhold 13:12 from those who walk, rightly. 13:16 And so when you're trying to evaluate God's willingness. 13:20 Number one, you got to realize that God is never going 13:23 to contribute to your destruction. 13:27 That's the only thing that God is unwilling to do 13:31 is lend divine aid to 13:33 something that's going to work towards your demise. 13:37 See, the word says. Y'all saw it in the scriptures. 13:39 He says No. 13:40 Good thing. 13:43 Well, he withhold from those who walk up rightly. 13:47 And see, 13:48 sometimes you got to 13:49 make a distinction between the available thing 13:52 and the good thing, so that if it is not given, then 13:57 maybe it's not going to work out for your good. 14:01 Maybe it works towards your destruction 14:04 and it works toward joy to my do 14:06 I have seven folk that have been on the journey of faith 14:09 and you've seen God say no to some things, 14:12 and once you've seen how it played out, 14:15 you can testify that no good thing 14:19 will God withhold from them who love Him. 14:23 Anybody thankful for some deals that didn't go through? 14:26 Anybody thankful for some brothers that didn't 14:28 propose anybody thankful for some jobs you didn't get 14:34 anybody thankful for some houses you didn't close on. 14:38 And you realize that once you saw it all come together. 14:40 No good thing. 14:43 Well, God withhold from those who walk up lightly. 14:46 So the only thing that God is unwilling to do 14:49 is to make a contribution to something that is going 14:51 to wind up lesser than his best design for your life. 14:57 As I remember, we moved here in Huntsville in 2010 14:59 and we have been renting houses for about four years. 15:02 And so, 15:02 you know, as our family continued to grow, 15:04 we needed 15:05 to finally get into a house that would meet 15:06 kind of our family's current dimensions. 15:08 And so we begin the process of looking for a house. 15:11 And God had let my wife and I 15:13 to the neighborhood where we live. 15:14 And we had gone and prayed and 15:16 walked through the neighborhood and saw the face of the Lord. 15:20 And we thought that we heard the Lord 15:20 aiming us in a particular direction. 15:24 God bless where we finally got approved for the loan. 15:27 But as we got into the underwriting process, 15:29 there was a tax document that was prepared incorrectly 15:32 a couple of years before, and guess what? 15:34 The whole thing fell through 15:36 and we had to remain in a rental posture for another year 15:41 and we thought, Man, God, we thought we heard you, Lord. 15:43 We thought we were following your leadership and direction. 15:47 And so we had to sit still for another year. 15:50 But fast forward during the course of the year, 15:52 because of where we were in about 2013 and 2014, 15:56 I need you to note that the interest rates dropped 15:57 all the way under to 4% because housing was slow, 16:02 the houses in the neighborhood got dropped down by about 20%. 16:06 I need you to know that God put out a model 16:09 that was a little bit more child friendly and to our needs. 16:12 And I need you to know that God preserved the house 16:15 at the right time and the right price. 16:18 And because we waited a year between the interest rate 16:21 and the price, God probably saved $150,000 16:25 out of the price of the house. 16:27 Y'all not here in this pastor today. 16:29 What? 16:30 I'm saying is God will not withhold the good thing, 16:34 but he might save a good thing for the right time. 16:38 So it shows up as a blessing in your life. 16:42 Are y'all hear me today, friends, 16:44 I need you to go to another place in the Scripture. 16:47 Go with me quickly. 16:48 Luke, 22 and verse 42, Luke 22 and verse 42. 16:51 I need you to know the second thing 16:52 that God is unwilling to do. 16:53 Luke Chapter 22 and verse 42. 16:56 A couple of things in the word and I'm going to be done. 16:58 Luke 22 17:00 And verse 42, When you get there, just say pass from there. 17:03 Luke 22 In verse 42, 17:05 we find Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, 17:09 and this is His prayer saying, Father, 17:13 if it is your will, did you catch what Jesus pray? 17:17 Church Are y'all still listening to me today? 17:18 He says, If it is your life, 17:22 take this cup from me 17:24 nevertheless, but not my will. 17:27 But what yours be done. 17:30 The second thing that God is not willing to do 17:33 is He will not let you reassign your purpose. 17:38 Oh, that's tough right there. 17:40 He will 17:41 not let you choose your own path. 17:44 All right? 17:45 He'll let you do it, but he'll limit the joy 17:48 and peace that comes with it. 17:51 See Jesus life, friends of mine. 17:53 Do you realize that when he was here on Earth, 17:54 his whole life was lived for the glory of the Father? 17:59 In fact, Jesus says, I don't do anything of my own. 18:02 He says, I only do the will of the father 18:04 who sent me and see one of the things that happened 18:07 is that as Jesus got close to the agony 18:10 and the passion of the cross, guess what? 18:12 The humanity of Jesus. Yes, 18:16 said Lord, I don't know if I want to go through with this. 18:22 No, no. 18:23 I know we don't like seeing the humanity, said Father. 18:26 If it's possible. 18:28 Show me another way. 18:30 Father, if it's possible. 18:31 I don't like what's in that cup. 18:33 Put another cup before me, Father, if it's your will, 18:38 show me another way outside of the cross. 18:41 In other words, the humanity said, I want a different path. 18:43 The humanity said, I want a detour. 18:46 The humanity say, I want to fulfill it in a different way. 18:49 But how many of us know that the father literally 18:51 made it clear to the son that this is the cup 18:55 that's been assigned for you to drink? Yes. 18:59 And I guess what I'm saying, church, 19:01 if God will let the son reassign his path, 19:06 God will let you reassign your own. 19:10 God help me. 19:10 Hell to go 19:12 and see this thing I need you to understand 19:14 is that God is not a petty, punitive God. 19:17 You know, if you take the wrong path, 19:18 he angel, punish you, hang on, destroy you. 19:22 But see, there was a reason that he told Jesus 19:23 to stay the course 19:24 because he knew that if Jesus endured the cross 19:27 and despised the shame, 19:29 one day he would be seated at the right hand of God. 19:32 And if He went through it, God would give him a name 19:35 that is above every name, 19:36 that at the name of Jesus, every knee would bow 19:39 and every town would confess 19:40 that He is Lord of all to the glory of the Father. 19:44 In other words, he could never have the joy 19:46 of a completed task if God let Him reassign his task 19:51 and see there are some of us 19:52 that have chosen our own purpose. 19:57 And no matter how much money we make, 19:59 no matter how much house we buy, 20:01 no matter how many labels we wear, we still unhappy 20:05 because you can never have maximum happiness 20:07 outside of your God or ordained assignments. 20:12 So there are some of us that need to get back to a place 20:14 where you're willing to pivot, 20:15 where you're willing to readjust, 20:16 where you're willing to move 20:18 in the will that God has ordained for you. 20:19 I hear me today, friends. 20:21 Third thing I need to understand about 20:22 what God is unwilling to do is I need somebody know 20:25 that God is unwilling to adjust his schedule. 20:29 I want me to sit down. 20:31 All right, but I need to take you place. 20:33 Ecclesiastes three in verse 11. 20:34 I'm almost done. Ecclesiastes is three and verse 11. 20:37 I want you to see some things in the word Ecclesiastes chapter 20:40 three and verse 11. 20:43 When you get there, just say Amen. 20:46 Ecclesiastes three In 20:47 verse 11, the Bible says that he has made 20:51 every thing beautiful in what in its times. 20:57 Also, he has put eternity in their hearts, except that 21:00 no one can find out the work that God does 21:04 from the beginning to the end. 21:05 How many of us know the word says? 21:06 You won't always be able to understand God's timing. 21:09 You won't always know 21:10 why it's not happening fast or why it's happening so slow. 21:13 But one of the things that I've come to believe 21:15 is that God's timing is better than our own. 21:19 Our You are here in the world today, my friends. 21:22 I see. 21:23 The one thing I need somebody to understand 21:24 about the will of God is that the will of God friends, 21:29 does it see, God is not just willing to bless the deserving 21:35 Matthew five 21:36 In verse 44, last verse Matthew five and verse 44. 21:40 And I'm going to explain to you why I'm saying this, 21:42 Matthew Chapter five and verse 44, 21:45 when you get to say pass from there. 21:48 Matthew five and verse number 44, 21:52 but Jesus says, But I say unto you, 21:53 love your enemies and bless those that what 21:57 curse you do good to those who hate you 21:58 and pray for those who, despite fully your and persecute you, 22:02 that you may be sons of your father in heaven 22:06 who makes his son to rise on the evil and on the way. 22:09 And he sends rain. 22:11 The Bible says, on the just and on the what. 22:16 So what the world is teaching us, friends, 22:19 is that God's willingness to bless 22:24 is not just limited 22:26 to those who work perfectly before him. 22:31 In other words, friends, I need you to be clear 22:32 because I don't want to give you a false idea. 22:34 There are certain promises of God 22:37 that have conditions attached to them, 22:40 and you cannot 22:41 walk into the promises unless you realize the conditions. 22:45 But how many of us know that your lack of ability 22:47 to fulfill the promise that does not affect his willingness? 22:53 In other words, he's still willing. 22:55 He still wants to do it. 22:58 In other words, you fulfilling the promise 23:00 doesn't make you deserving. 23:02 It is simply that you're ready for what you're requesting. 23:06 So God says, Listen, I'm gonna send Sunshine 23:10 on to just end unjust. 23:13 He says, I'm gonna send some rain on the evil 23:15 and on the good. 23:16 I'll sit with the pastor today. 23:18 Why am I saying this? 23:20 You know why? 23:22 The man asked. 23:24 Jesus, are you willing? 23:28 Because now I'm kind of wrestling with this 23:30 because I'm wondering 23:31 how it is that he came to a knowledge of God. 23:34 He is seeing Jesus give the blind their sight. 23:37 He has seen Jesus put his finger in deaf ears 23:42 and pulled the hear out and the deaf are hearing. 23:45 He has seen Jesus touch 23:48 those who are laying in the lane, get up and start dancing. 23:50 He has seen Jesus take those that were full of tumors 23:54 and they walk away whole. 23:56 He has seen those that were full of evil spirits 23:59 find their sanity and their wholeness in Jesus. 24:02 And one of the things that He never saw Jesus do, 24:05 he never saw Jesus screen people. 24:08 He never saw Jesus make somebody fill out an application. 24:12 He never saw Jesus put somebody through a battery of tests. 24:15 In other words, the only condition for them 24:17 receiving wisdom, coming and believing. 24:22 So now I'm trying to figure it out. 24:24 Why is it if he saw every body else 24:28 get healed without a screen or a test, does he now question 24:35 whether or not Jesus is willing to do it for him? 24:39 It is because of the bad 24:42 religion that existed in the time 24:46 that said, if you have evil that touches your life, it is 24:50 because it flows from the evil that's in your life. 24:54 In other words, he has lived 24:56 under the faulty notion that I've earned this curse, 25:00 that this disease was sent from God, 25:03 that it was God's will for me to suffer this way. 25:07 And so when He asked God, is he willing, what He's 25:10 really asking Jesus is, Lord, do you heal mankind? 25:16 He's saying, Lord, do you heal those that are imperfect? 25:21 Do you mess with those that don't have it all together? 25:25 Do you Jesus fool with people that are messed up 25:30 and broken like me is what He's asking. 25:35 And I 25:35 love friends, what Jesus does 25:39 because we are seeing in the moments of Jesus 25:42 not just his power, but his love for humanity. 25:46 Because the word, says Lewis, that when he asks, 25:50 Are you if you're willing, you can make me claims. 25:53 Guess what Jesus does? 25:55 The Bible says Jesus gets close 25:58 to, and the Bible says that Jesus gets down 26:09 in his personal space and He touches the leper. 26:14 And when he touches the leper, the leper probably flinches 26:19 cos he hadn't had a human touch 26:23 and probably some months or years. 26:26 And it's crazy 26:27 because the belief 26:28 was that everything about a leper was unclean, 26:32 that his body was unclean, his clothes were unclean. 26:36 They believed that his breath polluted the air and the reason 26:39 the man would not even look in the direction of Jesus, 26:44 he didn't want to breathe in the direction of Jesus. 26:47 I need you to know that my Jesus is so awesome, 26:51 not just because He heals, but because when we are contaminated 26:56 and when we are cast out by the rest of society 27:00 and everybody says You ain't no good, 27:04 and everybody disassociate themself from you 27:07 and everybody's socially distanced from you. 27:11 I serve a God that no matter what the world thinks about you, 27:16 he comes close to you and he puts his hands 27:20 on you and understand friends. 27:24 He is not healed by the touch of Jesus. 27:27 He's healed by the words of Jesus. 27:31 But the touch is just to let the leper know 27:35 that no matter what they say, no matter what they think, 27:38 you have been accepted 27:39 and received, end up in love in Jesus Christ. 27:44 The Son. |
Revised 2024-11-05