Beauty For Ashes - Hope Carpenter

Well, welcome everybody. Listen, I'm so glad you're here. We are going to have some church tonight together. Wherever you are, all over the world, wherever you're tuning in, please type that in in the box below, let me know where you are. Indonesia, United States, South Carolina, California, Texas, Hawaii, Canada, Europe, wherever you are, welcome. We are excited that you are with us tonight. So get you a cup of coffee, get you some water, sit down, get your blanket. You might not be able to stay in that little cozy blanket for long because you know you're going to be up shouting, getting your hands up, praising the Lord. We're going to talk about beauty for ashes, beauty for ashes. It's a promise of God. He says all of the broken places, all of the burnt up places, all of the destroyed places, he says, I promise I'm going to going to give you beauty. It's a trade. He said, you give it to me, I'm going to turn around and make something beautiful out of it. You know, God did that for me. He did that for me and I know he's done it for many of you. I've written a book about it. It's called the Most Beautiful Disaster. If you don't have your copy, go to Amazon Right now, hopecarpenter.com, get your copy. It's going to change your life. It's going to revolutionize your life. It's going to change how you look at pain. It's going to change how you look at Trau and events in your life. Listen, anything in the hand of God. He can take the most devastating things in your life and shift them and change them and turn them around for your good and for his glory. If God's done that for you, put something in the chat box there. Let us know what God's done for you, how we can pray for you. It's going to be good. Share this. Like it? Call your friends, tell them to tune in. Are you ready? Oh, I'm ready. Have you ever been to Israel? I've never been to Israel. I'm 52 years old, never been to Israel. We had plans to go this June and with all the shutdown and everything, we had to cancel our plans. Brokenhearted, devastated. I want to go so bad, but I have so many friends who have been to Israel many times and they talk about their experiences and where, when they walk down the streets and the alleys and the places that they know that Jesus walked and the people of the Bible walk those streets and the stories that we know and where he ministered. And they tell me all these amazing testimonies of what God's done in their lives when they visited. And there's a place there called the Wailing Wall. And it is the actual ruins of the temple that Solomon built. And it's this huge monument today where Christians go and Jews go and they stick their prayer in the Wailing Wall and they rock back. And as a symbol and magical, transformational things have happened in people's lives, major encounters in the presence of God when they go to the Wailing Wall. And listen, it's not the actual temple. It's not the actual temple that's built there. It's just the ruins. It's just the remains. But it is a testament of the power and the glory of God. Strong when Solomon built the temple that the priest said that they could not go in and minister, that the power of God was so present, the brazen altar and all the lambs and all of the sacrifices that have been made in that temple and offerings offered up to God. And Solomon is the one who built this temple. And Scripture tells us that Solomon was the wisest, wealthiest man ever known. Listen, Elon Musk is not the wealthiest. He's not the wisest. Bill Gates is not the wealthiest or the wisest. Solomon was the wealthiest and the wisest man ever known. There has been no wisdom ever before or ever after. Solomon, Scripture tells us in First Kings 4, verse 29, it says God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight and a breadth of understanding as measureless understanding that is measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the east and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else, this man Solomon. He built this amazing, detailed edifice where the actual glory of God would come and sit. Listen, if you want to know about a person, you need to watch what they build. If you want to know what's in someone's head, you want to know the strength of their wisdom and their understanding and their learnings. You watch what they build, you watch their life. I'm not talking about what they physically build. You watch what they construct with their life. So David was supposed to build this temple, but the Bible says that God told him no. There is too much war and too much blood on your hands. So David is Solomon's daddy. Okay, the temple was in David's heart to build. It was his desire to build, but God said no. But his son built it. So God really did say yes. Whoo y' all are not getting what I'm saying. It was in David's heart to build. God said, no, you can't build it. But his lineage, his son is the one who carried out his vision, who carried out the instructions to build the temple. So it really was a yes. So some. Sometimes God's no in your life is really a yes. Won't somebody shout amen? No may mean not now. No could mean for you, not now. This is a word for somebody. No may mean hold on, keep praying, keep believing, keep sowing. Keep doing what you know God has called you to do. Listen, timing is not up to you. Timing is always up to God. See, we live in this Kronos of time. You and I live in time, but God is not in time. God is outside of time. God lives in Kairos. We live in Kronos. But listen, if God has given you a word, it does not matter how many days, it does not matter how many years have passed. If God has given you a word, hold on. It may be your son, it may be your daughter, it may be your grandson or your granddaughter. No does not always mean no. No could mean not now. Not now. So it was in David's heart to build the temple. David collected all of the resources for the building of the temple. The trees of Lebanon. David purchased and Solomon. Listen to me. Solomon used his father's resources. Whew. I hope you're getting this. Solomon was able to construct and build the place where the glory of God was going to reside. But. But Solomon did not have to pay the price. David had already purchased the trees of Lebanon. Solomon used his father's resources to build the temple. So without the work that David did, Solomon wouldn't have had the ability to build. Are you hearing me tonight? Without the work that David did, Solomon could not have built the Temple. You do not get to your destiny alone. You do not. God will always use relationships. God will always use somebody to open the door for you. God will always usually start out with something small. Big doors swing on little hinges. Do not despise the day of small things. There is a power in relationships. There is a power in generational blessings. It may not look like it right now, but your kids might be acting crazy and running the streets. But listen. But if God's given you a word over your life and you don't see it coming to pass in your life, you hold on. God might want to use your child to bring that word to pass. Listen, Solomon was wild at one time too. But in time, God Completed the vision through him. Somebody needs to praise God for having some faith for a generational blessing in your life. Listen, if God started a work, he's going to be faithful to complete it. It does not matter what you see. It does not matter what it looks like right now. If you God has given you a word, he is going to be faithful to complete it. You can read in scripture the details of this temple, the walls, the granite, the cedar, the marble, all of the amazing detail. But it was all built to house the glory of God. It was not built for us to look at the marble or the walls or the floors. It was built so that God's glory could come in. Listen, it's not about what I'm trying to build. It's not about what you are trying to construct. It's not about your ministry or your church or your business. I want God's glory on my life. I want God's glory on what I'm trying to do. It's nothing without the glory of God. Say nothing. It's nothing without the glory of God. I pray glory would overflow you in your house tonight. I pray glory would overshadow your vision. I pray glory over your job and over your church and over your ministry in every everything that you are putting your hands to build. Glory will come if you build it for him, this temple. Listen, this is so important. What they did not see. See. All they could see was how gorgeous it was. All they could see was how elaborate it was. And. And really they were overshadowed and overtaken by the glory when they saw the glory. Man, the priests couldn't even minister. But what they could not see was what it was built on. What it was built on. 1st Chronicles 21:22:30. Prior to what I'm about to read, David was in war and he sinned. And he counted the men. He wasn't supposed to count them. Go back and read it. And then plagues started coming and he wanted the plagues to stop. So this is where we pick up in the story. David said to him, let me have the sight of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at full price. And he said to David, take it. Let my Lord the King do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for the grain of the offering. I'll give it all to you, David. But King David replied, no, I Insist on paying the full price. You better underline that in your Bible. I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours or sacrifice a burnt offering that cost me nothing. There on that threshing floor is where he offered sacrifice to break the curse. He was willing to pay the full price. Listen, every one of us wants curses broken off of our life. But how many of us are willing to pay the price? How many of you listening to me tonight are willing to do whatever it takes to break the generational curses off of your house and off of your children and off of your grandchildren and off of your children's children's children? How many of you are willing to get up early and stay up late? How many of you are willing to push the plate back and fast for your family? David said, I am not willing to offer anything to the Lord that cost me nothing. The anointing and God's glory on your life will always cost you. Are you willing to pay the price for what God has for you? Are you willing to pay the price to break these cycles, these generational curses from your life? Listen, God is not a busboy or a maid. We are not to tip God and to just give God our leftovers. And a little bit here, he's saying, I need you to pay the full price. What are you willing to sacrifice so that God can bless your life and the glory of God can set down over your house? David burned it all and he offered sacrifice. Then years later, listen, this is so beautiful to me. Then years later, it was the same ground. The threshing floor was the same ground that the temple was built on that encompassed the glory of God. See, people don't know the price you paid to get here. People don't know the price you paid to get where you are today, what it cost you. The price you had to pay for the glory of God and the anointing of God on your life. Listen, they'll judge you. They'll be jealous of you. They'll hate on you, but they are not willing to pay the price you paid. Solomon was only able to build on the land because his father was willing to pay full price. Whoa. Are you getting this word tonight? He was willing to pay the full price so that the full blessing so that the full anointing of God could come and see. Sit down. In that temple, you're paving a way by paying the full price for generational curses to be broken over your life, to be broken in your family, you're paving the way for lives to be changed forever, for the glory of God to sweep in and over your life and your children's children. Children. There's been so many failures. Listen. In my own life, so many failures and so much blood on my hands. And God so many times has had to say no to me. But how many victories will come from the ash heap of my life for my children because I have been willing to pay the price? How many victories will come in your life from the ash heap of your life because you were willing to pay the price? Oh, Jesus. It's through all the pain in my past that the glory of God is now resting in my life. That the anointing that I carry, it's from all the pain that I was willing to endure to pay the price. Your mistakes are not wasted. They are not in vain. Your failures do not disqualify you because you made it right. See, David had sinned. David had counted the people and God told him not to. He messed up. We're not going to walk through this life and never not mess up. We're all going to mess up. David had sinned. He had messed up. Plagues were coming. Curses were coming because of what he had done. But he was willing to make it right. He was willing to go and pay full price. He was willing to go and make recompense. He was willing to burn it all up. He was willing to go to the threshing floor. The things that he went through and the price he paid. Generations have reaped the benefit. Why don't you shout right now? I'm willing to make it right. Come on. I'm willing to make it right. I'm willing to pay the price. I am willing to burn it all up and make things right. Stuff. Listen. Stuff and blessings come into your life out of the blue. Listen. Have you ever wondered, how did I get here? How did I get this job? How did I marry this person? They're so amazing. You know how you did off of somebody else's ashes? Who? Off of somebody else's ashes? You are reaping benefits from generation before you that you didn't even know about. And you can do the same thing for generations after you. Listen, Solomon did not get there by his self, and neither will you. Listen. This is so good to me. Solomon wouldn't even have been born if his father didn't have a weakness. Solomon's mama was his daddy's weakness. Bathsheba. Whoa. Are you getting this? I'm about to run all over this stage. I'm here to tell you, stop crying over what went wrong. Stop crying over how much you've messed up, how much you've sinned. Crying over what you don't have. God always uses pain and turns it into purpose. Yes, he does. Miracles can come from your mistakes. I'm a witness. I'm a witness. God used Rahab, a prostitute. Jacob, a schemer. Moses, a moon worshiper. David, a mercy murderer and an adulterer. Peter denied Christ. Listen, God wants to give you beauty for ashes. Are you willing to pay the full price for generations after you? Are you willing? Are you willing? The presence of God, the glory of God, will always cost you something. And it has cost something before you. You are walking out the blessings of generations before you. Are you willing to pay the price to break the curses and heal the land of your life in the generations after you? Give them something to build on. Give them something to house the glory of God in the presence of God. I'm calling us tonight to break curses. I'm calling us tonight to offer God something that cost us so that people behind us can build. God, I thank you that you don't waste anything. Lord, I thank you that every trial and in every struggle I've ever been through, God, you're going to use it. Lord, I thank you that. That even my mistakes, you turn around and you can make something beautiful out of it. Lord, I pray that people listening to me tonight all over the world would be encouraged tonight. That even our sin, God, even our sin, just like David when he committed adultery and slept with Bathsheba, but he bore Solomon, who helped to build and house the glory of God. You can do it in our life, too. Do it for us tonight, God. Show us what we need to sacrifice. Show us, God, what we need to burn so that your glory can come. So that generations behind us, Lord, can come and build on our sacrifice. Lord, I thank you for your promises. I thank you, God, that our tomorrow is going to be different than today. I thank you, Jesus, that you are touching people right now as they're listening to me. That you're touching people as I'm praying all over the world. And I thank you tonight, God, that you can take anything in our life. You can give us beauty for the ash heap, God, and you can make miracles out of our mistakes. Come on, lift your hand. Give God some praise where you are. Come on, get up right where you are and throw your hands in the air and say, God, I thank you. I thank you, God, that you can take anything and you can make something beautiful. Out of it. I love you. Until next time, share this message and God bless you. Hey guys, listen, if you want to find out how God can take all of your junk. Oh, you don't have any? Just me. No, we all have it. Your junk, your mistakes, the broken places in your life and make something beautiful out of it. I want to encourage you to get my book Dairy Chris Daniels, Steven Furtick, Nicole Crank, Marilyn Hickey. So many people have written endorsements for this book because they believe in it that much. I tell you, it's not because I've written it. It's because I walked through it and I watched God transform my life. There are so many Christians living in captivity and broken brokenness and I've given you a tool to help pull you out of that brokenness and let God make something beautiful out of it. Go to Amazon.com, hopecarpenter.com, get your copy today. Download the audible. Get it in your spirit. God wants to make something beautiful out of the broken places in your life.