What are You Carrying? Bob Hazlett

Hello, men and women. What an honor it is again to speak into your life from Life Fellowship Church in McKinney, Texas, into the tablet that you're looking at and the facility that you're at. It's quite a blessing and it's just awesome and amazing. And I say that because we want you to feel like you're part of our church family. We pray for you. We think about you. We are trying to figure out some re-entry stuff that we can be doing and we just love the technology. What a blessing. My name is Logan Williams. My TDC number was 1490218 and I didn't have a tablet when I was in prison. And so I know that I can see it. I can see it changing things. It's changing the environment and the atmosphere in there because you now have endless ways to put edifying teachings and the word and commentaries and devotionals into your heart in your spare time. And we know spare time in prison is sometimes not good, but now it can be and we're seeing the effects of that. And so I just want to give God praise right now for just the technology of the Pando app and the tablets. You know, Romans 8, 28 says that he works all things for the good. And one of the things that he worked COVID for the good, as bad as it was, was there's tablets in prison now and we're seeing just revivals happening because of that. And speaking of Pando, tell your family and your friends, they can download the same Pando app on their phone. They can watch the same stuff that you watch. They can listen to the same teachings. You can talk about it when you, when you write each other letters or when you see each other in visitation or talk on the phone. Um, weren't any phones the first time I went to prison, but now you have all kinds of things, blessings that God has given us, has given you. And I just want you guys to see that and to, and to acknowledge that and to realize that yes, I may be in a, in a difficult, um, season of life right now, but I want you to know God is with you, man. God sees you. He is in the boat with you. He, he is wooing you. He is, if you're watching this video right now, like God is after you. Okay. You didn't just click on life fellowship, uh, but randomly, okay. This nothing happens by mistake. God is after your hearts and I just want you guys to know that. And because that can bring us some peace and some comfort, um, in the midst of that. And so, uh, this, one of the scriptures that that's been heavy on my heart lately, and I know I've shared this, uh, probably recently with you guys, but he put it on my heart again. It's Matthew seven. It's the end of that chapter. I'm starting in verse 24. It says, anyone who listens to my teachings and follows it

is like a wise person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise on the winds beat against that house. It won't collapse because it's built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teachings and doesn't obey, it is foolish. Like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and the floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. And the reason I say that is because when I was in prison, I didn't build my house on rock. I would go to church. I would go to open church. I would go to prayer call. I would go to do Cairo's and all the things. Um, but I was just checking boxes. I wasn't actually putting into practice what, what I was learning from Jesus. I wasn't living any differently. I wasn't coming against my sin. I wasn't striving to live a righteous life. I was just living the same old way I was living. Um, thinking that, you know, I'm in prison right now. This sucks. I hate this. It's uncomfortable. So I'm just going to do all these things to make myself comfortable. I'm going to do the gambling and I'm going to do the hooch and I'm going to do the hustling and, and the, and the stealing out of the kitchen, all that stuff that we do to just kind of get, but when I get out, I would tell myself when I get out, then I'm going to start putting these things into practice. Then I'm going to start building on the firm foundation. And what, what happens as a result of that is I would hit the gate and my house that I had been building while I was in prison was on. sand and it doesn't it didn't take much for the enemy to deceive me it didn't take much for me to or long to fall back into uh the same patterns of behavior and that's why i have four more numbers after that first number that i just told you back round and round and round and i would be like gosh what is wrong i'm going to church i mean i wasn't spending any time in prayer not really i would throw up these little popcorn prayers but i wasn't really spending any time in prayer i wasn't really spending any time in the word a little bit maybe we'd have a bible study once a week or something but i wasn't really trying to put into practice what i was learning and that jesus says is the person who builds his house on the rock and i say that because i feel like there's many of you that are in a similar situation yeah you believe in jesus you would call yourself a believer but man when that when that whatever drugs y'all have comes rolling down the run man i just you know i'm just gonna make this a little bit more comfortable right now i'm gonna i'm gonna not come against lust and sexual sin right now because you know i i enjoy that i sin is fun right it's

it takes it takes some some courage to come against that it takes us getting out of our comfort zone to wage war against our sin but that is what jesus is saying is is the person who builds his house on the rock and i just know in my case i was incarcerated many many many times i can't even tell you how many times i was arrested but i had the the four main big trips uh through and every time god i can look back now at the time it didn't seem like it but now i can look back and say that god was preserving me man like he was saving me from from myself he was saving me from the the long-term effects of shooting methamphetamine for over over decades he was saving me from uh something even worse happening to me he was saving me and he puts me he he has me in there and i say that because i got a whole bunch of friends that died i got a whole bunch of friends that that overdosed i got a whole bunch of friends that got shot or run over or had bad car wrecks okay for whatever reason he preserved me he set me down and he wanted me to try to put these things into practice so i could build my house on firm foundation but i didn't i never did guys i was never able to get out of prison and just walk it out i had to have a radical experience with the lord six months out this time after getting back on drugs and back on crime and back in darkness and sexual sin and all that stuff thank god for that moment but you guys don't have to have that moment you guys don't have to come back and back and back and back you don't you can be a wise man and build your house on the rock and what better time to put this stuff into practice than right now he's got you sitting down he's got you out of the world he's got he's trying to get your attention and you've you've got really what else could you do what else is better to do right now than to try to develop yourself spiritually and put these things into practice so i just want to encourage you because when you hit that gate he's going to come at you the world the enemy all this stuff is just going to come rushing at you and we don't think about that when we're locked up we don't think about what's going to come at us when we hit that gate all we care about is when am i getting out and that's all we focus on but we don't spend any time at all thinking about okay what am i going to do when so-and-so hits me up what am i going to do when that girl gives shoots me a message on facebook what are we going to do when all these things we need to start putting these things into practice and thinking about how we are going to to continue this walk when we hit the streets you need to have a plan you need to have some effort put into it and if you're a person that's not getting out for a long time or maybe never i want to encourage you that you can build your house on this firm foundation and then you can speak into the lives of men who are going to

get out and that can be your legacy like god wants to use every one of you right here right now in the place that you're at but it starts with taking jesus's words and putting them into practice being doers of the word and not just hearers of the word and that's what i want to encourage you guys with today be doers of the word man let god work in your life he's a gentleman he's not going to force himself but man he wants a relationship with you so bad and it could just start with hey god how do i do this how do i begin to build On a firm foundation and not sinking sand like I always have father. I love you. We thank you. We're so grateful for you You got I just pray for these men and women man that they're watching today I asked that you would bless them and that you would just give them a revelation that Maybe they they're going to church. Maybe there are leaders. Maybe they're even leading Book studies or or whatever that looks like in the in the facility that they're at but God Maybe they're building their house on sinking sand and they don't even know it Because they're still just in in that That mindset that prison mentality that yeah, I'm just gonna do whatever while I'm here But when I get out, I'm I'm not gonna do those things. I know what I'm gonna do when I get out God I pray against that and I pray that you would give them revelation that That yes, they may be doing all these things But they're building their house on sinking sand and they don't even know it Because the thing about a foundation of a house is we can't see the foundation nobody knows What I'm building my house on nobody knows Except mean except you and so God, I pray that you would convict. I pray that that your conviction Would would would turn into repentance God and that and that they could see that conviction and repentance is not a bad thing But it's actually an invitation to rest into into spiritual growth and maturity Which is what we all are striving for. And so God, I pray that you would bless their families while they're gone and that you would just light a path for them and

That you would just let them know how much you love them that you would meet them right where they're at And let them know that you're with them and that you love them no matter what's going on around them And I pray these things in Jesus name. Amen Whose house God's house. Let's give him some praise Oh Good morning, my fellowship church. Happy Mother's Day to the mothers in the room Come on, we're gonna get ready to worship y'all can stand up on your feet Oh More than enough Come on sing he is faithful You are faithful to your promise You are strong when I am weak And I'm standing in your presence I have everything I need The joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord is my strength The joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord is my strength And oh my soul Oh my soul Bless his name All that is within me say The joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord is my strength You are my strength Lord Jesus Come what may For you are worthy of all You're worthy of all my praise Cause you are faithful to your promise

You are strong when I am weak And when I'm standing in your presence I have everything I need The joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord is my strength There's more than enough The joy of the Lord is my strength And oh my soul Oh my soul Bless his name All that is within me say The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord You are my strength, You are my strength So let it rise up like a river Overflowing Holy Spirit And let it pour out with no limits Overflowing Holy Spirit So let it rise up like a river Overflowing Holy Spirit And let it pour out with no limits Overflowing Holy Spirit Come on, who has the joy of the Lord this morning? Come on, if you don't feel it, if you do He remains the same, He remains faithful He is the joy, He is our joy Come on Come on, the joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord His wants to reign The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord

His wants to reign Oh my soul, oh my soul Bless His name, let all that is within me say Oh my soul, bless His name Let all that is within me say Oh my soul, bless His name Let all that is within me say The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord Come on, let's give Him praise this morning He is good Come on, can we just take a minute right here and thank God for all of His blessings Jesus, we thank You for how faithful You are How faithful You will always be For Your goodness, Your mercy, Your kindness, Your love And for every single blessing that we know comes from You and You alone Amen The Lord bless you and keep you May this face shine upon you and be gracious to you The Lord turn His face toward you And give you peace The Lord bless you and keep you May this face shine upon you and be gracious to you The Lord turn His face toward you And give you peace Amen Amen Amen

Amen Amen Amen Amen The Lord bless you, the Lord bless you And keep you May this face shine upon you and be gracious to you Patience, dear, the Lord has learned his place And give you patience Oh, we sing amen Oh, amen, amen, amen, amen Amen, oh, amen, amen Oh, amen, amen, amen Oh, amen, amen, amen We sing amen So be it, so be it, it is so Oh, we pray, you are with us, Lord You are with us, you are for us Yes, you are May His favor be upon you and a thousand generations And your family and your children and their children and their children May His favor be upon you and a thousand generations And your family and your children and their children and their children May His favor be upon you and a thousand generations And your family and your children and their children and their children May His favor be upon you and a thousand generations And your family and your children and their children and their children May His presence go before you and behind you and beside you All around you and within you He is with you, He is with you

In the morning, in the evening In your coming and your going In your weeping and rejoicing He is for you, He is for you He is for you, He is for you He is for you Amen, Amen, Amen Amen, Amen, Amen May His favor be upon you and a thousand generations And your family and your children and their children and their children May His presence go before you and behind you All around you and within you He is with you, He is with you He is not forsaken or forgotten you In the morning, in the evening In your weeping and rejoicing He is with you, He is for you He is for you, He is for you He remembers you, He is not forgotten He is not forgotten you He is for you, He is for you Yes He is, He is with you He is for us and a broken heart He is with you, He is for you He is for you, He is for you He is for you In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Sing amen. We turn our eyes on you, Lord. Cause you're worthy.

So worthy. We turn our eyes to you, Father. Cause you're holy. So holy. We thank you, Lord. We sing your name. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name, it stands above them all. Above all thrones and dominions. All powers and positions. Your name, it stands above them all. Sing your name. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name, it stands above them all. Above all thrones and dominions. All powers and positions. Your name, it stands above them all. We sing your name. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name, it stands above them all. Above all thrones and dominions. All powers and positions. Your name, it stands above them all. We sing your name. Your name is the highest. Your name, it stands above them all. Above all thrones and dominions.

All powers and positions. Your name, it stands above them all. Above all thrones and dominions. All powers and positions. Your name, it stands above them all. Above all thrones and dominions. All powers and positions. Your name, it stands above them all. Holy is the kingdom. You are holy. You will always be. Holy. Holy forever. Yes, you are. You will always be. Holy. Holy forever. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Somebody give God some praise. Give Him glory. He deserves it. He's still seated on His throne. He's still in control. God, you are worthy of all praise. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Woo. Thank you. What are we thankful for this presence over here? Can you just clap for Jesus one more time?

Thank you for your presence, Jesus. It's all what we need. And happy Mother's Day. Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mama bears out there. Yeah. We are so thankful for each and every one of you. I just want to take a moment. If you're a mom, you keep standing and if you're not a mom with that, can you just sit down. Stepmoms, spiritual moms, foster moms, single moms. You have a special place in God's heart, to be honest. I just want to say thank you for all your sacrifice. Thank you for your tears, for your prayers, for your laugh. You sing today. We are gonna just say God sees you and we're gonna honor you this morning. So we have some things going on in the life of our church, in the lobby, to honor you this morning. We have free candles. Super, like smells so good. Everybody loves a free candle, right? Come on. Well, especially mama bears with boys in the house. We need some little scents over there, right? So take one for you. Enjoy putting your living room in your room and then also have a beautiful backdrop. You can take a picture with your kids, but just maybe just you know, your moment as a mom. Take a beautiful picture and and also have a really special thing going on in the lobby. Tell us a little bit, Leslie. Yes, we also recognize that today can be a little bittersweet for some, right? For those of us that are mamas and we can celebrate that, that's amazing. But also for those of us who don't have our moms, like me, it can be a little hard for us today. And like you who don't have your mom here with you, she's in Brazil. Or for those who have suffered loss or infertility, all of the above. We know that it is a hard day for some. And so in the lobby, we have some flowers that you can you can go and put together just as a memory that you would have a beautiful flower today. I'm just honoring that in your life. Yes, wanting all of us to feel loved and also the last, not least, we have a special moment to attribute all the moms right now. So prepare your heart.

You can take your seat, get a tissue, try not to cry. Let's enjoy this moment. Hey, Mom, I just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day, and I know I've told you before, but I just love your quiet strength. I think you taught me that. You were a great example of a peacemaker. I love you. For all those times you stood by me. For all the truth that you made me see. For all the joy you brought to my life. For all the wrong that you made right. For every dream you made come true. For all the love that you brought to my life. For all the love that you brought to my life. For all the love I found in you. I'll be forever thankful, Mama. You're the one who held me up. You never let me fall. You're the one who saw me through, through it all. You were my strength when I was weak. You were my voice when I couldn't speak. You were my eyes when I couldn't see. You saw the best that was in me. You lifted me up when I couldn't reach. You gave me faith because you believed. I'm everything I am because you loved me. Hi, Mom. I just wanted to say you are the best mom in the world. Thank you for everything you do. You cook for us and you make us go to sleep. Thank you so much. You gave me wings and made me fly You touched my hand, I could touch the sky I lost my faith, you gave it back to me You said no star was out of reach You stood by me and I stood tall I had your love, I had it all I'm grateful for each day you gave me Maybe I don't know that much But I know this much is true I was blessed because I was loved by you You were my strength when I was weak You were my voice when I couldn't speak You were my eyes when I couldn't see You saw the best that was in me Lifted me up when I couldn't reach You gave me faith as you believed I'm everything I am because you loved me You were always there for me The tender wind that carried me Light in the dark, shining your love into my life You've been my inspiration Through the lies you were the truth My world is a better place because of you You were my strength when I was weak You were my voice when I couldn't speak You were my eyes when I couldn't see You saw the best that was in me Lifted me up when I couldn't reach You gave me faith as you believed I'm everything I am because you loved me Twice and beating it twice And I just want you to know that from your favorite son I love you so, so, so much Happy Mother's Day I love you mommy

Thank you for being the best mom in the world I love you mommy Happy Mother's Day I love you I'm everything I am Because you loved me I'm everything I am Because you loved me I'm everything I am Good morning Life Fellowship Church! Happy Mother's Day! Wow, what an amazing two services we had already And it's my great honor to be sharing this time with you Three weeks in a row is an honor for me to be with you guys And the last service they were pretty rowdy So you're gonna have to do better to out-cheer them, Thomas But you're trying, I heard you over there I got my favorite buddy on the front row too Good to see you, man We had a great time Hey, how many people have a question? How many people have a mother? Great, perfect, okay Happy Mother's Day to all your mothers too I wanted to celebrate my mom I called her last night My mom's 87 And not doing that great health-wise But she's got the sharpest mind She could still tell me off like really quick And I just thanked her

I said, Mom, I don't know if I'll get a chance to call tomorrow Because I'm gonna wake up at 4 a.m. I'm gonna preach four times Probably get back home at 4 p.m. And then I'll be in a coma probably for the next 12 hours But I just wanted to thank her Because every single day my mom would pray pray over me before I went to school and she would pray Psalm 91. So that was my mom's piece of advice. Tell those mamas to pray Psalm 91 over their children. And I'm like, okay, so pray Psalm 91. I don't know what it is, but my mom thinks it's good. So, all right. Well, it's so great to be here with you. And those that are watching online or even in our houses of incarceration, we are here at Mother's Day at Life Fellowship. This is our third service. And today I wanna talk to you on the title of Do You Know What You Are Carrying? Do you know what you are carrying? And we all know that has to do with carrying a baby, but did you know it's also, it's in the Bible, in the scriptures. In Isaiah 66, nine, it says, "'Do I bring to the moment of birth "'and not give delivery?' says the Lord." We're gonna talk about some historical moms. We're gonna talk about some moms in the Bible,

but really this scripture is actually about a nation, that the whole experience of Israel coming out of the slavery, through the Red Sea into the wilderness, that's a birthing experience. God was birthing a nation. And it's the same story of the church. The Bible says that the church was born, we're the church of the firstborn in Hebrews 12. So, the idea of spiritual birth is actually one that's all throughout the Bible. And it's also a process that God takes us through, where he puts a seed in our life, and then he brings it to fulfillment, and then he brings it to deliverance. We're gonna talk about that today. But I think that there are always seeds that God places in our life that point to our purpose. You know, my youngest daughter, when she was born, it was a great day, and the doctor comes in. You know the doctor usually just comes in at the end, right? He's got all his studies to do, and he's a good doctor, he's a great doctor. But they just come at the end, the nurses do the work. And this guy was unusual. He was like an Italian guy, kind of like from Jersey. If you know Italian guys from Jersey, gold chain. And he flips on the lights, really bright, and he goes, it's showtime. And I think a couple of the nurses were like,

I'm gonna slap him or something. But what's funny about that is my youngest daughter was a musical theater girl. She went to college and studied musical theater. She works at the Yale Repertory Theater right now. So isn't it funny how God puts a seed in our life that points to our purpose? That's what I wanna help you find today, to discover what you're carrying that might lead you to your purpose. So this isn't just for moms, it is for moms, but it's for everyone. And that's the question I have for you. Do you know what you are carrying? This is all really important because I wanna speak today to things inside of you that you feel like are unfulfilled or places where you feel like your life has been disrupted. I wanna speak to the thing that is saying to you, it's not going to happen. And I wanna say to you that God says, do not become weary in well-doing for you will reap in due season if you do not faint. So Life Fellowship, it's your due season. It's your due season. And how do we know what we're carrying? Number one, your passion points to the purpose of what you're carrying. Your passion points to the purpose of what you're carrying. Passion, what you feel strongly about.

Last week, we talked about Moses. We talked about he had a purpose to be a deliverer and God wanted to use him to deliver his people out of slavery, but he had pain. And he processed his passion through his pain and he committed murder to set a prisoner free, but he actually wasn't expressing it right. So what you're passionate about, I like to say it this way, it's a little stronger. What ticks you off, you might be called to transform. Okay, it's too strong for Mother's Day, so let me say it nicely. What piques you, I found this word, special word. What piques you points to your passion. It means to be interested or slightly irritated by, but you can put the really stronger word in there because that would work too. What piques you points to your passion. So I was reading a story once. I used to love to read biographies of ministers and there's a woman that I loved her ministry. Her name was Catherine Kuhlman. Has anyone here ever heard of Catherine Kuhlman? I mean, she operated in the Holy Spirit. She had power of God, but her main thing was the presence of God and also her cool dresses. She would put these dresses on and kind of float across the stage, which you will not see me do. So she wrote this book about, the story was about her. As I'm reading it, here's what Catherine Kuhlman said.

The Holy Spirit is. my best friend. I wake up every morning and I say, good morning, Holy Spirit. And I go to bed every night and I say, good night, Holy Spirit. And I talked to him throughout the whole day. Now, at that time, I was a minister, but I was reading this going, I don't know the Holy Spirit that way. I mean, I know, I grew up Pentecostal, so I know the Holy Ghost. And actually it would be like the Holy Ghost, more like that, Holy Ghost. And whenever my pastor would preach about the Holy Ghost, in the backstage, there were these dark velvet curtains that would flap like this, saying the Holy Ghost. And I'm like, ah. So I had this, I think, unconscious fear about the Holy Spirit. And then the idea that he could be my best friend. And so this just touched me. And I got an emotional moment at this moment, reading this thing, God, I wanna know the Holy Spirit like my best friend. I want him to be my best friend. And I went on this journey because I found what moved me. What moved me in someone else's story moved me closer to my story. So pay attention to what moves you.

What makes you cry may be an indication of what you're carrying. Your tears of intercession might water the seeds of destiny in you. You know, there was another woman. Her name was Harriet Beecher Stowe. Anybody heard of her? You really should, she's super famous. Wrote a super famous book. And she grew up in a pastor's house. And she had five brothers and they all became pastors. And Harriet, she wanted to become a pastor. But she wasn't allowed because she was a woman. At that time, women couldn't preach, but guess they can. And instead, she did something else. God, man said, no, you can't preach. But God said, I'm gonna give you a word that's gonna change the world. And so Harriet one day went to church with her family and her kids and her husband, who was actually the preacher. And while they're having communion, she had a vision. She had a vision of African slaves being mistreated and tormented and realized that she came under conviction that there needed to be something to change. She got that mama bear in her saying, not on my watch, this isn't right. And Harriet Beecher Stowe went home, made dinner for her kids. And on one Sunday afternoon,

she wrote a book called Uncle Tom's Cabin that changed the entire world. Abraham Lincoln looked at her and said, here's the little lady that started this great war because she pointed out something wrong. And sometimes what makes you motivated is what you're called to change. The next thing you know what you're carrying is your pain may be a prophetic sign of what you are carrying. Your pain may be a prophetic sign of what you're carrying. Let me give you an example. There's a woman in scripture, her name's Hannah, and she wasn't able to get pregnant. She was a little bit older and she went to the temple one time to pray. And she prayed and asked God for a child. Here's what her prayer looked like in 1 Samuel 1, 16 and 17. Here's her prayer. I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief. And Eli, the priest, answered her and said, go in peace. May the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him. Well, first of all, I wanna point out to you is her prayer because we might think if someone is praying out of grief that they're not praying in faith. But I wanna tell you, if you're praying in pain, in your pain you pray, you're praying in faith. If you're in your grief and you pray, you're praying in faith.

If you in a place of anguish are praying, you are praying in faith. Because that's real faith, to pray before the answer comes. That's real faith, to pray until the answer comes. And this is Hannah's story, it's incredible. I'm gonna tell you a little bit about it afterward because she isn't just gonna birth a baby, she's gonna birth a nation. She's got something inside of her that's bigger than her. But before I tell you a little bit more about Hannah, I wanna tell you a story about another mom that I know. This is one of my favorite stories, what God did on the road. I was preaching in a conference in Switzerland. I'm sorry, somebody has to do it. I said, here my Lord, send me. And he said, yeah, Swiss chocolate, I'm in, all right? So this was quite a few years ago. And the night service, I came for an evening service and I was in the pastor's office. And the pastor said, there are pastors that are driving two hours to come be in the service. Can I bring them in the office and you pray for them before the service? And I said, can we pray for them afterwards? I just wanna stay focused, I wanna hear God. And he said, yeah, we'll pray for them afterwards. Here's what happened. I went to this meeting and I preached. I preached about Abraham and Sarah,

who were old and older and couldn't have children. And God gave them not just a child, but a nation, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. And so I preached about this. And then right after I preached, I looked down and I saw a couple kind of sitting where you're sitting, Bernie. And I walked over to this couple and I said, God's gonna make you like Abraham and Sarah. For 14 years, you've been trying to receive your promise, but two times you miscarried the promise, but God is gonna bring the promise to fulfillment. He's gonna bring life to the full out of you. And they were very emotional. It was being translated from English to Swiss German for them. So I didn't know what they understood or what they heard, but they're crying. Usually people are crying. It's either because it's really good or it's really bad. And I really only, I don't know until they tell me. So I prayed for a whole bunch of people. And then we went back to the pastor's office and he said, I'm gonna bring that couple in that I asked you to pray for. I'm like, sure. And they happened to be the first couple that I prayed for. They're like, this is the couple. And they said, we drove here two hours because we wanted you to pray for us.

We've had two miscarriages. They were pastors in like a neighboring city. And they said, we've been trying for 14 years. They tried everything, IVF and all the things, all the, whatever those letters are. I think I got them right. They tried that, it didn't work. So I said, well, look, all I know is what God says. Genesis two, he looked at man and woman and he said, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth. That's what I wanna say to you. Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, be blessed. That's the blessing of Genesis. And they left. And just a little over a year later, about probably a year and a half, I can't, I don't know the exact time, but take a look at this picture. I got to go back and dedicate a baby. Isn't that cool? Because God loves babies. But there's also a pattern in the Bible that God loves to find the barren places in our life and plant a seed that will be a seed of destiny. And we have to carry it forward until it's time to be delivered. We see this pattern over and over. So I talked to you about Hannah. You know, she had a child. The child's name was Samuel.

Samuel was a prophet. Samuel identified and anointed David as a king and helped guide a nation. Fast forward 500 years later, or however long later we are, where there's a period of time when there's no prophets, there's no word from the Lord. It's called the intertestamental period between the Old Testament and the New Testament. And God finds, he wants to do something new in the earth. He finds a barren womb in Elizabeth. Elizabeth, her husband's a priest, and Elizabeth gets pregnant, gets pregnant with a prophet, John the Baptist, who identifies a king, Jesus. So here's the pattern. God will look at a place that you think cannot produce fruit in your life, a place that you thought was broken and barren, a place that you thought you gave up on, and he'll say, I'm gonna use that place and I'm gonna plant a promise right in that place. And in that place, I'm gonna raise up a sound. I'm gonna raise up a generation. I'm gonna raise up a voice. Because Hannah's promise wasn't just a baby. It was a generation and a nation. And I wanna tell you, you could be carrying something right now that could affect the next generation. It could be a book that will change the next generation.

It could be a song that will change the next generation. It could be just a prayer that delivers someone from a spirit that allows them to be free and then their family is blessed from generation to generation to generation to generation because that's what God does. He blesses. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. So pain can indicate something's wrong, for sure. But discomfort can many times be a sign of destiny. Maybe you're carrying something so big that it feels uncomfortable. Maybe you feel like you're gonna break. Hannah was carrying something more than a baby. She was carrying a prophetic voice that would guide a nation and I think you're carrying something bigger than you know. And I think God wants to bring it to birth and it's uncomfortable and it's painful. But your obedience leads to bigger things than you expect. Your small obedience may be the step forward you need. Your small steps of faith can lead you to exceedingly abundantly more than you can ask or think. Your calling is bigger than you and what you're carrying may affect a generation or a nation.

The third way we know that we are carrying something is a feeling of transition. Transition, let's go back to the birthing room. We started this message at the birthing room. Let's go back to the birthing room where every man fears to tread, right? Here we go. You're in the birthing room. You've experienced the joy of discovery that you're carrying something. You've experienced the discomfort of the bigness. You've done the work. You're eating the right things, probably not, but you know, hopefully. Learning to breathe and timing, had the go bag ready, passed through the initial stages of labor. So here's where you are right now. It's called transition. Anybody familiar with this stage of birth, transition? I didn't Google this. I asked a few people and they said, yeah, it's true. The pressure intensifies, the pain increases, the emotions rise, the heart rate goes up, the machines start beeping, the nurses are all scrambling. You feel that you're at your weakest. Is that anyone in this room? That's kind of described my last week. Let me just say it again. You're just saying heart rate, your heart rate goes up.

Things start to beep, people start to scramble. The pressure intensifies, the pain increases, emotions rise and you feel your weakest. That sounds like last Tuesday. Like you have those moments. And can I tell you what that is? This is the time when the wife looks at the husband and says, you did this to me. This is the time when we often look at God and go, what are you doing, God? What are you doing? Why'd you do that? Why'd you do this to me? And many times the place where you're in right now is because you prayed a prayer that you forgot about that God's answering. God, use me, use me, use me. And then you find yourself out in the middle of a wilderness trying to get an anointing. You prayed the prayer that got you in the wilderness. Don't blame God for your prayer. God, I wanna heal the sick. Then all of a sudden you find sickness all around you and you're fighting it yourself. Well, you asked to fight off demons. The demons gotta come to you. So stop asking God to take away stuff you prayed for. Yeah, it's like, seriously. Ministry is sort of like the mafia. They keep trying to bring you back in.

I keep trying to get away from them and they keep bringing me back in. I'm just saying, you answered the call. You said yes to God. You got in it, stay in it. Don't get out, stay in it. Stay what God's called you. Because I wanna tell you this, transition does not mean failure. Transition is the proof that birth is near. Let me say it again. The pain, the pressure, the blood pressure, the scrambling, the intensity, that's not failure. That's proof that it's time for birth. Transition is not the end. It's the beginning of something new. And listen, we are living in a world filled with this right now. We're living in a world that is, the entire world is in turmoil. Entire world is upheaval, uncertainty, fear, outrage. And some people are saying, is this the end times? Is this the end? Is this the end? Is this the end? I'm like, no, it's not the end. It's the beginning. It's the beginning. Paul told us about this in Romans. He said that the whole earth, all of creation,

has been groaning as in the birth of child pains right up to this present time. Romans 8.22, read it. The whole earth is groaning. We are seeing a groaning in the earth. We are seeing an upheaval in the earth. We are seeing a crying out in the earth. Do you know what they're crying out for? The manifestations of the sons of God, which means the culture is waiting for the church to show up. The church, the culture is waiting for you to show up and bring them a solution. Show up and bring them hope. Show up and what is inside of you needs to be out in there in the culture because Christ in you is the hope of glory. So when you go out there, you get glory on people. You get God's glory on people. Christ in you needs to come out of you and touch your job, your school. Sorry, I got preaching too hard for this crowd. All of a sudden you're like, I'm like, I'm just going, I'm just telling you, I'm going on full Pentecostal. So just buckle up. As long as Bernie's not running, I'm okay. Bernie's still here. Transition is not the end. It's not the end.

It's the beginning. And can I tell you something? Oh, they're here. I waved my hand and I heard the keyboard. I was like, oh, that's magical. I can't do that everywhere. We'll use the nine o'clock for YouTube. This one's, this is a mess. The enemy attacks the hardest when you're carrying something that threatens his future. Why are you being attacked? Because you're a threat to the devil. Alright, so this point I'm going to be real with you here. Because when you've carried this so long and you're weakest, you want to quit. To be honest with you, this is a message I've carried, I've labored for. I'm not comparing this to childbirth by any sense of the word, but I'm just saying. There's a guy named Gregory the Great from 500 A.D. They always got great names back there. I'm like, somebody when I die calls me Bob the Best or Bob the Builder. Gregory the Great, he said, every preacher's pen is dipped in their own blood. You know what that means? It means that if you don't live it, don't preach it. And it means if you do, it comes to you, the word comes to you before it comes through you. I've had to sit with this word and say, am I really willing to do this? Am I willing to take these steps in my life? But I'm telling you that just like when you were there and the doctor comes in and you're at your weakest point. The doctor comes in and just says one word, you paid him 10 grand to say one word. What does he say? Push. You might want to give him a punch, but he says push. When transition comes, it's not time to be passive, it's time to push. I'm going to say something to you. Listen to me, church.

You're at a moment of birth and you have to push. It's time to push and know that God's power is behind you. It's time to push and know that God's purpose is in front of you. It's not time to sit down. It's time to stand up and pray. It's not time to walk out on your faith. It's time to hold on to your faith. And it's time to pray by faith. It's time to push and believe your prayers are making a difference. It's time to push and believe you're carrying something for the generations and the nations. So here's a question I have for you. In a second, the worship team is going to come. We carved out some extra time at the end of the preaching. I said, I want to give up 10 minutes of preaching so we can have a little time with Jesus time at the end. So we had a little over 100 or so people that came front for prayer, for things, the last service. So we're going to do that again. In fact, why don't you stand with me to your feet. And if there are any of the prayer team, staff, anybody, leaders that you can come and just be part of the prayer team, you can come to the front now. I'm going to ask you there, sitting in your seat, if this message spoke to you. If this message spoke to you. If you're carrying something too big for you. Is that you? Is that you? Anybody saying, this is too much for me. It's a God-sized problem. It's not mine. Are you weary from the pressure? You feel like you might not make it? Are you in transition? Does any of those things make sense to anyone here?

Yeah, I see hands. We had so many hands go up in the last service. I was like, we don't have enough prayer people. We're having people off the street to pray for people. So I need prayer people to come. I need prayer people to come. Because people are going to need prayer. Look, I can feel it. I can feel it in the room. I can feel the anguish that Hannah had. God, why aren't you hearing me? God, when are you going to answer my prayer? I can feel it. I can feel the disappointment of hope deferred. I can feel that. God's promised me so long. I can't even believe anything could change. I want to tell you today, right now, God gave me this message for you. He gave that message for me, too. But for you, this is your due season. And God is ready to come alongside of you and birth your purpose that he created you for. This is that moment. Do me a favor, bow your heads just for a moment. Father, I pray for each person in the sound of my voice, God. I pray for the tired ones. I pray for the weary ones. I pray for the ones that are in transition. I pray for the ones that can't see the future.

I pray for the ones that want to give up. I pray for the ones that feel like they've labored in vain and spent their strength for nothing at all. I say that what the Lord is due them is in his hand. His reward is in his hand. It's time. Now is the time of favor. Today is the day of salvation. Now is the time of favor. Today is the day of salvation I'm gonna pray a prayer if you've never given your life to Jesus I want you to pray this prayer, but I'm gonna next give you a chance to come and get some prayers So we're gonna pray this prayer I want you to pray it if you've never prayed it before and you want to receive Jesus pray this simple prayer dear Jesus I believe you're the Son of God. I Believe you died for me. I Believe you rose again. I ask you to come into my life Make all the old things new make all the dead things alive in Jesus name And if you prayed that today, you're a new creation in Christ. The old things are passed away and everything's become new but here's right now What what's happening in this room? Those of you who raised your hand before I'm in a transition I'm in a weary place I'm in a tired place Where are you? Where are you at? But just put your hands up. I want you just to come to the front We're gonna pray together. Okay, I want you to come and even if you didn't raise your hand You're if you've said well, I don't want to raise my hand, but come we're just gonna spend ten minutes a few minutes the worship team is gonna lead us in some worship and I want you in fact Why don't you do this? Why don't you participate if you're not coming? Could you just lift a hand up toward these folks? Let's lift a hand up and let's pray for them father. Would you give them grace right now father? Would you come with your strength your strength that's made perfect in our weakness and God There's some people in this room that have been weak There's some people in this in this room that had to come and say God if you don't show up

We don't know what we're gonna do next. And so God I pray you show up for them right now in Jesus name I pray that your manifest presence would come and bring peace I pray for every barren place to be opened up in their life I pray for every barren place for your seed of your word and your truth to be planted in them in Jesus name and God We ask you right now We ask you right now to give us the strength to believe to push with our prayers to push with our praise To push with our character to push so that we can see heaven come to earth in Jesus name All of me for all of you Take all my days All my life I need you And all my days All my life I need you All of me for all of you Take all my days And all my life I need you All my days All my life I need you Here I am Lord All my days All my life I need you You give love All my days You give love All my days I need you

All my days All my life You give love All my days You give love Take all my days All my life Have it all Take all my days All my life I'll be gone I'll be gone I'll be gone I'll be gone I'll be gone I'll be gone I'll be for all of you I'll be for all of you I'll be gone Take all my days All my life I'll be gone You can have all my days Have it all Have my best days Have my worst days All my days Whatever it looks like Whatever the cost Whatever the cost, Lord

Have all my days All my life Whatever the cost Whatever it takes You can have my all All my days Have all my life Have it all Come on, let's join them, let's sing it All my days, all my life Have all my days, all my life Have it all You can have it all Have all my days, all my life Have it all Whatever the cost All my days, all my life Have it all Have it all God, we just pray and declare the blessing of Genesis chapter 2 over each person here that you gave us a blessing to be fruitful in our lives, to multiply, to fill the earth and even rule over it, which just means to have authority. God, I ask that we would begin to rise up as a body, the church of Jesus Christ that we begin to take space in the culture and not let culture take space in our heads

and our bodies, but to take space in the schools and not let the schools take over the minds of our kids I pray that you would help us to take space even in the business realm and not let the monetary systems of the earth take over the way we operate, God I ask that you would help us to take up space that we pray for those who are rulers over us in government, that they would have wisdom and that they would be restrained from decisions they shouldn't make and that they would have the wisdom, there would be people around them so God, we need your church to rise up right now the earth is groaning for it, God the earth is groaning for the manifestations of the sons of God and so I ask that the body of Christ would begin to see the blessing of Genesis chapter 2 Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth Be fruitful, multiply fill the earth. And God, I thank you for a generation that won't settle for anything less. I thank you for a sold-out generation. I thank you for a generation that wants Jesus, that wants his presence. I thank you for a generation that isn't gonna compromise their morality. They're not gonna compromise their character and their integrity.

God, I thank you for that. And I thank you right now in Jesus' name that the things that tried to limit your people in the last season, that greater is he that's in us than he that's in the world. And we say we break those limitations off. We say even spirits that were allowed to operate in our lives, they can no longer operate in our sphere of influence. And God, we thank you that you have brought an atmosphere today where you're the king. We thank you that you brought an atmosphere today where confusion and chaos is no longer welcome in our minds and our community. In the name of Jesus. Come on, give God a shout of praise. I need you to do one last thing because I know how hard that the worship team worked this week. So I need you to give the loudest shout to thank them for all the work that they've done. Thank you. All right, well, I think we had church today. A little messy, a little funny, a little not. Anyway, love you guys. Have a great Mother's Day. See you when you see,

meet someone you haven't met. Say hi to someone. Bless you guys.