Healing for The Future| Focus on Greatness Podcast | #201

Um, just like you stated, I do feel like that we are in a season where this topic that we are talking about on tonight, healing for the future is so very important.

We're going to be in Jeremiah chapter 6 verses 16 and I'm going to start reading it from the NIV version of the Bible and then we will go from there and see what the Holy Ghost got to say to all of us.

So this is what the Lord says, stand at the crossroads and look, ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it and you will find rest for yourselves.

Um, I love to be able to first give unto us some form of context so we can understand not just what this scripture verse is saying, but we can understand why God is even speaking to his people right now in this form and kind of what's going on.

So in the summary of what this is, you have a group of individuals, a group of believers that have got in a custom of doing certain things, they're doing the normal everyday structure pieces of what we would say we as believers are supposed to be doing.

And in this process of going after this and this process of of living this day to day life, they got to a point and to a place in the journey where they were doing the rituals without the relationship.

They were going through some of the steps while still functioning through some of the pain.

And so what we realize in this context of time is because of a variety of different things that was going on that now God is giving unto his people one more opportunity before the change happens.

And specifically what we see in this context of scripture is the change that's about to happen is God is saying I'm tired.

I'm tired of where y'all are and I love y'all too much that I cannot allow you to stay where you are because I understand what's it about to affect next.

So before I allow you to stay in the state that you're in, I'm going to do what any good father would do and I'm going to give you either a choice to make the adjustment in the change or I'm going to have to bring something that's going to have to deal with the stuff that you don't want to change.

Now in this verse of scripture in verses 16 of Jeremiah chapter 6 he's now giving them I would say the last opportunity to be able to make an adjustment.

So I want to read it again and then we'll lean into what I believe how God is speaking and talking to us on tonight.

So again in Jeremiah 6 and 16 he says this is what the Lord says stand at the crossroads and look.

Acts for the ancient paths. Acts where the good way is and walk in it.

And you will find rest for your souls.

Now I want to give us this before we dive any deeper I'm trying my heart is Mr. Michelle I'm trying my hardest to teach just so we can I want to go too much and too fast but I do want to make sure I teach this as much as possible.

I want to start and give unto us the definition of what healing is because I think sometimes if we don't have a defining understanding of what the word is.

We come with our own context of what we think it is and it doesn't get us to the same destination so I want to be able to give unto us this definition so healing is the process by which God makes what is wounded.

Broken or distorted whole again and we'll read that part again and then I'll finish the definition but healing is the process by which God makes what is wounded.

Broken or distorted whole again so that it can function according to his original design and can carry his future purchases.

Now the reality of what this context of what we think it is and what we think it is and we'll read that one more time just so we can all be on the same page and then we'll go from here.

Healing is the process by which God makes what is wounded, broken or distorted whole again so that it functions according to his original design and can carry his future purposes.

Now the reality of what this context of what we're talking about tonight is this is and I'm going to just give it to us as plain as possible.

What God needs us to be is healed for the future.

The context of why is because some of the wounded broken and distorted places that we have been trying to still function and not deal with we have been using as a filter of how we do life.

How we do relationships how we do ministry how you do your business whatever your thing is you have been filtering it through the pain point through the broken places through the distorted areas and he's saying for what I have planned for the future for you you can't keep living like this.

So now what Jeremiah says what Jeremiah says is now we are standing at a crossroads and the crossroads is God is saying which one are you going to choose are you going to choose to be healed.

Are you going to choose to keep living in the pain.

Are you going to choose to be healed or are you going to consistently choose to be able to live in the wounds.

Are you going to stay in the spot where you're going to blame your past but not helping you get to your future or are you going to allow me to heal the places that has been broken so I can get you to your future.

I believe that reason why that God is making this such an important time in where we are is because the reality of what the future looks like is not what we see in our present let me make sure that this is very clear.

I believe that in our future is going to be more chaos than it is currently.

I believe that in our future there's going to be a lot of different moving parts that's happening that what we see currently right now but if you are functioning on a broken leg trying to run down the street you and go get that far.

But also a person that is in a broken state I can put too much on you.

I cannot entrust you with the way to your things because you can carry what you got.

And the reason why you can't really effectively carry what you got is not because God is not the one that's assisting in helping you but the reality of it is it's because every time he gives a higher responsibility you fall back on your pain.

You fall back on the wounded spaces.

Okay let me just give it to you in this aspect if he asked you to do something that that looks close to the arena or around the corner of something that hurt you in the past you would be like the Bible talks about one of the profits that he sent to be able to go and speak to a nation that he didn't like by the name of Jonah.

And the Bible says that Jonah had to go through hell and high water just to literally get to the space that God designed him to go just to give a word of repentance he didn't want to do it because of his own wounds.

And just to show you that he didn't get over it the Bible says that after he gets over there.

After he communicates what God gives him to communicate the structure says that after it was all said and done he still was in his feelings.

Because why you are a wounded and hurt individual that I'm trying to entrust you with my work but you have not gotten healed.

So God is saying I need you to be healed and I need you to be able to make the decision will you be healed now.

So my first when I started to really look at this I started to ask God I was like wait a minute now.

Now now you are you asking the question do we want to be healed or do we need to ask you the question just heal me and he said no it's both.

The scripture shows us this the scripture shows us this when Jesus would come to an individual that might have been blocked.

He would come to an individual and this would be the question that he would ask them.

A question that didn't make sense it was a question to me that was obvious you already know the answer but the question that he would ask is what do you want to be healed.

Do you want to see.

And the reason I'm thinking in my mind why would you ask a person that you see they they broke it.

Why would you ask them if they want this.

He said because at the end of the day Hiram is their decision.

Your decision if you're going to stay there another year.

Are you going to change it now.

And here's the context that I hear some of us he's already asked you and you're repeating the year.

Because the reality is God has a future for us God already has a plan for us we read this context all the time Jeremiah chapter 29 verses 11 that we know that God has a plan for us.

But here's the thing God knows the plan and God actually also knows when he needs you to stop being in a broken spot.

He also recognizes and understands and knows and should know because of the prayer.

He knows how important it would be.

How important this is if you don't get here.

Okay let's look at let's look at a person that I believe is a great example.

And it's a man by the name of David.

David is a person that has from his home spot starting at the beginning he has he has a relational problem he has a home problem.

He has a problem in an issue with his relationship with his father he has a problem in an issue of a relationship that he has when it comes in reference to with his siblings he has he has a personal emotional issue that he is already dealing with.

We see in scripture he now gets into a different place in a different position where now he's connected to a man a king by the name of Saul now while he's connected to this man by the name of Saul he has a son by the name of Jonathan and now he's thinking I have an opportunity to get a great relationship.

I have an opportunity to get something that I didn't get before.

Now he gets a relationship with Jonathan and Jonathan in him are close as I mean two two thieves in a pot like just they they wrote and looked beside by side.

But now I have to go through the same problem.

Now not do I have a disconnection with the father.

But now a person that I looked at as a father wants to take my life not because I did something wrong just because be being who I am.

This is the same issue and the same cup and the same wound that I had with my other father.

And now I'm running from the person that I wanted to just love.

I wanted him just to accept me.

I wanted him to just see me.

I wanted him not to mistreat me.

And now the scripture says this specific person that's anointed this specific person that is called this specific person that's future is he's not just supposed to be king.

His future is so important that if David doesn't get healed it impacts the next generation and generations after him that are supposed to be saying I'm of the tribe of David.

Now this impact goes all the way to where the scripture says that Jesus is supposed to now come and say that I am all.

So if David doesn't get healed it's so much that changes for the future.

So let me ask you a question you can ask only an answer for yourself.

What will be impacted if you don't heal?

Let's give an anapiece who will be impacted if you don't heal?

And then I'm going to ask a real question how long do you want to stop being healed? How much more can you bleed out?

How much more do you have to be able to continue to try to fight this thing by yourself?

How much longer how much energy and strength do you really think you got that you're going to continually walk in your pain point?

How long do you think we got?

So he's saying you're at a cross road and the cross road is a decision that only you can make.

This is a group effort. This is an individual conversation.

Yes we own this live and we're having this wonderful conversation but at the end of the day it's a one on one dialogue that God is having with you just like God is having with me.

How long are you going to stay in that place?

Okay let's I'm going to give this I'm going to come back to my notes in a minute Mr. Stalin's I'm going to but I have to hit it this way because I feel this way.

How long are you going to continue to live by the narrative of what they did to you?

Answer this question. How has that narrative been working for your progress?

How has what they didn't do help you to go forward?

How does the things that you have have taken responsibility for that wasn't your fault?

How long do you want to hold on to that?

I'm slowing it down. I'm slowing it down.

Because here's the thing.

The longer we have an open wound.

That wound does get infected.

The longer that we continue to keep that open wound the reality is everything you're doing is through that pain point.

The advice you give is through your filter of your pain.

The stuff you give away or how you treat people is through the filter of your pain points.

It's through the places that you have not gotten healed yet.

So we have to not just stand in the place of saying, hey, this is the decision that I'm going to make.

I'm no longer going to stay in a place where I'm unhealed.

I want to get in a place God where I'm healed because my future is at stake.

If my future is at stake, here's the real question.

Is it good enough?

Do you want it bad enough?

And let me clarify something because when we clarify this, I'm not asking, do you want riches enough?

Do you want success enough?

The contents of what I just described for healing is for his purpose.

Do you want his purpose enough?

Do you want God's fulfillment to happen enough in your life?

Do you want it bad enough that you'll remove yourself from the pain?

So you can get to what he called you to.

I remember my uncle said something years, years, years, years ago.

And he said it was a very powerful statement that I still believe is what is echoing even still today in me.

As he said this, he says, my calling is calling me.

What's in my future is calling me from my present.

And it's saying to me, you can no longer be that broke.

You can no longer use those excuses because I need you to behold.

Now what we see when the scripture shows us so many different times, what we start to see in these contexts is we see that the scripture allows us to know that not only does God want to heal us,

but healing deals with the one element.

But God wants to make us whole.

That means the mindset that have that that that you have built because of this pain point.

That means the behavior that you have that you have created because of these wounds.

That means the way that you've been loving on people, the way that you've been distancing yourself from people.

All of those areas, the way that you think about yourself, the way that you've been thinking about God, all of those things have to now be healed.

Because some of us, some of us have actually gotten in internally in our minds, we have blamed God for the pain.

How are you going to heal me and you don't want that I'm mad at?

This could not happen. The reason why it happened is because you didn't do nothing for me.

You didn't step in. You didn't provide you didn't protect you didn't do you didn't do you didn't do and God is saying wait a minute, wait a minute.

Let's let's step back because some of the things that you are blaming me for is some of the decisions that you made.

Some of the decisions some of the things that you are blaming me for you got some form of responsibility in this role.

But even even with all the pieces that we can say, even with all the explanations that we can give, the Bible says that God works all things for my good.

So God, I need you to figure however you go work this up, however you're going to use the pain for your glory, however you're going to use this story for your glory, however you're going to use this, this, this life, this journey, these things that I've went through, my ups, my downs, my ends, my outs, all the things that I've carried all of these, however you're going to take these pieces and use it for my for your glory, do it.

I'm going to make the choice now, yes, yes, I want to be here because I cannot continue to repeat this.

Now here's this, here's the context, but I need us to be able to see the context that I want us to see is right now I'm talking about you.

I'm talking about what happens and what's at stake for you, you walking in the call, you walking in the assignment, you being able to do what God has been pushing you to do, but you're being so afraid because of your pain points.

You know what God has been calling you to do, but it's so broken that you're sitting in a box, you're sitting in your space, you're sitting behind this corner, you're sitting behind these walls all because you're saying, God, why would you use something broken like me?

How could God want to use somebody like me that did this and messed up here and did all these things? Why would you use me? How can you call me to do?

God has said, no, that's exactly what I'm calling. I'm calling you like a called Moses. Moses was a man that was that was dealing with identity crisis on top of his anger, anger issues.

He was raised as an Egyptian when he was born in Israel life, struggling now with his internals, struggling with his back and forth, struggling with his pain points.

Now he's made a decision because now he's he's defending something that he don't even understand it's a part of his assigned.

The scripture says now Moses runs away in fear for his life and years go down the line and God now says, listen, you had a crossroads son.

I know you've been over here doing this work, but you've been in pain.

I know you've been over here doing this, you've been over here helping this man over here and with his house and with his children and you and created a family and you've been living with this and you never dealt with it, but we got to deal with it now.

So this is what we're going to do. We're going to go back to where your pain is.

We're going to go back to the thing that you ran from the thing that you didn't want to actually deal with we're going to have to go back to it.

But this time when you go back, I need you to I need to deal with something that you was afraid to do then.

You were thinking you were what you were trying to walk in it, but you couldn't walk in it in your pain point.

You were so confused, you you you function out of frustration and anger.

But let's deal with this painful.

I want to use you. I'm not good enough, God.

I study.

I have a problem with my with my Congress. I don't know how to formulate words.

I don't know how to put this thing together. I don't I don't know how to really do this.

Why don't you choose somebody else?

Yes. No, I understand. I know where your pain is.

I know what your struggle is. I know where your insecurities are.

And I'm still calling you to do something great.

Moses then follows this instruction leaves his family goes back to where his pain was.

And as a result of this moment, he delivered millions of people.

That was no longer not supposed to stay in this state of slavery.

But I want to pause. But what if he never got healed?

What if he actually would have made the choice not to do it at all?

What if you don't make the decision that affects your children?

What if the thing that you don't get healed from the next generation still has to deal with?

What if the trauma that you have been living with that you've never shared or explained to anybody else?

Is the very thing that the enemy is keeping you whole hostage with?

He says, okay, good. You didn't want to heal from it? Perfect.

Let me do it to the next one.

Let me do it to your child because they can't come to you for help as you ain't healed from it either.

So who gonna get them out the hole?

Everybody's in the same pain point. Everybody's in the same struggle.

We are getting the same space of where the people are in Jeremiah chapter 6.

We are now getting comfortable functioning but distant.

We are getting comfortable functioning but broken.

We become almost like a functioning alcoholic because we know how to do all the steps.

We know how to say the right words.

We know how to say the right movement.

We know when to do.

We know when not to do. We know how to do this. We know how to do this.

We have literally became actors.

And life has just become your stage.

And now God is saying and listen.

Let me get your attention.

I need you to heal.

And let me let me be very clear.

I need you to heal because if you don't heal,

now only are you going to repeat this cycle.

But here's the thing.

You don't heal the places that you haven't healed from will eventually be exposed.

Because you won't be able to handle the weight of the next if you don't heal in the next.

So there's so much that's at stake.

I believe that God is sharing with all of us.

It's time to get healed for our future.

Because what God's trying to do in the future.

It can only happen in a healed space.

It can only happen through healed hearts.

It can only happen through whole people.

I'll say this.

I'll say this.

Sometimes faith gives us the strength to do.

Faith just by the word.

The Bible says we all know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

So we yeah, we have gained the faith that we need to make a decision.

But here is what I want you to hear.

The Bible shows, I'm going to say Matthew chapter 13 where there are these different rounds of where the seed was sung.

One of the grounds that sometimes that we only focus on is the stony ground.

I was so stoned that literally the seed couldn't even get in.

But there's one ground that I believe also that is vitally important.

And it's the ground where the scripture says that it did get in.

It actually got in and it started getting deep.

But then it says what the pressures of life started to come and it literally choked the word out.

But if we read the same context, this is what the scripture does say.

It says, but the one that understood the word.

The person that had an understanding of what the scriptures what the word was actually being said.

They were able to hold on to it.

They were able to get it in and get it down.

They were able to get it a part of their life where now they are seeing some produced 30 60 on 104.

So I want to make sure that before I get off that we have an understanding.

God has not managed you.

God loves you enough to say, I can't let you stay broken.

And here's how good God is.

God is so loving and so caring that he says, listen, I can't leave you broken.

So I'm giving you the context of I want you to make a choice.

Do you want to be healed?

And if you want to be healed, this is what the scripture says, come on to me.

All ye that are having latent and I will give unto you rest.

If you come to me as Jehovah Rapha, the God that heals, I'm not a healer only of your sicknesses and disease.

But I'm a healer of your emotions and your mindset.

But you got to come to me, make the decision that today, not tomorrow.

This is not one of those where it's like, you know what?

I'm going to start my workout next week on Monday because I want to start it at the top of the week.

No, to say one of those.

This is an in the moment decision.

Do you want to be healed or not?

You can clearly make the decision because of the why.

Somebody's why on here.

Somebody that is listening is because I'm tired of being broken.

Somebody is saying I'm tired of being hurt.

I'm tired of staying in the same cycle of space that I've been in.

I want to be healed.

And so if this is where we are, let me give you a practical go forward.

Because we can say it, but now we got to live this.

If we heal, Jeremiah gives unto us the instructions.

This is what Jeremiah 6 in 16 says, we are standing now at the crossroads.

And we're looking.

Now acts for the ancient past and acts where the good way is and walk in it.

We've made the decision.

Now God, give me the word to walk in it.

God, show me how I can get out of where I'm at to where you're trying to get me to go.

Show me where the way is.

Show me how I can get there.

Show me how I can get myself out.

Show me how I can get my family out.

Show me how I can walk in your presence.

Show me how I can get to your glory.

I want to live for your purpose.

You got to show me.

So I make the decision today, tonight, that God I'm wanting to, I'm asking, heal me.

Now I'm asking, show me.

Because I want to walk this thing out.

So on a day-to-day basis, your call and your response to God.

Show me what you want me to do today.

Do I keep my mouth shut when I'm in pain?

Do I not respond the way I used to?

Do I need a, I need a, I need a, I need a, I need a scripture for the day.

Give me my devotional time.

Show me you in this time while I'm spending time with the king.

Give me the instructions, the words of life that I can be able to live.

Because God, I want to be healed for the future.