Weeding | Dr. Mike Woods, Sr. | 2 May 2024

Well, grace and peace everyone. Welcome as you're coming in. Guys, do me a favor, whether you're live or by replay, I need you to share this. That is so important right off the rip tonight. This word is going to be phenomenal, it's going to be a blessing to you, and the scripture says that we are blessed to be a blessing. So make sure, guys, you hit that share button, you hit the like button, you engage below, let us know you're here, say hello. Uh, we're grateful to God for what he's doing in our life, what he's doing in our ministry. I'm grateful to God for what he's doing in your life. Glory to the name of God. And tonight I am excited to teach this word, man. So I'm not gonna prolong the time at all. I'm gonna pray right now and we're gonna jump into this. So let's pray. Father, in Jesus' name, we thank you, God, for another opportunity to teach, to to preach, to share your word. And I thank you, first of all, God, for every person that is assembling live with us tonight. Father, I decree and declare that your word will go out with authority, it will go out with power, it will go out with anointing, and it will be an anointing that will destroy yokes, that will remove burdens. I declare, God, that as you sent your word and it healed them, God, as we teach sent word, God, let it go forth in a very apostolic nature and let it bring healing. Let it stitch us up again. Let it bring rest. Oh my God, restitution, reconciliation. Let it bring deliverance. Let it bring breakthrough. And we give you praise for that in advance tonight, in the mighty name of Jesus. May we be blessed by you and never impress by me. Have your way, God. And Father, we thank you that this live teaching tonight will touch the lives of every person that hears it. In Jesus' name, amen. Listen, I am so grateful again that you're here. Please hit that share button. Uh, we're streaming on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube tonight. So wherever you're watching, welcome, welcome, welcome. My name is Dr. Mike Woods. For those of you who are uninitiated, I'm glad you're here. Please don't scroll, stay with us. Uh, there indeed is a word from Jesus. Glory to God. Well, tonight we're going to continue our series. This is actually the 10th installment, I think 10 or 11, 10th installment Yeah, 10th installment of the series, When God Wins. And here recently we've been talking about the four seasons of our life. This whole teaching has been about aligning ourselves with the timing of God. You know what I've learned, guys? When you learn to accept the timing of God, you'll be a whole lot better. Hear me. You'll be a whole lot better than you are when you can accept God's timing, because his timing is never ours. You know, his timing is never, uh, predicated on society or social norms. His timing is based on a divine plan that he's already orchestrated for our lives. Listen, even before we were born, this plan was in place. It's up to us to discover it, align with it, and accept the timing that goes with that plan. I always say your God-given assignment is not your decision, it's your discovery. I'll say that again. The assignment from the Lord for your life, it's not your decision. Hear me, family, it's your discovery. You got to discover it. It's already there. It's already in place. And you know what I've learned about God? He's not this huge emotional being that when you miss the assignment or if you don't follow his principles and do what he says, you know, that he shows up and says, okay, you know, let's have a group hug, you know, I love you, and, and kind of just lets you go. No, no, he doesn't. Matter of fact, he's going to rebuke you. He's going to bring conviction. Hear me, he's not going to call a, a, a counseling meeting. He's going to convict you to use the principles necessary in the word. Hallelujah! In prayer, in worship, to get clarity about the thing that your life really is about. So tonight we want to jump right back into these four seasons we've talked about. Plowing. Please go back and watch, uh, these teachings, how that's a season we go through, working and plowing and grinding. There's a season called sowing. Glory to God! Where we sow— glory to God— seed, time, seed, time, seed and time. Glory to God! Where we have to sow ourselves. Go back and watch. We have to sow our time, our talents, our money. We have to sow in order to get a release of the things we need. Please go back and watch. Number 3, we started last week talking about the season of waiting and weeding. We didn't get the weeding, so we're going to deal with weeding tonight, and then we're going to go right into the 4th season of our life, which is harvest. And that's what everybody wants. Everybody really wants harvest without plowing, without seed, without sowing. Oh my God, without planting. They want harvest without— glory to the name of God— waiting and weeding. They wish they could jump those 3 steps and get it, but I'm telling you guys, biblically, there's no way. You gotta endure the process. Why is the process necessary, Michael Woods? Let me tell you, the process in your life is necessary because the process That stuff in between— the Bible said God declares the end from the beginning. Well, he never talks to us about the process. Well, that in the middle that we go through after he shows you the end is the ordained process. The process qualifies you to keep the end. This is why many people get things too quick and they lose them. Because they don't endure the process. I'm telling you something, I don't care how old you are, it's never too late to fulfill the assignment if you embrace the process. Here's what I know about God: even in your latter years, God will preserve you and accelerate the process so you can finish your course. He's not finished until his glory can be seen. So tonight, let's jump right into weeding. We talked— again, we talked real good on Waiting. Glory to the name of God. Hallelujah. Last week, well, let's talk about weeding because it's a part of the waiting season where God actually weeds out things in your life that can be a hindrance— people, relationships, things that really do not belong. God has a way of removing them. And here's what I know about God. Because I love about him too, if you're holding on to something that God wants to take, he'll take it from you if you don't let it go. So you might as well let it go if you know it doesn't align with your future, it doesn't align with where you're going. Just release it, just let it go and walk in the goodness of God. Walk in the assignment. You know, during this period of waiting, during this season, God really starts dealing with us— watch this— about a lot of little things. Hear me, hear me. A lot of little things. I want you to hear me because there could be little things. Hear me. In your life— hear me, guys, glory to God— that can become a problem. And where God is taking you, only thing these little things will do is actually infect you in your future where you cannot stay there. So those little idiosyncrasies, the little idiosyncratic ways, those little things are detrimental. Matter of fact, first scripture tonight, let's go to Song of Solomon 2:15. The Bible says, take us the foxes— listen to this— the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines— hear me, watch this— have tender grapes. So you got to consider, in other words, consider these foxes, they're not your friend, because every time you produce a harvest, these foxes are going to devour it because They have no respect for the value of the harvest. All they're concerned about is their belly. All they're concerned about is what they can get out of the harvest. So again, you got to examine yourself in the little idiosyncratic ways— the laziness in prayer. Oh my God, a little fox where you pray every now and then, you read your Bible every now and then, you only pray when you're in trouble, you only study when you're in trouble. Little foxes, hear me. Oh my God, you only fornicate, uh, once a month. Come on, little fox. Glory to God. I know you say I got grace. You only lie, uh, 3 times a month. Uh, little fox. Come on, come on. You only gossip and talk about people, uh, once a week. Come on. But that's a little fox. And if you don't deal with your idiosyncratic ways and keep playing the grace card on them. Not that the grace card doesn't work and you won't receive forgiveness, but here's the catch: those little foxes will spoil your harvest. Grace will get you on heaven— get you to heaven, but continuing to entertain little foxes will disdain— oh my God— or disqualify you for heaven on earth. Ooh, where you won't see the kingdom manifested in your life and the provision of the kingdom because God says, I'm gonna hold this back until you deal with these little foxes. In other words, you can't handle money. Watch this, you're praying for money, but one of your little foxes is every time God gives you an abundance of money, you blow through it quickly. Oh boy, you don't tithe. Oh my God. Come on, man. Little foxes. Little foxes. And so he says, okay, until you learn how to deal with that little fox and realize it really is a little fox and get some discipline, I cannot make this adjustment in your life and release this harvest because you're going to allow the little fox to destroy. Hear me, okay? So In this season of weeding, God starts dealing with us about those little things because he wants them out. But then on the flip side, he talks to us about— hear me— being faithful over little. Oh boy, faithful over little. Oh my God, oh my God. Oh my God, let's, let's go to some scripture. Oh my God, Matthew 25:23, let's go there. Parable. Jesus is teaching about the kingdom, right? And, uh, anytime Jesus starts talking in parables, he's trying to ensure that those listening get a clear understanding because the kingdom is really complex. But for those that may not understand it, he brings it clear to their wheelhouse where they can comprehend it and get it and apply it. That's the purpose of a parable. So here tonight I'm reading this really not just because I'm teaching, but I'm reading it because I want you to get it and I want you to apply it. Get it, apply it. Get it, do it. Revelation without application, constipation. You're stuck. All right, so Matthew 25:23 says this. It says, his lord said unto him, well done, good and faithful servant. Thou has been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy— watch this— of the Lord. Chara in Greek is the word joy. Which is delight, which is gladness, which is pleasure. Now listen, so this brings a new take on entering into a realm or a dimension of bringing pleasure to God, or watch this, pleasing God. Oh my God, today The key is to be first a good and faithful servant. Well, good is agathos in Greek, and agathos means, watch this, one of good constitution. I'm gonna break that down. One that's agreeable. Watch this, one that operates in excellence. One that is distinguished from others. Wait a minute, so you're lying once a week, you're fornicating once a month, you're praying once a week, you're reading the Bible, you're having faith once a week. Doesn't— it's not distinguishable. It's not moving in excellence. It's not— watch this, another, uh, transliteration of agathos is useful. It's not useful to kingdom advancement. So you got to be a good servant, one that is of good constitution, one that keeps the constitution. What is the constitution? The kingdom constitution is the Bible. Oh, Will Newell, it's the constitution, it's the law of the kingdom. So I'm a good servant when I keep the book. I'm not just talking about stop sinning, but I'm talking about doing what the book says. Walking by faith and not by sight, believing God for healing and deliverance. Glory to God. I'm talking about doing what the book says. I'm talking about walking in prosperity. I'm talking about walking in purpose. I'm talking about walking out our destiny. Obeying the Constitution. I'm talking about taking dominion for real. Oh boy, oh God. So that's again, you got to be a good and conjunction faithful servant, which is pistos. Y'all know what that is, it means a person who is trusty, who can be trusted, who shows themselves— watch this— faithful in the transaction of business or in the execution of commands. So yeah, you playing the grace card, but you're not a faithful servant if you're playing it every day. If you can't get free from the same thing you keep doing, if you, if you're doubting God and you're moving in fear, you're not showing yourself faithful in the execution of kingdom business. Why is this important? Because you said you were saved. And guess what? People— yeah, you, you too— are watching you, and they're trying to see. You're talking kingdom, but how do you execute in the business of the kingdom? Do you really believe the word when the rubber hits the road, or do you resort back to toil, which is the system that the world introduced you to are producing. Are y'all hearing this? Our parents introduced us on many occasions to toil, labor, work 8 hours a day to get a check to pay our bills. Toil. And most of the time we get in trouble, we, we resort back to toil. But can I submit to you, God never called you to abandon your assignment if you know your assignment. To toil and create finances. Watch this, a kingdom-minded person who's faithful in execution— some of y'all not gonna like me when I get through, and I really don't care because I'm not here for you to like me, I'm here for you to learn and for, for you to be a good kingdom citizen. Watch this, if you're faithful in the execution of kingdom business and the execution of the law of the constitution of the kingdom then you understand, watch this, that money is created. Woo! In the marketplace. And in the marketplace, not as an employee, but as a deployee who are, who are, who is actually employing others or employing themselves. And you're creating money in the marketplace. The key is, is to find out where you fit in the marketplace. See, ultimately my goal in the marketplace is to create enough wealth where people don't ever give, ever tithe. It's not necessary. That really— and that's really how I operate now. If people don't do what they're supposed to do, yeah, my goal is to continue to create wealth in the marketplace so that the things of ministry don't go lacking. Are y'all hearing this? See, the reality is I had to discover who I am in the marketplace. You know what money is? Money is what you receive— and I'm gonna get off of this. Oh boy, oh boy— when you give somebody something they cannot obtain unless you were present. I'm gonna say that again. I'm gonna say it in a different way. Money is what you get When you give somebody something they cannot get without you. So what you got to discover, what you can give people that they cannot get without you. I've been talking to my wife, uh, for several years about her cakes. And, you know, she has, you know, been doing this business baking cakes for people. And I've been talking to her since we've been together about scaling and about doing it on another level because Here's reality, in, in my honest opinion, and a whole lot of people that have partaken of her cake, there are very few people on this planet that can bake a cake like that woman. The reality is she— that's who she is in the marketplace. She can give somebody a piece of pound cake that nobody else on this planet can give. And I'm telling you, it keeps you coming back for more. Just last week, she was out at a venue selling slices of her A-list cakes, pound cake and red velvet. Sold out. Glory to God. People were standing there eating a cake when they bought it and buying several slices after, because the cake— hear me— one person even said this cake is like crack. I don't want to know what crack is like, but I, I do know that pound cake keeps you wanting more. People gave her money because in the marketplace she made an exchange. She gave them something they could not get without her. Let me cook a cake, you're not gonna give me money for that. Hallelujah. You're not going to do it. But let me produce a documentary. Let me write a script. Let me post-produce. Let me, glory to the name of God, produce a film. Let me executive produce and invest in films like I do. Let me, uh, fulfill the vision of creating. People going— people pay for that. Are you hearing me? Listen, You got to discover who you are in the marketplace so you don't abandon your assignment to toil and waste time toiling, trying to create money to do what you've called to do. Ah, so in this season, again, God deals with us— I was a little too preachy, I'm sorry— about a lot of little things. Yeah, little attitudes. Yeah, that are harmful to the harvest. Yeah, little schizophrenic attitudes, narcissistic attitudes, prideful behavior that will open the door and immediately close it as— my God, as soon as that attitude surfaces. Hallelujah, God. So When God deals with you about it, don't get offended. Take the correction and change your attitude. I'm, I'm, I'mma get out your hell, man. I'mma get out your hell. Uh, not only does he deal with us with little attitudes— excuse me— he deals with us with little compromises. Oh my God, but we compromise the word. Oh my God, because compromising becomes harmful to the harvest. Do you realize your gift can open a door for you that little foxes will close? I'll say that again. Your gift will open a door for you that little foxes will close. So you got to deal with those attitude issues. You got to deal with your problems. Y'all hear me? Stop compromising the word. Lying on taxes, lying on forms, doing things you do to get ahead. Come on. It's not worth it. It hinders the harvest. God, I hear you, I hear you. It hinders the harvest. The little compromises with people. Glory to God. The little compromises because of nepotism and family. Come on, man. No, you gotta stick to it, family or not. It's not okay to violate the constitution of the word. And, and when you have knowledge of that, if you really love them, you will share that. Oh my God, I got to get out of here, y'all. How about he deals with procrastination, which is dangerous? Some of the delays in your life, man, you have created because you procrastinate all the time. You, you, you never jump on an opportunity when you should, you always miss the timing. And a lot of times, procrastination seems to be a little thing, but really it causes huge damage to the harvest because a lot of things that are going to come forth in your life— hear me, guys— there are time sensitive. And some things you need to make sure you don't miss the timing of the Lord. Proverbs 3— yeah, I'm sorry, Ecclesiastes 3 says, to everything and every purpose there is a time, and to, to everything there's a time and a season, to every purpose under heaven. So, so timing is important, but if you're a procrastinator, you're going to always be a dollar short. Hallelujah. And always late. I got to get out of here. How about in this weeding period, he deals with laziness, and he— watch this— continually reminds us in this season that we pulling— hear me— we pulling is hard work. It's not just gonna happen on you because you want to hold on to it. You— a lot of these little things we like— come on, man, the devil doesn't tempt you with things you don't like. You, you can tempt me with alcohol, I never drink it, so that's not a temptation to me. He doesn't tempt you with things another man could never tempt me. Come on, church, because I don't like men on no day, all right? But put a fine woman in front of me, that could be tempted. Oh boy, but you have to pull the weeds to overcome the temptation. Oh boy, here we go. Oh God, hashaya. Let's go to Jonah 2:5 because I'm talking too long. Jonah 2:5. I thought I was going to be able to get into harvest today. It don't look like I am. Jonah 2:5. I got a little time, guys. Jonah 2:5. Obadiah, Jonah. There we go. 2:5. Here's what the Bible say. Y'all type that in the comments, man. Matter of fact, type this in the comments: weed pulling is hard work. Weed pulling. You ever had to pull some weeds? My daddy used to have us in the yard pulling weeds. It's hard work. It ain't nothing I ever want to do. Can I tell you something? In your life, pulling those weeds that hinder your harvest. It's hard work, but you gotta do the work and pull them. Oh my God, watch this. 2:5, Jonah 2:5. The Bible said, the water compassed me about, even to the soul. The depth closed round about me. Watch this. The weeds were wrapped about my head. This is important. Jonah was— again, this is when he got thrown overboard. Glory to God! Water encompassed him. Hallelujah! Even to the soul. He was drowning. Here it is. The depth closed him about. There was no land in sight. But here's the interesting thing. The— which he hit rock bottom, the weeds wrapped around his head. Sometimes we have weeds— hear this— in our mind, according to this text, that have to be pulled out. It's stinking thinking. It's inadated, outdated religious thinking that keeps us in a time warp sometimes, that keeps us from experiencing and walking out the blessing of God. Oh my goodness. Oh, oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. And the weeds are in our head. And watch this, weeds in our mind that come from wrong kinds of thinking. And some of the thinking we think is okay, but it's really wrong. You know, it's really wrong. It, it, it's Okay that you learned it, but it doesn't make it right because you've been doing it all your life. Wrong thinking is wrong thinking. And I had to come to grips with that in my own life, that there are some things, some thought processes were just wrong about money, about people, about business, about ministry. And I had to pull those weeds up. Some people want to be right so bad, oh my God, that they won't pull the weeds up, guys. But listen, you got to pull them weeds up, man. I, I know because they have long roots, but it's going to take time to get them out. Just like if you got a, a healthy plant and you got to pull the weeds out that's got long roots. You got to take your time to get those weeds out so you don't damage the healthy plant. Watch this. You got to be very deliberate in getting that wrong thinking out the right way so you're not discouraged because you've been rooted in this wrong philosophy, this wrong way of doing things, this wrong way of looking at life. It's your vantage point, so no one can take that away from you, but it doesn't make it right because you learned it. I want you to understand that just because you learned it, it doesn't make it right. And watch this, bad theology is bad theology. We all have been exposed to it. Bad education, bad wisdom, we've all been exposed to those, but you have to be subject to deprogram yourself and be washed by the washing of the word. Oh God, I declare now that your mind, in the name of Jesus, is being washed by the word of the living God. I decree and declare by the power of Jesus Christ and the authority of his word that the word of God will uproot every area of stinking thinking in your life, in the name of Matter of fact, say this with me. Say, in the name of Jesus, I decree and declare that stinking thinking is dismissed and destroyed from my life. And I declare that my mind is being washed with the word, and I have the same mind in me that was in Christ Jesus. Listen, I need you to receive your freedom right here in this instant from stinking bad thinking. Hear me. Omanshia. Rakura bababasa. We give you the glory, God. We give you the honor. We give you the praise. Oh, you're wonderful and mighty, God. Listen, here's what I know about the Holy Spirit. He knows— listen to me— how to get the weeds out of us. And encourage us at the same time. Because it could be very discouraging to let go of a mindset that we thought was right and to really just submit and resolve, I was wrong, this is right. And if I want to get the harvest of the kingdom and see kingdom emerge out of my life and the principles of the kingdom come forth out of my life, I got to get rid of this. That could be hard. But thank God that the Holy Spirit can encourage us while he's ruling things out. You know, the reality is when we don't get things at the time we want to— listen to this— it drives us deeper to God. When we don't get what we want when we want, and we can't hold on to what we think is right What this does is push us closer to God. It drives us deeper to God. Hear me, hear me. Aye shotorobore. Maikilidididi osontobabaya. We give you the glory, God. We give you the honor. We bless you. Hallelujah. We honor you. God have mercy. This— so that says to me that waiting is also a time of uprooting and rooting. So it's uprooting the bad but rooting, planting a new root and a new depth in God. So while I'm releasing something, here it is, I'm also being rooted in God at a deeper level. Oh, we— let's go to Ephesians, man. Let's go to Ephesians. Ephesians 3:17. God hammer. I pray y'all getting something out of this tonight. Ephesians 3:17. I'm almost done, I promise you. The Bible said that Christ— watch this— may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye being rooted and grounded in love. Oh my God. So God says in 3:16, he wants me to be rooted deep in his love and secure in his love. So I should know that he loves me enough that whatever I let go, he's never going to take anything— watch this— without replacing it with something better. So by faith, I want him to dwell in my heart, in my heart, in the center of my life. I want him to be in control. How does that happen, Michael? It happens when I'm rooted and grounded in love. I can't really get rooted until I let go the bad roots and let God— oh my God— root us in a deeper level. God, I love you. Woo! So God says, I want the harvest to come, and I want I want you to be secure in the midst of the process. You do— you're secure because you know he loves me. Just touch yourself, say he loves me. I'm telling you, he loves you. He loves you. He loves you with all that he is. Glory to God. Security is a part of our heritage. God says, I want you secure. Listen, secure knowing that that God has you. Listen, in my walk with God, to be totally honest and totally transparent, there have been times I felt insecure. I felt like I'm praying, I'm doing what I know to be right, you know, I'm in the will of God, but don't seem like you got me. And I was reminded in those moments that by questioning that I'm questioning his love, and I'm not— and I wasn't rooted in love like I needed to be. Here's what I need you to do: get rooted in love so you know for real, not because of religion, not because somebody screamed it at you that God loves you, but through relationship, through up-closeness, through time with him, through examining what he has done his year over year in your life, that you know he really loves you, man. Not based on what you read, not based on what you heard preached, but get rooted in your testimony where he has actually shown you his love. I'm almost done, man. Go to— go touch yourself, say, I'm supposed to be secure. You shouldn't be walking around with doubt, living from hand to mouth, robbing Peter to pay Paul, worrying about where your next dime is going to come from. No, you ought to be secure in God because that's a part of your heritage. Y'all don't believe it. Y'all don't believe it. Okay, y'all don't believe it. Go to Isaiah. I got to show you everything. So go to Isaiah. I don't mind showing you. 54. Glory to God. Go to Isaiah 54. Hallelujah. At 17. Y'all read it, quoted it, spoke in tongues over it, ran over it. Glory to God. But let's read it. Hallelujah. 54:17. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. Even the weapons you form against yourself by holding on to bad roots, bad theology, and bad wisdom. And the little foxes. See, holding on little foxes is you forming a weapon against yourself. We like to get in a lot of talk about demons and witchcraft, and you know, those things are real. You know, I, I agree, I've cast out many, glory to the name of God, to his glory. But I believe the church has too big of a devil, and I believe many a times the weapons formed against us are weapons we form against ourselves. Many a times we make life harder, we make situations worse because we form weapons against ourselves. But the Bible said no weapon formed against you shall prosper. In other words, it's powerless, it won't work. Let's read why. And wait a minute, and every tongue that comes against you in judgment thou shalt condemn. It didn't say God would condemn it. It said you would condemn it. This is Isaiah talking to you. He said you would condemn it. So when tongues come against you, instead of getting bent out of shape because people talking about you, they lying on you, they gossiping, they writing blogs about you— so what? Don't fight it, just condemn it. Thou shalt condemn it. Rasha in Hebrew, which means you will Oh my God, cause it to experience guilt. Watch this. How do you bring guilt on someone that raises their tongue against you? You outlive what their tongue is saying. In your life, you prove different than what comes out of their mouth. Listen, I've been through it many times. People said many things, people wrote many things. At the end of the day, what I did was, was outlive what they were saying. I got to get out of here. I got to go. He says, this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness of me, says the Lord. So God says, it's in your heritage. Listen, guys. Oh my God. I ain't going to get to get in the harvest, man. I done spent too much time on this. But listen, it's in your heritage. Hear me. It's in your heritage. Oh my God. Today. Oh my God. It's in your heritage to have security for weapons formed not prospering. To know that God is with you no matter what comes against you. You just got to weed out all that other stuff that makes you feel defeated. Watch this— that makes you feel like you got to take matters into your own hands because maybe God's not listening. But I need you to know God is listening, and it's never okay to take matters in your own hands, but it's always okay to trust him. One last scripture, go to Colossians. Colossians. I'm sorry, guys. Colossians. I gotta close. Colossians 3. Colossians 3:20. Oh my God, today I pray you're getting something out of this. No, I'm sorry, Colossians 2:7, not 3:20. That's one of my favorite scriptures, 3:20. Listen to this: rooted and built up. The word rooted is Rhizo, R-H-I-Z-O-O. This word is powerful. It means to cause, to strike against the root, to be— watch this— to be strengthened by the roots, to declare as firm, unmovable, fixed, established. Watch this, to be thoroughly grounded. So touch yourself and say, God wants me thoroughly grounded. He wants me strengthened by my roots. Listen to this, guys. The roots determine the fruit. I'm gonna say that one more time. The root determines the fruit. Look at your life as we close. Take a close look at your life. If you don't like the fruit, you need to uproot the bad roots and get rooted in God, his plan, his word, in relationship with him. Oh, he said be rooted and built up in him. Ain't no bones about it. So don't root yourself in— watch this. I love my parents, but it says don't be rooted in your parents' philosophy. It says be rooted in him. I love my daddy, wise man. I love my mama, glory to God, smart woman. I love my matriarchs. I, matter of fact, I've been blessed to have two moms. I love both of them. Glory to God. And at the end of the day, God tells me not to be rooted in them. I know you love your mama, your daddy, but can, can I help you? Just like I'm a parent, I'm a father, I'm not always right. My mama is not always right. My daddy's not always right. I'm going to talk about your mama. I'm sorry, I'm going to talk about your mama right here. Your mama is not always right, and some of the things mama told you was wrong, but you got rooted in that philosophy. Maybe it worked for her, but God is saying, I need you to be rooted and built up in him, in him, Jesus, in his word. Watch this, established in the faith. Oh my God, these are some strong words. Babaio, babaio in Greek. This, this word babaio means that you're made firm and you are confirmed. Oh, firm and confirmed in faith. In the— in what faith? In faith in God. Not in philosophies, not in old wise fables, not in common sense. Oh my God, oh my God. Did you see? Either we're gonna accept the word or not. Not in book knowledge, in faith in what God says, his word and his word alone. That's what I got to be firm in, his word and his word alone. Lord have mercy, I got to get out of here, man. Watch this. As you have been taught— here's the issue. New. So many times it's hard to uproot the old and root the new in the word because we haven't been taught. We've been screamed at, we've been hooted at, we've been get ready, get ready, get ready, get ready at. You need to be taught. Ah, shatiti de kosi. You need teaching. Well, someone said, what do you mean taught? Didaskō in Greek, what I'm doing right now, which means you hold a discourse with others in order to instruct them. The role of you in that scenario is that of a learner, that of a teacher, that of a student learning from the teacher. I'll say that again. Your role in that scenario is that of a student learning from the teacher who is releasing discourse, not discord. We shouldn't use the pulpit for discord. We should use it for discourse, which means you shouldn't leave my presence worse off than you were before you came in it because of the instruction. It means also to deliver didactic discourses, which means the teaching is pointed, it's perennial, which means it can be understood, it's passionate, which means the teacher teaches it with passion. They teach it because they live it, and it's powerful, it's life-changing. That's didactic instruction. It's pointed, it's perennial, it's passionate, it's powerful. I got to get out of here, man. He said, but I need you to be rooted. That's why you need teaching. That's why you need to tune in every Thursday. Every time you see a live, you need to be here. You see messages on Sunday, you see podcasts I post. Well, you need to get the teachings so you can be rooted. You can't take this lightly. Nothing is more important, because the more you disregard the teaching, the more you live according to the bad roots. I got to get out of here. He says, abounding therein, which means live by it, the teaching. Don't just hear it and receive it, live it. About— take it and let it accrue compound interest, abounding interest. Let it spill over into how you live. And he said, do it with thanksgiving. Oh my God, remember that word bambuya? I love this, man. I love this. That will establish, uh, bamboo. Ayo, bamboo. Ayo, it's what we get words like bamboo. Listen to this. A bamboo tree, particularly specifically A Chinese bamboo tree, listen to this, it does not grow above ground hardly, and I'm done, for the first 4 years. Matter of fact, for the first 4 years, it's growing 96% underground. This is powerful stuff. It's not seen. It's not in front of your phone trying to do a live, trying to do a podcast. Folks out here doing podcasts, trying to do lives, and they don't know anything. Their life is crippled, jacked up. What you need to do is be growing underground. Oh boy. Oh boy. Yeah, you, you. No, you need to be taking the position of a learner. Watch this. You know why? Because it's that bamboo tree is developing its massive root system underground. See, to be rooted, you need a root system that strengthens you, that establishes you. So as you study, as you pray, as you build relationship with the word, how do you think you, you've been in religion for 40 years, that all of a sudden you can uproot that overnight. You can't. You got to go through the process and start replanting underground by getting the teaching, by learning, cutting your teeth on the word. Oh my God, listen, in the 5th year, that root system grows as much as 80 feet underground and 80 feet in the air. So the underground root system is developed to push forth what will be seen. All the knowledge I have in the marketplace and ministry is because I've taken years to develop a root system underground. Not really concerned about who sees me, who knows me. I was— I have been developing a root system underground so that things people see now, they partake of. You partaking of this message, whether podcast, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, it's the result of building something underground. Ah, listen, if that Chinese bamboo did not build that root system, it could not support the tremendous growth. So you got to build a system that can support where you're going, God's end plan for your life. You got to trust God during the waiting and weeding. You know why? Because he's making arrangements, guys, for that which is super abundant in your life to come forth with power and authority. And it's going to be far above you can ask or think. It's going to super exceed your expectations. So let him do what he's doing underground. Your greatest days, guys, is still ahead. Let's pray. Father, in Jesus' name, thank you so much for this word. We receive it, God, we receive it. And I pray simply tonight, God, that every bad root of knowledge, of wisdom, of education, of stinking thinking that has been sown into our life, and many times that we accepted as normal because that's all we knew, God, I pray that you will help us tonight to recognize the bad systems, to dismiss religion and open our mind, open our heart up, and see those little foxes, those little attitudes, those little compromises, those— that procrastination, that miseducation, that misinforming, and give us the power to uproot rooted. And as we uproot— root us in you— let us submit to the teaching that will produce what you planned for us. And we give you praise for it now, in Jesus' name. Amen. Listen, guys, I love you with the love of the Lord. Thank you for tuning in tonight. This has been so great to teach you. Listen, I want to invite you to be a support to this ministry. The ways to give are on the screen. Please support us. Every time you give, we are believing God for our own facility at Rhonda Church. We have been renting, and God said no more renting, so we're not doing any more renting. We need a building. Your support is going to help us do that. And listen, our goal is to do this debt-free. And as you sow and as you give, it gives an opportunity— oh my God— to do what God has asked us to do. We love you guys. Y'all be blessed. The heaven smile upon you is my prayer. Until next time, peace.