Transcription
Do y'all mind reaching up and hugging them? Let them show them what part's house love feels like. Just, just show them what part's house love feels like.
Yeah, uh, so I want to talk from, uh, let me get my little notes going here. Yeah, there we go. I'm going to go to, y'all going to be fixing that all day. They, they know I'm wired. I'm wired, but I'm not no terrorist or nothing like that, so don't y'all get nervous. All of you all who thought my voice just projected this well, now I've blown my cover. I'm plugged up, so you see the plug? There's the plug. Exodus 2:1-5. I, as the Lord, uh, what to share with you today. And, uh, he laid on my heart to talk about this text. Normally, at Thanksgiving service, I would do, you know, something like, "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord," or something like that, some text about thanks. The Lord laid on my heart to talk about reflections. So I had them bring this mirror because it's only when I look in the reflection that I really see myself. I, I, I'm, I am aware of myself before I see myself, but when I see myself, the reflection causes me to get perspective on who I am, what I have on, what I look like. Reflections. You don't really understand your life in real-time speed. So true. When you're going through things, you don't really see it. It's when you survived it and you reflect on it. It, it's hard to be happy when you're in it, 'cause you can't see it. Sometimes you can't see God in it. It doesn't make any sense. It's, it's turbulent. But, but when you, when you survive it and you look back at it and you reflect, there, there is a praise. There is a praise. It's a reflective praise. It's not that you got a new car today. It's not that you got a new boyfriend. It's nothing like that. It's just a, a, a moment of, of, of quietness and reflection that you look back on your life and you say, "You know what?" [Music] "You know what? You know, you know God carried me through." I mean, I, I didn't dance or nothing like that. I didn't go through clapping. I might have even been murmuring and complaining, and I didn't feel anointed. Come on, but God! When I reflect on it, yes, God was in the hospital with [Applause] me. He, he brought me through that crisis in my life. And, and your emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being, and to some degree, your physical well-being, is built on how you reflect, right, on your life. I have met people who are never happy. Have you ever met people like that? Hold your hand if you've met people. They're just never going to be happy. I just gave up. I got tired. You know, if I was God, I'd just take you out 'cause, you know, you, you weren't happy single, you're not happy married. You wasn't happy looking for a job, now you're not happy that you got a job. You wasn't happy when you gained weight, you wasn't happy when you lost weight. There's always something wrong with everything and everybody. You're just not going to be happy. And the reason you're not going to be happy is that you reflect. You have selective amnesia. You don't remember the many good things. All you remember is the bad. Have you ever been around people? All they remember is the bad. People are good for that. You can do a hundred things right and one thing wrong, they'll forget the hundred and talk about the one till you [Applause] die. How you reflect on it determines how it is. It's a little Bible story. It's a simple little story. Won't take long. I'm not, uh, but it's a little simple story. Exodus 2:1-5. "And there went a a man of the house of of Levi and took took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived and bare a son. And when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him." When she saw he was a goodly child, she hid him. Three months. No woman wants to have a baby and hide them. Especially, I mean, you might hide an ugly baby. I'm just teasing, but I mean, the Bible says he was goodly. If you have a good-looking baby, you know you want everybody to see you. But are y'all so spiritual you don't invite people over when you got a raggedy house? But when you clean it up, you think it looks pretty good. Come on in. He, he was a goodly baby. When she saw he was goodly, she hid him. What would make you hide something that's good? Hide him. Now, I don't mind hiding a baby for a minute or something. Three months is a long time to hide a baby. Baby don't cooperate. Baby be hollering and crying. Shut up! But she hid him for three months. "And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes and daubed it with slime and with pitch and put the child therein. And she laid it in the flags by the riverbank. And his sister stood afar off to it." What would be done to him? Just turned him over, put him out there in the river. "And the daughters of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river." Where'd she go to? She went to the river. "And her maiden walked along by the riverside. And when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it." All right, there are three things I want to tell you and I'm done. And before I tell you the three things, the Lord spoke to me. You remember the text, "Humble yourself up under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he will exalt you." You know, we, we say things like that, but what does that really mean? How, how do I humble myself under? I mean, like, I'll be honest with you, I'm the pastor, the bishop, whatever you want to call me, but I'm going to be honest, tell you something. I, I've really never seen the hand of God. Y'all looking at me like I'm a wretch. Unbelievable. I have never seen the hand, the physical hand of God. So though we say that, how do I humble myself up under something that I've never seen? I have sensed the hand of God. I could go spiritual on you. I've sensed the hand of God is on my life, bless God. But I've never seen the hand of God. And yet the Bible says to humble yourself up under the mighty hand of God. That, that if you will be willing to go down under the hand, then he will raise you under the same hand. The hard part becomes recognizing the hand of God. Y'all get that? All right. The hard part becomes recognizing the hand of God. When Moses' mother had that baby, I wonder, did she recognize the hand of God? I wonder, do you recognize the hand of God? Really, do you recognize the hand of God? Because when I said I'd never seen the hand of God, you all looked at me like I was going to hell. But I just want to know, what does a hand of God look like in your life? In your life, what, not theoretically, not philosophically, in your life, what does the hand of God look like? So, so how can we say we're humbling ourselves up under the hand of God if we have no ability to recognize the hand of God? And the Lord told me to just talk to you, just, just like a father would talk to, to the kids. There have been moments in my, my life that I thought he was trying to kill me. There have been moments that got so dark, I thought I wouldn't survive. There have been moments since I've been here that I thought I couldn't make it. There have been moments in my life that, that I have gone through dark holes and had to encourage other people, and they walked away encouraged, and they never knew that I went home discouraged. 'Cause a little bit of courage I had, I gave it to you and drove home wondering, "Who's going to encourage me?" See, we, we, we talk about, "You want God to use you," and yet you say, "You don't want to be used by anybody," because being used doesn't feel good. Come on, come on, come on. Being used by God doesn't always feel good because he uses you to accomplish what he wants done and then sends you away. Yeah. And some of the most gifted, anointed people go off the stage and wonder, "What about me?" I mean, consistent, faithful people in your life, in your house, that you can always count on, that always come through for the family, always comes through when you're sick, always comes through when you're down and out, always thoughtful, always kind of everybody. "Oh, you're so thoughtful, you're so kind." And I'll be thinking to myself, "So imitate me." I mean, if I'm, if I'm so thoughtful and I'm so kind and you value that so much, just don't just take it. Because anytime you keep taking and taking and taking and don't give anything back, I feel [Applause] used. Anybody in here ever felt used? The more God uses me, the more God bruises me. Using is bruising. You can tell when you got shoes you never wore 'cause they're not bruised at all. But if you wore them, even one time, one time, you look at the bottom of the, the bottom of the shoe is bruised. The shiniest stuff has not been used. It's only things that are scarred up. They, they are scarred up by reason of you. So if you're scarred up a little bit, it's how you reflect on the scar that determines how you see yourself. Most people only reflect on how much it cost them to be used, and it brings about a feeling of frustration because you wonder, "Where is God? Where, where is the hand of God on my [Music] life? I paid my tithe and lost my job. Where is the blessing I was shouting about? I was a good wife, yeah, and he still cheated on me. Where, where? How can something be good and get bruised? How can I be a good mama and you curse me out? I feel used." Thanksgiving isn't happy for everybody because sometimes Thanksgiving puts you in a company of people that remind you of stuff. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. They remind you of stuff. They, they make you reflect on stuff. And, and you going to be nice. Come on in. Mmm, yeah. Happy Thanksgiving. Given to [Applause] you. Am I, can I just be real? When you don't know if there's ever going to be justice, you wonder where is the hand of God. You know, when you judge anything in isolation, you don't have appreciation. Amen. You understand what I'm saying? I, I was making some biscuits one day, you know, and I, for some reason, I decided to taste the baking powder. And the people who are laughing have tried that. See, that is the nastiest stuff you ever put in your mouth in your life. Nasty, nasty. And if you served it to anybody, they want to choke you. But if you mix it with flour and shorten it and blend it in just right, and get your water cold and fold it over in there just so, and get your dough real pliable, it turned into the best biscuit you ever put in your mouth. The reason it didn't taste good as baking powder is that you judged it in isolation. All things work. See, the women really get it 'cause they, if you ever made a biscuit, you know you got to work that Crisco into that flour. It don't just go in there. You got to work. And that's the way God works in your life. He has to work all things together for the good of them that love the Lord. Because if, if you taste it in [Applause] isolation, you'll say, "Where is God? Holiness don't work. Righteousness don't pay off. Sacrificial faith, and I don't have no job. Where, where, where is? How can I humble myself up under the hand of God? Where is God when I need him?" This one woman has finally had a baby at a time in life. The time wasn't right. The time wasn't right. It wasn't a good time to have a baby. She just happened to have a baby at a time that Pharaoh was tripping. Come on. You know, like you happen to open a, a business and the economy goes bad. Sometimes it's the peripheral circumstances that control the reflection. She just hopped in, had a baby. If she had the baby earlier, she would have had this problem. Yes. If she'd had it later, she would have had this problem. But at the time she happened to have this baby, she, she birthed this baby. The baby didn't even ask to come into this mess. Born into a big old mess. The woman wasn't trying to get pregnant at a time that Pharaoh was killing babies. It so happened that God was bringing babies while Pharaoh was killing babies, and Moses was born in between bringing and killing. Sh. Have you ever been, have you ever stepped into something that was the best of times and the worst of times all at the same time? And it, it was out of your control. It wasn't your fault. Somebody say, "It wasn't my fault." I didn't do nothing wrong. I didn't do anything out of order. I did what I was supposed to do, and still I find myself, come on, find myself in a situation. How did I get in this? And where is the hand of God? So the Bible says, since she had the baby and she couldn't control the Pharaoh, number one, she hid the baby. I want to talk to you about the hands that hid me. What the hands that hid me? Sir, I was good, and he hid me. Thank you. I was gifted, and he hid me. I was anointed, and he hid me. I was called to preach, and he hid me. I belong to a church that I only taught, I think I taught Bible class in the church one time in seven years. People say, "Oh, I bet you, you were a blessing in in the church." No, no, no. I was anointed. I was gifted. I was studying. I was preparing. I was preaching in the shower and in the woods and over the hill. Nobody was inviting me. Nobody was calling me. Nobody paid me any attention. Nobody thought highly of me or nothing. In fact, I was cleaning out the baptism pool on Saturdays and shampooing the rug on Saturdays. And Pastor Robertson can tell you this is a fact. Bishop T.D. Jakes over in the baptism pool, scrubbing. Come on, sir. He hid [Applause] me. Can you imagine hiding a baby? We're not talking about a big house like what you live in or she lives in or she lives in, 'cause all of us live in a big house compared to where Moses lived, for sure. Hadn't a baby in a little, tiny little shack, slave shanty, probably under a board or something uncomfortable, dark, and dank. No air conditioning, no soft place to lay your head. He hid me. Have you ever been hidden in an uncomfortable place? Not, not, not reflective of of your worth, not being appreciated for your ideas and your creativity. He hid me. Have you ever seen a good woman who wanted to be a good wife and she was prepared to be a good wife, and everybody got married but her? He hid me. Have you ever worked for a company you, you should have been running? Yes. And the people who was running it had to come to you and ask you questions. They got the pay, you got no [Applause] credit. And he hid me. Have you ever been invisible in your own house? You don't even see me. You don't even see. You don't see me. You don't see me. You don't see my pain. You don't see me. You walk right past me. You don't see me. You serve me coffee, you don't see me. Everybody see me but you. He, you, you, you, you laying in the bed don't see me. You don't see me. I'm your wife. I'm your husband. I was there for you when other folk was gone, and you chase people and serve other people better than you do me. You don't see me. Have you ever thought that maybe he hid you in your own house? Hidden in my own house. My daddy told me when we was growing up, he said, "I may be dead and gone, but you're going to see your mama wasn't right about everything." [Applause] And he was right. But he was hidden. Takes a long time for justice to work. It takes a long time. See, the problem with us, we sow a seed, we want to harvest. We, we want change immediately. I, I, I listen to all the people all excited about Trump. I remember when they was excited about Obama. Same people. Some of the same people. Some of the same people. Not all of them. Some of the same people. And if they don't get the change that they voted for in three months or so, they going to slip out on him like they did everybody else. And he going to be so shocked because people's patience on return is not much. Where all my overweight people at? Holler at your boy. You ever go, going on a diet for three days and be looking in the mirror, reflecting, trying to see if it's working? You've been eating fat meat for thirteen years, and you eat lettuce for three [Music] [Applause] days? You talking about, "I tried. I tried ten different diets. None of them work." Three months. He was hidden. Oh, sh. We shout about the hand of God. Oh, the hand of God is on that system. Oh, my God. The hand of God is on that sister. You mean that she's gifted, right? That has nothing to do with the hand of God. She could sing the blues. She could sing in a nightclub. She could sing in a strip club. Gifted is gifted. What do you do when your gift won't get you out? What do you do when you're gifted and you're goodly and you're still hidden? Do you know that God's hands hide you? Behind you. It's uncomfortable for the mother, uncomfortable for the baby. The stage of being hidden is uncomfortable but necessary. It depends. Let me show you something. It depends on how you reflect on it. You, you could reflect on it and say, "It's uncomfortable that I've been hidden." Or you could recognize that when he hid you, he protected you. Absolutely. That he didn't let you get in the circle. Absolutely. He didn't let them people like you. He let you be rejected. He let you lose that job over there. He let that person walk out of your life over here. That God hid you because he was protecting you. It's only in reflection that you say, "You know what? It was good for me. It was good for me that I was afflicted." Pastor Winfield, my wife and I applied when we were in West Virginia for at least five different buildings and loans to build churches, and I was turned down every time. I remember sitting in the driveway crying, saying, "Where are you? I'm trying to do something for you. This is no club. I'm trying to do your work. How come you're not helping me with your work?" I didn't understand that there are some things that God didn't mean for them to work because they would have kept you from something far greater. Tell somebody, "Say, he hid me." He, he hid me. He, he hid me. He, he hid me. He, he hid me. He, he hid me. He let you walk past me. He let you ignore me. He let you close doors and not invite me. He let you step over me. He let you reject me. He let you divorce me. He let you walk out on for somebody else. You didn't even see my value till I got with somebody else. He hid me. Now you want to talk to me? I'm the same guy you said was nothing. You couldn't see it. God hid me. Thank you, Lord, for hiding me. Thank you, Lord, for the doors you closed. Thank you, Lord, for the people that walked away. Thank you, Lord, for the things that did not work out. [Applause] See, everybody else in here is thanking God for what they got. But I want to talk to people who are thanking God for what you didn't get, for what didn't work out right, for who rejected you and walked out on you. I want to talk to people who understand that "the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." My God, he delights in his way. So I want you to see, sit, sit. I'm just talking to you. Thanksgiving, uh, about the hands that he hid me. Have you ever thought maybe they're not supposed to see? Come on. Maybe they're not supposed to see you. That God hiding you is God protecting you for something that is less than your destiny. Come on now. I would have missed my destiny. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There you go. I almost pastored a church in Washington D.C. Washington D.C. When you're in West Virginia, Washington D.C. looks real good. But he hid me. I want to talk to people who don't feel thankful because you, you're hitting up under a board in a slave's hut, and it's dark, and it's cold, and it's uncomfortable, and you got splinters in your arms and your shoulders because you're in a tight place, and you keep saying, "I'm better than this." And you're right. You're a goodly child. I want you to understand that he hid you, that he hid you to protect you, that his protection means that you don't get credit, that you don't get recognized, that you don't get appreciated, that you don't get validated, that you don't get acknowledged, you don't get referred, and you don't get the business, and you don't get the deal because he hid you. And God says to you, "Humble yourself. Humble yourself while doors close in your face. Humble yourself while loans don't come through. And humble yourself while people walk out of your life and tell you you ain't nothing, and you just like your daddy and you ain't going to never be nothing." And you know they alive, but don't fight back. Yeah. Come on. Fight 'cause he don't mean for them to see [Applause] you. When the right one comes along, they'll see you. Yes, sir. Oh, God. I want to shout right there. I said, "When the right one comes along, they'll see you." I was in the store the other day, and a woman walked up to me, and she said, "Man, I help you, sir?" I said, "No, thank you." That means go away. And she said, "Uh, is there anything particular that you're looking for?" I said, "I'm not sure." And she said, "Well, if you see anything, let me, let me know." I said, "I'll know it when I see it." Yes, yes. I know it when I see it. When it's right, you'll know it when you see it. Until then, stay hidden. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Because the hands of God had you. And then the second thing I want to talk about is when the child could no longer be hidden. Three months. There is a point where greatness cannot be [Music] [Applause] hidden. I get preachers all the time. All my friends call me and say, "You had me preach one time. You put me on the map." I said, "If I could put you on the map, I'd be God." What I could do is bring you into a platform you're not ready for and mess up your life. Because if you are truly great, I don't care whether you're preaching in front of 10 people or 10,000 people, greatness cannot be hidden. It will stick its head up. It'll stick its leg out. It'll stick its foot out the bed. If you're really great, I don't care with no business cards, no website, no Facebook, no Instagram, no Twitter. If you're really anointed, somebody going to tell it. There is a point. There is a point where great cannot be hidden. It can be way up in the hills somewhere. It can be way down in the valley somewhere. It can be way over in a storefront somewhere. It could be divorced, ostracized, rejected, passed around, nobody wanted it. But if you're really great, somebody going to see it. When the child could no longer be hidden, the Bible says she took the baby and placed him down in the bulrushes. In the. Now, number two, the hands that placed me. From the hands that hid me to the hands that placed me. The hands that said, "You're too big to be in this place." The hands that said, "You have outgrown where you are." The hands that said, "Change is imminent in your life." The hands had mislocated you because you were allocated to another place. The hands that placed him in the bulrushes, in the marshy places, in the. Now, the hands that placed me. I get happy about it. The thing I'm happy about, the hands didn't place him into his destiny, but it placed him into the stream. Say, "You will never reach your destiny hidden in this house. You have now grown and gotten everything out of that situation that you can get in that situation. I'm going to place you in the stream. I'm going to put you in the flow." Sh, sh. Oh, my God, my God, my God. I'm trying not to preach it, but I feel it down in my soul because I know somebody in here understands that you just finally got in the flow after all these years. You finally got in the flow. And, and you might not see it yet, and it might not yet appear. I'm not in the palace yet, but I'm in the flow. I'm in, I'm in the vein where things happen. I'm in the movement. I'm in the place. I'm in the right direction. I'm in the flow. If there's anybody in here who feels like you're finally in the flow, give him three seconds of the craziest praise you got. I'm in the flow. I'm in the flow. I'm in the flow. I'm finally not being wasted. I'm finally not being overlooked. I'm in the flow. I'm in the flow. I'm in the flow. I can tell I'm in the flow. "It does not yet appear what I shall be, but I'm in the flow." Watch this. I'm a naked baby placed in a flow. Wait. I'm a naked slave baby in the flow where queens made. You know you're in the flow when you feel out of your element. I'm, I'm in the flow. I'm in the flow. I'm exposed to things that I would have never been exposed to while I was hidden in the house. I'm in the flow. My God. I got to stop it 'cause if I get to preach it, I'm, I'm going to mess up your turkey. But tell somebody, "Say, I'm in the flow." I want to thank God for the hands that placed [Applause] me. The hands that placed me in the flow. It, it's the one that invited me to the dinner party. Is it? It's the one who, who met me down at Starbucks. It's the one that invited me to a church I'd never been to before. It's the ones that invited me to a meeting. I, is the one that. Have you ever been in a meeting and said, "What in the world am I doing in here?" It's because God's hands will place you. I, I, I created you for a purpose that, that was not revealed by where you started, but I'm going to place you in the [Applause] flow. The hands that placed me. I remember Archie Dennis invited me to come speak at his, uh, believer's convention in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. And I was a storefront hucka-bucka kind of preacher. And I walk in there, and Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo and Vicki Winans and all of these people that I've seen on TV were in there worshiping. All these rich people and fancy people was in there worshiping. And I was a country boy from the hills of West Virginia. And I was in there trying to figure out how to not mess it up. I felt so out of place. Bam Crawford was speaking, and all of these notable people were preaching. Nobody even knew who I was. I tried to bring my praise team with me 'cause they could really sing. They could really sing for where we were. Yeah, Serita, do you remember those lilac dresses? Those J.C. Penney lilac dresses that they had on with the white carnations that we had made especially to go up to the Believers Convention? And they was in there with gowns and diamonds and jewelry, and we had these little corsages, these little carnation cages that your mama made at home with some lilac dresses on. And I was so proud. I went down to the piano and I hit the piano. Come on. And we, we started singing. I tried to bring them with me, but I found out it was too narrow. That you can't bring everybody you love with you. That, that, that when the hand sh, when the hands, when the hands of God place you, you don't get to bring all of your buddies with you. You got to. It's so narrow. It's only room for you. It's only room for you. It's only. I built it for you. I didn't build it for your friends. Don't be worried that your sister don't come. Your auntie and your grandma, they might not be for them. I built it just big enough for you, and I'mma place you in it. They may not even like [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it. So I want to thank him for the hands that placed me. I never will forget preaching at the National Pastor's Conference. And Lawrence and I have been going up there, excuse me for calling you, Lou, but we've been going up here for years trying to get notes, trying to figure out how to build our church. Never in my life thought that I'd end up speaking, not where Fred Price and Dr. Myles Monroe was new on the circuit then. You remember we were sitting in the back of the conference watching, taking notes, trying to get something, staying at the cheapest hotel possible, trying to take notes to get. I've never did in my life think that I'd end up speaking at a place where I was sitting in the back watching everybody else speak, and we couldn't even afford to be at the conference. Never knowing that in my sacrifice to go, that the hands were placing me. A year later. A year later. Year later. Give me some. The next year. Tell somebody, "Say, by this time next year, you feel in the blank." You feel in the blank. You feeling the blank. You feeling the blank. You feeling the blank. You feeling the [Applause] blank. I was, I was trying to figure out what to wear when they invited me to speak. It was just a day session. It was just a day session. But oh, my God, I thought, "What in the world am I going to do?" And I thought, "You know, I got to strike this just right." And I remember preaching from the scripture, "Whatsoever things you desire when you pray, believe that you have received it, and you shall have it." And the message was called "Burning Desire." Burning Desire. I preached it at 11:00, yeah, in the day session. And I preached what, what he gave me, like he gave me, and the way that he gave me. And I walked away not even knowing for sure, sir, did I hit it, sir? Yeah. Until I looked into Luther Blackwell's eyes, and I saw tears coming out of his eyes. See, I wasn't sure 'cause they didn't react the way I was used to people reacting. Because my palate only had appetite for tent food. And when he placed me in some bigger. When you're in, when you're out of your element, you, you can't tell where good is. Let me. He God will place you in something where you can't even evaluate what to do. What is the protocol? What do I say? All I knew for sure is that he called me. I knew he had anointed me. I knew he had given me something. But I didn't know. I knew it would work in the house, but I didn't know if it would work in the stream. He, he took me from the small place to a large place, and he placed me in something that was big. And I was smart enough to be careful, and I was wise enough to be scared. Because while I could feel the water flowing, I could also hear the crocodile snapping, and I knew that there were snakes in the water. God, when God places you in something bigger, don't get so happy about being in the big place that you don't understand that big places mean big danger. Y'all don't hear. Who am I talking to? Am I talking to somebody? So there you are, and you feel outgunned. I had no money. I didn't have no clothes. [Music] I was outgunned. The enemies on this level were so much bigger than the enemies in the house. I knew how to function in the house, but I didn't know how to function amongst snakes and and crocodiles and adders. And they, I, I did good, but I didn't know I did good. And I did so good that some people loved me, and some people became haters. And they were hating a baby. Baby. They were hating a baby. I, I didn't understand why you would hate me 'cause I was scared all the while I was up there. Have you ever had people hate on you, and you were so vulnerable? And they were, "What? Why would you put a baby around a snake and a, around alligators and around serpents?" I, I had entered into an arena, not that conference, but I entered into an arena where I was outgunned. My God. But he placed me. And even when he placed me, he protected me. How many mamas would feel comfortable putting your baby in an atmosphere with alligators and snakes and serpents and walk away and trust God to protect, protect you? And I'm telling you that the hands that place you are also the hands that protect you. Yes. And if you're going to be thankful this Thanksgiving, be thankful for the things that didn't kill you. If you're going to be, if you're going to be thankful, don't be murmuring about a car and you didn't get a car and you can't move and you had to down and all this stupid stuff you crying about. Thank you for the diseases you didn't catch. Oh, you ain't let me go on here. This turkey. Thank him for the diseases you didn't catch. Thank him for the children you didn't bury. Thank him for the almost nearly close calls that broke loose. If this is Thanksgiving, that's what you ought to be thanking him [Applause] for. So Moses and sister came down there to the bulrushes to watch and hid over. She hid over. Just stay right where you. She hid over in the bulrushes to see what, what happened. Is he okay? She was hiding and trying to check her brother out 'cause he was in a dangerous place. Sir, a larger place is always a dangerous place. Never underestimate your opportunity. It's, it's, it's a blessing, but it's also a dangerous place. I'm talking to somebody, maybe on the internet, maybe streaming online. I didn't even know I was important enough to be in the paper until they attacked me. [Music] I was on the front page of the paper in Charleston, West Virginia. My house, helicopters flying over my house. I open up the door, cameras all in my face. I hadn't robbed nobody, stole from anybody, raped anybody, nothing. I just moved in a house that was too big for the neighborhood, and they, they, they discovered me. And for a week, I was on the news every night. And for a year, they attacked me in the press. And I had to keep on preaching, yeah, under attack. Because when God places you, don't let the snake stop [Applause] you. Slap somebody, say, "Ain't no snake going to stop me." Ain't no snake. I see you slithering. I see you crawling. I hear you snapping. I hear you hissing. I hear you hissing, but ain't no snake. Oh, I feel like having church. I better stop. Oh, when God places you somewhere, you don't let nobody run you away, right? When God places you somewhere, you don't let nobody have your stuff. When God places you, and you know this is God, you don't let the people on your job talk you out of the blessing. When God places you, come hell or high water, having done all the stand, stand in the [Applause] [Applause] way. Tell three people, tell them, "The hand of God is on you. The hand of God is on [Applause] here." The, the hand of God is the hand, the hand. Can I go just a little bit further? I just need to go. And so the baby got in the flow. [Applause] Pain. It ain't. The baby got in the flow. Come on, baby. It was familiar because the baby was developed in the womb. Whenever God raises you, it'll be kind of familiar to something you've experienced before. So it's familiar, but it's strange. And the baby is just rocking in the flow. He's in the flow. So point three, the baby rocked till he found the hands that raised him. While he was in the flow, had he never been in the flow, he would have never been raised. Oh, God. God, thank you for positioning me in a place where I can be raised. Thank you for putting me in a place that gives me room to grow. Yeah. I was hidden in a house that didn't give me room to grow. Now I'm in a place where I got room to grow. And, and, and I've never been in a situation like this before. And, and I'm scared of it, but it is kind of familiar. Yes, sir. Destiny is always like that. It's, it's frightening and familiar at the same time. God's destiny will never take you into a place that's not familiar. But while it is familiar, it will also be frightening. But rock with it, baby. Rock with it, baby. Roll with it, baby. Don't let nobody run you out. Just rock steady. And [Applause] then I want to talk about the hands that raised me. Sh. Pharaoh's daughter was down there naked, taking the bath. Yeah. Moses was naked, a baby rocking. Princess. She was a princess. Yes. He was a slave baby. So he thought that's what he thought he really would become the [Applause] prince. See, you do belong where you think you don't belong. Time hadn't caught up with you yet. So, so I, I know your situation looks like a slave, but you're really a prince. And so he's rocking in the water, and the princess looks out and sees the baby, and she's drawn to him. Why would she be drawn to him? They're killing babies. Why? They're killing slave babies. But she saw the prince in him. I told you somebody was going to see you. I told you you wouldn't be invisible forever. I'm going to show you something. So she went down there and had him raised up out of the water. Here's the interesting thing. The hands that raised him were not the same hands that placed him. No. Come on, come on, come on, come on. No. Come on. It wasn't even the hands a baby would have wanted to raise it. No. I want, I want my mama. Uh-huh. You understand? Come on. But God told me to tell you that he'll make somebody love you. Yes, he will. That you don't always get it from the place you wanted it. I feel like I'm talking to somebody. But he'll send somebody who sees your potential and say, "Go get him out of there. Fetch him." Preaching, girl. Fetch him. Fetch him. The hands that raised him were the hands of God. Anytime God makes somebody love you, and it don't even make sense that they would, it's always him loving you through them. And the hands that raised him lifted him out of the mire clay, out of the reach of the snakes and the gators of yesterday, raised him from the slime of the process into the satisfaction and the safety of the palace. From slime to satisfaction. Thank you, Lord. We see him raised, and they raised him up and put him in a place where he would be protected. Come on. Where there would be provisions, and where there would be preparation. He became multilingual in that place. He learned how to walk with dignity in that place. He learned how to address princes and kings and pharaohs in that place. He learned the protocol of a place that he had never been exposed to because God raised him. As I close today, I want you to understand something. Whether he is raising you or placing you or hiding you, whether you are uncomfortable or slimy or satisfied, whether things are going well or going badly, whether you're being acknowledged or whether you are hidden in your house, you are always, all of your life, in his hands. Always. You always, always in his hands. And this Thanksgiving morning, instead of feeling bad about who didn't come and who didn't do and who didn't say, instead of being worried about whether you got a lot of money or a little bit, whether you're eating turkey or peanut butter and jelly, no matter what season of your life you are in right now, whether you're being celebrated or being ignored, appreciated, validated, or overlooked, yes, as a born-again, baptized believer, the thing that you should give thanks for is that you are always, hallelujah, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise at all, if you got any kind of praise at all, reflect, reflect on these things, for these are the things that you should reflect on because these are the things that matter most. Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, reflections. I want you to join hands with somebody. I don't care how well you think you know them. Nobody knows reflections but you. Let's have a moment of reflection. Look at the things he brought you through. God of mercy, thank you. The things you swam past that was trying to bite you. The months you endured being invisible in your own house, and yet he kept you. Hallelujah. Squeeze that hand. The person you're touching right now is in the hands of God. Even if God is using somebody else's hands to minister to you, you are in his hands. God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. And for this, we are grateful. And for this, we give you praise. For this, we magnify your name. Thank you, Father. You are worthy to be praised. There is nothing too hard for you. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. And all the time we come to you, we take, we take, we take, we take, we take. We ask, we beg, we cry, we complain, we bellyache. Today, we ain't asking for nothing. We just want to bless you and honor you and thank you and glorify you and lift you up. Oh, my God. Thank you for never dropping me. Thank you for never forsaking me. Thank you for helping, help me even when I was weak, and even when I was wrong, and even when I was tired, and even when I was out of your will. You, you, you kept the gun from killing me. You kept, you kept the train wreck, you kept the disaster. You kept me. I owe you this praise. I owe you this praise. I owe you this praise. Hallelujah. I'm scared not to praise you. I got to praise you. I owe you this praise. I'm not going to stand here and act like you didn't protect me. I'm not going to stand here and act like you didn't bring me through. Some of us, you brought us out of jail. Some of us, you brought us out of hell. I owe you this praise. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Hallelujah. Thank you for your children. Thank you for your family. Thank you for your life and your health and your strength. You owe him some praise. You owe him some praise. You're watching alive. You owe him some praise. Put them vicious down and give him some glory. You owe him some [Applause] [Music] Father, let your anointing sweep this place today as we honor [Applause] you, as we give you praise, as we gather as a family and give thanks in Jesus name. I want you to break loose and go for yourself. I mean, [Applause] go. I mean, go for yourself. I mean, go for yourself. Come on. I mean, go for [Applause] yourself. He hid me. He placed me. He raised me. To God be the glory. Take God me the glory. Take God me. [Music] [Applause] When I think of the goodness of Jesus, when I reflect on the goodness of Jesus, Lord, he has done for me. You ain't got to praise him. My soul cries out, Hallelujah. [Laughter] Hallelujah. I thank God. I thank God. I thank God. I thank God. [Applause] I want, I'm going to keep my word. Woo. I feel kind of churchy. Ooh. I feel kind of churchy. Y'all, I feel kind of churchy. I said, I feel kind of churchy.
ain't going to mess with it, but I feel something. I feel, I feel, I feel a breakthrough. I feel a deliverance. I feel a celebration. I feel a victory. I feel a victory. I feel a, I feel a victory. I feel a, woo!
[Music]
Touch your neighbor, said neighbor, even if you don't think you got it, I want you to give him a victory praise right.
[Applause] [Music]
Now, oh, oh.
[Music]
Woo! He's raising you. He's raising you in the praise. He's raising you right now. Every little step you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Step you take, every clap of your hands. Woo! Me up a good God. You're a good God. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. I love you. I praise you. Give you the glory. Give you the honor. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. You deserve it. All of the glory. You deserve it. All of the praise. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. I love to thank you. I love to pray. Thank. I give you glory. I give you honor. Yes, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Come on and take him. Come on and take him. Give him the praise. Give him the.
[Applause] [Music]
Glory! I feel a shout of victory. A shout of victory. A shout of victory. Yeah! Ow! Wow!
[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]
Tell your neighbor, say neighbor, this is Thanksgiving.
[Applause] [Music] [Music]
Give him a praise in this.
[Applause]
Place. Yeah, yeah. Nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that. I said, there's nothing wrong with that.
[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]
Just before we close, you may be seated.
[Applause]
I want to show you something. We've been doing. I showed you what we were doing in the country. I'm going to show you what we've been doing in, in the neighborhood. Take a look at this. Not everyone has the luxury of eating whatever they want, whenever they like. And in this season, when we all come together around the table, The Potter's House was able to provide hundreds of need a reason to get, give thanks. This is another wonderful day that we are here with our volunteers for our annual Thanksgiving food giveaway. The Potter's House, for the past 8 years, have been blessing families throughout the Metroplex. What's more, our giving has increased over the past 2 years. Previously, The Potter's House was able to bless 300 families with holiday meals, but within the last 2 years, that blessing has increased to serve 500 families and shelters each year. I am here picking up 40 boxes for the Tory clients. Thanksgiving Day boxes. Originally, we were promised 20 boxes, and then we just found out that they were going to give us 20 additional boxes. I had to borrow my father-in-law's truck to be able to transport all these blessing. This box of food means a lot to my family and I. I was the youngest of seven. This reminds me of when I was little and growing up and not have always having food on the table, but, uh, always trusting in God that he will supply. It's good to see The Potter's House giving back. We have been doing this for 5 years, and each time we come out, it's very enjoyable to help other families in need that we have able to provide dinners for people that may not be able to provide dinner for themselves on Thanksgiving, and we enjoy every year we come out. It brings warmth to our hearts to help others. So let us give thanks for the people in our lives. Give thanks for the food on our table. Give thanks for every need, need where God has provided for us. We're thankful for you and how the Lord is working this holiday season. So from The Father's House to your house, Happy.
[Music]
Thanksgiving. Amen.
I want to challenge you that are watching online, as well as you that are in the building. Before we leave, to just to take a seed and, and give thanks unto God by sowing a seed into the kingdom of God to help, help us to continue to do the work that we do, to reach the people that we reach, to touch the lives that we touch. There's so much to be done. In the midst of building, building a $25 million building, we're still reaching out, touching our community, and touching our nation, and reaching around the world. 300 families on staff here, we're still reaching out. We're only able to reach out because you reach out, because you're in the way. You are us. Yes, sir. Us is we. We is together. And as God has so blessed you, most of us give, get ready to eat somewhere, and half of us have already been picking off of it. That's why we're sitting here so comfortable. You came here and here smelling like dressing. Be a blessing. You watching online, be a blessing. You'd be surprised what $25 can do. It doesn't have to be $25,000, $25 million, $25. You'd be surprised what $25 will do.
Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Somebody get Pastor Winfield or Mike. I just want him to say something. If he do nothing but belch, if he just hiccup in the mic, I want him to.
[Applause]
Well, amen. Was that not a word from the Lord today? I'm so excited about the word of the Lord that comes from, from our Bishop, that reverberates all the way to Fort Worth, and really all over the world. We've been giving, and we've been in the same season of giving. We gave over 700 boxes on yesterday. Today, families from everywhere, from everywhere, came, and it was such a blessed time. It was such a great time to see people from the high school come out, to see people from, from the local communities and local clinics come out just to serve people. And we've gotten so many testimonials about it. So many people crying just because we were able not just to give them boxes, but to pray for them. Souls were saved. People were delivered. I just want you to know, part of this house, that you, we are a part of something that is great. A part of something that is great. Yes, sir. So every time that you give, I want you to know that your giving is not in vain. That you, your giving literally is being felt all over the world. Different communities, people are crying out for hope, and it is a blessing when it comes in the form of The Potter's House. Somebody say amen to that. Amen. Thank you, Bishop. God bless you for allowing us an opportunity to serve, to serve the people of God, and allowing for me an opportunity to serve you. Yes, sir. I'm blessed by your hands, love, and the hand of God on our lives. God bless you. Thank you. Amen.
Give it, give it. Hold, hold, hold on, mate. Give it to Sister Beverly. I want her to come and pray the blessing over, uh, our, uh, our sewe. So Beverly is my first employee. She hardly ever grabs somebody. I'm not sure how long, but it's working up on 30 years, I think. Yeah, yeah. Almost 30 years. Uh, when I hired her, I was scared to death of how in the world was I going to pay her. But Pastor Robinson volunteered, and he had a good job. So I figured if I went broke, he'd at least feed her. And that was the beginning of something that has, uh, got in the flow, got in the flow, got in the flow. Didn't we get in the flow? Almost all of us started out volunteers in the ministry. We did it for free. Amen. We did it because we love God. We did it because we believed in a vision. Long before there was ever a salary, we were working because God has been good to us. Don't you sit there and suck up God's blessing and not give him something back. All right? Your seed, your service, your life. Give God something that he can benefit from having done what he's done in your life. Beverly, would you just come and pray over us?
Absolutely. Let's lift our offerings before the Lord. Father, we just are so grateful today, God, as we reflect on your goodness and your mercy, your love and kindness towards us, Lord. We can't help but praise you and give you the honor and the glory that's due your name. And as we lift up these gifts before you, Lord, we ask you to receive them, oh God. It's from the depths of our hearts, Lord, that we lift them up to you. Thank you for this ministry, oh God. Thank you for the gift of Bishop and First Lady Jake and the spirit that you put in them, oh God, that they are teaching us how to be givers. Oh God, Lord, we just thank you for this gift that we have today. We give it to you. We ask you to multiply it, oh God, and let it be continued to be used for your glory in Jesus name. Don't let anybody miss, oh God, what they're giving today. Bless them abundantly above all that they could ever ask or think in Jesus name. Amen.
Amen. Serve the people of God. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise you the Lord! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! We say praise! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Say praise to Lord! Oh, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Are you blessed? I say, are you blessed? Clap your hands and give God praise. Well, I tell you what, we're going to stand. I'm going to bless you. I'm going to bless the food that we're about to receive for the nourishment of our bodies. Thank you, Jesus. So all you got to do is walk in the door, cutting stuff, go right to chewing. Okay. How many are glad you came out to serve? They kept telling me, you know, I don't know who's going to be here.