Author Archives: Kelcy Steele

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

“Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.  Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.” – I Kings 17:8-24

I know that many of you are excited about life and all that comes with it. I know that you look forward to waking up in the morning and you look forward to going along about your day.

And if I was you, I would give God praise every time you are able to inhale and exhale. I would give God praise every time you are able to bat your eyes and see the beauty of the sunrise and enjoy the cool breeze of the sunset.

Because somebody didn’t wake up this morning. And somebody as we speak has checked out and exchanged this earthly time for eternality. And you should never take your life for granted.

It was grace that woke you up and it was mercy that kept you up.

And now I understand why the older saints used to get excited and testify that if I don’t have anything else to thank God for,

I thank him for waking me up this morning,

I thank him for starting me on my way,

I thank him for clothing me in my right mind,

I thank him for the activity of my limbs,

I thank him for the clarity of my thoughts, accuracy of my speech, and shielding me from all hurt, harm, and danger.

It was Donald Hillard, Jr in his book Stop the Funeral who suggested that we have all been subjected to a culture of death. Death is all around us, from drive-by shootings, abortion clinics, and assisted suicide to the gunning down of young African American youth and young adults which started the #BLACKLIVESMATTER movement.

We are subjected to a culture of death. If there is no hope for a gorilla in captivity, you might as well be real and admit that we are surrounded and subjected to a culture of death. In Orlando, people grappled with the magnitude of the horror: one man armed with an assault rifle and a pistol managed to kill 49 people and wound another 53 inside a gay nightclub.

We are surrounded by and subjected to a culture of death.

Here in the text we are introduced to a hungry prophet named Elijah on assignment to stretch the faith of a widow woman on welfare in Zarephath. And to add insult to injury, she had just lost her son.

And I don’t have time to argue with the scholars who debate whether this boy was really dead or just close to death. But whether he was dead or dying this woman was dealing with a dead situation.

All I know is, we have a hungry prophet (Elijah) on assignment to stretch the faith of a widow woman on welfare in Zarephath. And to add insult to injury, she had just lost her son.

I like Elijah because he spoke what God said and didn’t worry about what the people thought of it.

And if you are going to be prophetic in the 21st Century, and speak truth to power, you can’t worry about how people feel, you just have to speak what God says.

You have to be like Elijah.

You know, Elijah:

God’s appointed man.

You know, Elijah:

God’s anointed man.

You know, Elijah:

God’s approved man.

Because when you have been appointed, anointed, and approved by God, you are able to stand before kings and preach a message of warning and repentance.

You are able to bring life to a dead situation.

You know, Elijah:

A Hebrew name that means “My God is Yahweh.”

Elijah, a prophet of the 9th Century BC during the reign of that jelly back King Ahab and his demonic Queen Jezebel.

You know, Elijah:

A.K.A. Elijah the Tishbite of Gilead.

He was just like us. A man of hope, dreams, and visions. Elijah in the text moves at God’s instruction to the little town called Zarephath. It’s not strange that God sent Elijah to Zarephath which means “a smelting place or a testing place.”

We all will be sent to Zarephath:

a place of big dreams, but small budgets,

a place of minimal resource, but major vision,

a place that stretches your faith,

a place where dead things are resurrected.

We all will stop by Zarephath.

There God informs him that a widow will feed him. The description of this woman as a widow tells us that she is among the neediest of society. The title widow lets us know that she has had some experience with dead situations. The title widow lets us know that you were surviving after the lost.

Is there anybody here who doesn’t mind testifying that God will keep you even in dead-end situations? And some of you have lost something and if you keep living you will know how it feels to live with loss.

Some of you lost some friends.

Some of you lost some people close to you.

Some of you lost some jobs.

Some of you lost some money.

But by the fact that you are still here, breathing, clothed in your right mind, proves that God will keep you even in dead-end situations. When Elijah meets this woman in Zarephath, he meets her in a dead-end situation, for the text tells us this woman is gathering sticks (v.10).

She’s gathering sticks as sign of her poverty.

She’s gathering sticks as a sign of her desperation.

She’s gathering sticks as a sign of having to make ends meet.

Is there anybody here like this woman? Who knows what it’s like to gather sticks? Knows what it’s like to make do, knows what it’s like to manage with minimal, knows what it’s like to appreciate what’s present instead of complaining about what’s absent, knows what it’s like to raise kids as a single parent, knows what it’s like to have to save what you have with fear of running out, knows what it’s like to be in between jobs and unemployment hasn’t kicked in?

Is there anybody here who knows what it’s like to gather sticks? I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned how to shout while gathering sticks!

You might be catching hell, but don’t stop praising him;

you might be stressed out, but don’t stop praying;

you might be fed up, but don’t stop giving him the glory;

you might be at rock bottom, but don’t stop shouting,

because the text lets me know firstly that God will provide!

Here in the text we are introduced to a hungry prophet (Elijah) on assignment to stretch the faith of a widow woman on welfare who is “gathering sticks” and to add insult to injury she had just lost her son.

And I have a problem with this text:

Elijah knows

that this woman is a widow which means she has lost.

Elijah knows

that this woman is “gathering sticks” which means that she is trying to make ends meet.

Elijah knows

that this woman is on welfare and trying to provide for her son which means that she didn’t have much.

Even with the woman’s loss, making ends meet, and not having much, Elijah this hungry prophet asks her in verse 10 to go and fetch him some water and to bring him a morsel of bread.

And this sister looked at Elijah

and I could imagine she rolled her eyes

and put her hands on her hips

and said PROPHET PLEASE!!!!

In verse 12 she said, “As surely as your God lives, I don’t have so much as a biscuit. I have a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a bottle; you see me gathering sticks, just enough firewood to make my last meal for my son and me. After we eat it, we are going to die.”

I don’t know about you and I don’t know about her, but

I serve a God who can take a biscuit and make a buffet,

I serve a God who can take your little and make much,

I serve a God who can work with your handful.

Is there anybody here who don’t mind testifying that when I was down to nothing, God was up to something? Is there anybody here who doesn’t mind praising him, that he’s able to work with whatever you have? Is there anybody here who don’t mind declaring that he is Jehovah Jireh, “God Will Provide”?

Ask Samson with a donkey jawbone who slayed a 1,000 men,

ask Ruth who gleaned grain from the field,

ask David who had a slingshot and stones and took down Goliath,

ask the boy who had five loaves and two fish,

God can work with a handful!

God will provide all your needs.

Elijah is dealing with a situation that, if it is not dead, it sure looks like it is about to die. But at this point Elijah makes a strange request (v.13-14):  Elijah said, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: ‘the jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.’”

Elijah said, “Go and do as you have said.”

God blesses preparation.

Elijah said, “First make me a little cake.”

God honors sacrifice.

Elijah said, “For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: the jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.”

God has an unlimited supply.

Is there anybody in here who has prepared, sacrificed, and can testify that God has never failed you, God has never let you down, God has never left you out, God may not have come when you wanted him, but he showed up right on time?

Because when you trust God you are saying that I know without a doubt in my mind that God will supply, God will sustain and God will satisfy everything I need. Because when you trust God, you don’t mind preparing for your miracle. When you trust God, you don’t mind sacrificing for your survival. When you trust God, you don’t mind declaring that he is our unlimited supply. If you want to bring life to a dead situation, God wants to know, “can I trust you?” and most of all, “do you trust me?”

I trust in God wherever I may be,

Upon the land, or on the rolling sea,

For come what may, from day to day,

My heav’nly Father watches over me.

But to add insult to injury, the son of this widow who takes care of Elijah unexpectedly gets sick and dies. Life is fickle: when you think that you have one problem figured out, here comes something else.

We have a hungry prophet (Elijah) on assignment to stretch the faith of a widow woman on welfare and to add insult to injury she has just lost her son.

I stop by to tell somebody when you are dealing with a dead situation you have to expect the unexpected, process your pain, and trust the process.

There were times when you thought in your life that you weren’t going to make it,

but God!

There were even times when you were about to throw in the towel,

but God!

There were times when you couldn’t see clearly from the tears in your eyes,

BUT GOD!

There were even times when it looked like everything was caving in and everything that could go wrong, went wrong.

BUT GOD.

Because not only will God provide, but God has a plan.

Life may hurt some times, but God has a plan.

Resources may be meager, but God has a plan.

When things get rough—hold on.

When things get tough—hold on.

When things get heavy—hold on.

When you feel bad—hold on.

When you feel good—hold on.

When things look bad—hold on.

God has a plan.

And in verse 18, this widow’s painful words of heartbreak: “She then said to Elijah, ‘What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!’”

I stop by to tell somebody, when you are dealing with a dead situation you have to stop blaming other people and position yourself for a miracle. Is there anybody here who don’t mind testifying that I came this morning looking for a miracle?

I expect the impossible

I feel the intangible and

I see the invisible:

The sky is the limit

To what I can have.

Don’t take it personal it’s just a part of the process because God can still work with dead things.

Elijah begins to talk, to pray and to have a talk with God (v.20). Is there anybody here who knows that when things are dead or about to die you don’t need to talk to the undertaker, the mortuary, or the mortician because they specialize in funerals?

But you have to do like Elijah and fall down on your knees and declare:

Father, I stretch my hands to thee,

No other help I know;

If thou withdraw thyself from me,

Ah! whither shall I go?

 Jesus, could I this believe,

I now should feel thy power;

Now all my wants thou wouldst relieve

In this, the accepted hour.

Surely thou canst not let me die;

Speak, and I shall live!

For here I will unwearied lie,

Till thou thy Spirit give.

How would my fainting soul rejoice,

Could I but see thy face!

Now let me hear thy quickening voice,

And taste thy pardoning grace!

Not only will God provide, not only does God have a plan, but God will make provision. Verse 21 says, “Then Elijah stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.’” That’s persistence. Is there anybody here who don’t mind giving God some praise for verses 9-20. Elijah said, “Hand me your son.” He then took him from her bosom, carried him up to the loft where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he prayed, “O God, my God, why have you brought this terrible thing on this widow who has opened her home to me? Why have you killed her son?”

Three times he stretched himself out full-length on the boy: that’s persistence! Praying with all his might: that’s prayer! “God, my God, put breath back into this boy’s body!” That’s power!

And I praise him right here, because the Bible says that God listened to Elijah’s prayer and put breath back into his body—He was alive! And Elijah picked the boy up, carried him downstairs from the loft, and gave him to his mother.

The woman said to Elijah,

You came here hungry but turned out to be helpful,

you came here in my lack but now I can live,

you came here in my loss but now I believe.

I see it all now—you are a holy man. When you speak, God speaks—is there anybody here who don’t mind giving God some praise:

Through every day, o’er all the way,

God will take care of you,

He will take care of you,

God will take care of you.

Not only will God provide, not only does God have a plan, but finally God will make provisions.

He is Lucifer’s eviction notice.

He is Adam’s rack of ribs.

He’s Eve’s matchmaker,

Abraham’s Viagra,

Sarah’s menstrual cycle,

Daniel’s riding lesson,

Hannah’s fertility doctors,

Joseph’s daydream,

David’s war weapon,

Jericho’s war wrecker,

Mary’s baby daddy,

Joseph’s step-child,

Lazarus’ grave robber,

Martha’s meal planner,

the little boy’s happy meal,

John’s baptistmal candidate,

Peter’s water walker,

Stephen’s stop-watch,

the disciples’ road dog,

Paul and Silas’ midnight mover,

the revelators’ other companion.

He is my bread and butter.

He is my day brightener,

my insurance policy.

The road, it’s rough,

the going gets tough.

The hills are hard to climb

but I started out a long time ago.

I have no doubt in my mind,

I have decided to make Jesus my choice!

 

Hilliard, Donald. Stop the Funeral!: Reaching a Generation Determined to Kill Itself. Tulsa, OK: Albury Pub., 2000.

Hymn: “Be Not Dismayed Whate’er Betide.”

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Featured image courtesy Jeremy Bezanger via Unsplash.

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:18-20)

Do you believe in miracles?

Can you imagine yourself in Joseph’s shoes –

everything is going well,

until he encountered an angel

that blew his mind and

caused his perfect little world to come crashing down.

He discovered that Mary was pregnant.

When your life takes a nasty turn, like Joseph, listen for that still small voice from God saying, “trust me.”

Because God’s ways are not always our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and we may never understand everything that God is doing this side of heaven, but God says, “trust me, and all things will work together for your good.”

Are you like Joseph and have some trust issues? Because a good relationship has to be built around trust. Without trust, whatever else happens has absolutely no meaning.

And some of you have been in so many relationships that you find it difficult to build trust because you have been taken advantage of.

But Dr. Seuss put it like this:

“You have brains in your head,

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself in any direction

You choose.

You’re on your own.

And you know what you know.

You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”

Grandma would come back with something like this: “If you keep laying down with dogs, you will keep on getting up with fleas.”

I came across an article on “Five Reasons Why Good Relationships Go Bad.” Don’t you sit up in here and act like you have never had any relationship issues.  Because the truth of the matter is, if you have had a relationship, you have had some issues.

And the five reasons that relationships go bad are that:

1. We become too physical, too fast.
2. We have too much unchecked emotional baggage. You have to get yourself together, before you try to connect with somebody else.
3. We have too much dishonesty and deception. You can lie yourself into a relationship, but only truth can keep that thing together.
4. We become too clingy.
5. We have too many fairy tale fantasies. Cinderella is not real. Not one time in her story did she have to pay a power bill, phone bill, or car note.

Mary was giving birth to a miracle, not a fairy tale.

When you are pregnant with possibility, drama can sneak up on you at any time. We find out in Matthew that even Mary and Joseph had some Baby Momma and Baby Daddy drama. Anybody know anything about drama?

Some people have drama written across their forehead and they can’t function until they stir up something.

But drama can be just birthing pains that occur when you are on the verge of a major growth spurt. And that’s a word for somebody this morning – the reason that things look like they are falling apart and the reason that folk are falling out with you is because God is stretching you.

And you are pregnant with possibilities, eyes hath not seen nor have ear heard what God is getting ready to do through you.

And you can trust God to bring it to pass – as long as you don’t settle for less than his best.

Many of us are pregnant with a word that God has spoken to us either directly or through someone else. But if you have been carrying that word for a season and it looks like it’s not happening fast enough don’t you get discouraged.

Isaiah 40: 31 – “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

God is renewing somebody’s strength right now as I speak. You walked through the doors this morning weak and torn down from the weight of the world. But before you leave this place God is going to give you some wings to fly over some stuff, and the things that used to make you tired and drain you of your energy, God has put under his control.

Because what God is doing through you is too big for the microwave, too fast for the Crockpot, but just right for the flames. The Bible tells us that as long as man has a mouth they will lie to you. But God is not a man that he should lie: if he said it, he will bring it to pass.

The problem that most of us face is not our promise or the provision, but some of our prayers ought to be, “Lord, develop my patience and help me wait out this process because after the wait comes the promise.

A lot of us have developed spiritual ADHD – attention deficit disorder – and you allow the devil to easily distract you, and you are so hyper that you can’t focus on nothing and you and your mind are all over the place!

The devil is trying hard to keep you from your destiny.

But somebody ought to thank God for your pre-natal promises. That protection is around you, and provision and safety are on you because God is “no respecter of persons.”

What God did for Mary, Joseph, and the crew, he will do the same thing for you.

God has a promise growing inside of you –

you need to tell the devil

that you have decided not to settle,

not to compromise or give up

on what God has proclaimed for you.

His plan for Joseph was to cover Mary and raise Jesus and God always has a way of turning what the enemy meant as a stumbling block into a stepping-stone.

God has the ability to take the negatives in our lives and turn them into positives.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Whatever God has begun in your life,

he will finish.

What God has spoken,

he will manifest.

What God has promised,

he will perform—

as long as you can endure the process?

Joseph obeyed God and proceeded with the marriage plans. Because you have to do what God tells you to do regardless of whether others may disapprove of it. Joseph went ahead with what he knew was right.

Sometimes we avoid doing what is right because of what others might think. Like Joseph, I’d rather obey God and live rather than seek the approval of others and die and go to hell.

Mary had some Baby Daddy Drama. Because it’s hard to get along with somebody who doesn’t believe in you. But like Mary you can’t let somebody else’s insecurity – Joseph insecurities – keep you from giving birth to the promises, dreams, and aspirations that the Spirit of God has put inside of you.

Is there anybody here who knows that favor is on your life and God is about to do some great things through you?

Joseph was about to lose his mind.

Because he thought that Mary had tripped out on him.

Because the word came to Joseph that Mary was pregnant.

Isn’t it strange that when people don’t have anything to do with what God is doing through you that they start tripping. You have to make sure you hookup with people who have holy common sense. That if the Lord said it you can count on it he will do just what he said.

Joseph knows that he isn’t the father, and he knew that he wasn’t the baby’s daddy. And she had to be messing around and the baby was by somebody else.

And he decides to get a divorce, and because he loved Mary, he wants to do this thing quietly because the penalty for committing Mary’s crime was death by stoning. But before he could draw up the papers God sent an angel to tell Joseph that things are not like he thinks they are.

He tells Joseph that Mary is carrying a child that was miraculously fathered by the Holy Spirit.

What they didn’t realize is that this baby who was growing in Mary’s body was none other than Jesus, our possibility for salvation who would one day die for the sins of the whole world..

Can I preach? Verse 25 tells us that Mary eventually delivered Jesus.

You are just like Mary this morning, pregnant with possibility.

Firstly, you are special.

So when God births something in you you don’t need to do nothing but wait for due season….too many of us are busy bodies and we don’t know how to be still and watch God.

Secondly, your miracle is on the way.

Mary was giving birth to a miracle child.

I’m looking for a miracle

I expect the impossible

I feel the intangible and

I see the invisible

The sky is the limit

To what I can have

Just believe and receive it

God will perform it today

Hey, Hey, Hey

Just believe and receive it

God will perform it today

I’m looking for a miracle

I expect the impossible

I feel the intangible

I see the invisible

I’m walking in authority, living life without apology

It’s not wrong, dear, I belong here

So you might as well get used to me

My mother may not be a queen

But my Father’s King of everything

I’m adopted into the family

So I guess that makes me royalty

 

“The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.”  Proverbs 20:29

“Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.” Psalms 144:12

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.” Isaiah 40:30

We are called to preach to the younger generation; to cultivate their strength, to ensure that they are well nurtured, and to prepare them to be effective witnesses in this world.

How shall we who preach reach members of Generation Y – also known as the Millennial Generation or the iPod Generation (those born from mid-1970’s to the early 2000’s) with the good news?

Every generation has a generational persona with distinct attitudes about family life, gender roles, institutions, politics, lifestyles, and the future.

Each generation possesses its own personal biography and develops an adherence to certain fundamental notions and worldviews that shapes the group’s direction from youth through old age.

A Survey was taken by www.christianitytoday.com that asked young adults why they dropped out of church. Of those who dropped out, about 97% stated it was because of life changes or situations. That’s a pretty substantial number. Among their more specific reasons:

• They simply wanted a break from church (27 percent).
• They had moved to college (25 percent).
• Their work made it impossible or difficult to attend (23 percent).

About 58% of young adults indicated they dropped out because of their church or pastor. When we probed further, they said:

• Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical (26 percent).
• They didn’t feel connected to the people at their church (20 percent).
• Church members were unfriendly and unwelcoming (15 percent).

Fifty-two percent indicated some sort of religious, ethical or political beliefs as the reason they dropped out.  In other words, about 52% changed their Christian views. Maybe they didn’t believe what the church taught, or they didn’t believe what they perceived others in the church to believe.

Sociologist, historians, and theologians suggest that we are living in the midst of a paradigm shift. Young adults inhabit a different world than that of their parents.We must use a new structure and preach in a more participatory fashion. Preaching must invite listeners to use not just the left but also the right hemisphere of their brain.

Those who take on the high calling of preaching for young adults in the digital age must do two things: number one, meet youth where they are and number two, preach the word with integrity.

Don’t dumb down the gospel or its demands

We must not reduce the good news to a bland, pleasant drink, palatable to all.Young adults are allergic to a watered-down gospel and we must not shove doctrine down their throats.

Young adults who come to church in our time have chosen to come. They want and need sermons that help them see what God is up to in the world and where they can hook in.

George Barna sees that the challenge for Christian leaders is to learn how to communicate with this generation and get them to understand and embrace God’s Word without compromising it. This generation wants spirituality and faith experience, not the traditional routines and dispassionate worship they see adults doing at the typical church.

 

 

References:

ADAMS, J. Preaching to Young Adults. Journal for Preachers. 34, 4, 27-32, 2011. ISSN: 1057-266X.

HERSHBERGER, M. Navigating with a New Map: Preaching for Youth and Young Adults. Vision (Winnipeg, Man.). 10, 1, 56-62, 2009. ISSN: 1492-7799.

STETZER, ED. real-reasons-young-adults-drop-out-of-church. DEC. 2014.   < http://www.Christianitytoday.com >

BARNA, GEORGE. Generation Next (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1995), 74-96.

 

For a child has been born for us,

a son given to us;

authority rests upon his shoulders;

and he is named

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NRSV)

Is there anybody here who knows that God is the joy and the strength of your life? He removes all pain, misery and strife, he promised to keep you, never to leave you, and never fall short of his word.

It doesn’t take a theologian to figure out that we are living in some perilous and miserable times.

But here is the good news: He’s a Mighty God even in miserable times!

Isn’t it good to know that God always delivers a message in your misery, a word for your wilderness, and a prophesy for your predicament.

God is Mighty! He is so mighty that his office is manifold. His promise is sure. His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. And His word is enough.

GOD IS A MIGHTY GOD!

There is none who can stand before him! There will be none who will stand after him.

And if we serve a Mighty God today why do we walk around here looking so miserable?

You have the same power and authority to overcome your fears, defeat the demonic, and declare the victory. Because God is too mighty for you to be walking around miserable, tell your neighbor, “smile!”

Here it is, the Prophet Isaiah declaring, “for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseler, the mighty God.”

It is the Prophet Isaiah who stood in the gap for 40 years declaring to a people that we might be in some miserable times but God is still mighty.

It’s hard sometimes to tell people who are dealing with hell, haters, and hypocrites that greater is coming. It’s hard sometimes to tell people who are dealing with problems, pains, and predicaments that greater is coming.

You can’t allow your misery to strangle out your miracle, strip you of your joy, or rob you of your future.

Because we serve a Mighty God even in miserable times.

May I ask the question and I ain’t trying to get in your business? What does miserable look like? Look straight and don’t look at your neighbor!

The word miserable means that you are in the midst of a wretchedly unhappy or uncomfortable situation. Because injustice, tribulation, and discrimination are wretchedly uncomfortable.

That’s not the time to silence your voice, apply for medical marijuana, and pop Zoloft and Prozac, punk out, and tuck your tail in between your legs like a puppy dog and run home.

Will the real prophet please stand up?

Because whenever there is injustice, tribulation, and discrimination, that should be the calling card of every prophet whose prophetic voice hasn’t been castrated and muted due to social ignorance and hidden agendas or being overly indulged in a happy gospel.

I wonder how “Happy” Pharrell Williams feels right about now? After tuning into the news and watching protest after protest, march after march, Black Lives Matter. All lives matters because it’s hard to be happy when life seems like a living hell.

Don’t allow your happy gospel of prosperity – name it and claim it, grab it and blab it, water down the social Gospel where you forget that your Christian ethics ought to be applied to social problems.                                                                Will the real prophet please stand up?

There’s nothing wrong with the shout, but the problem begins when you stop shouting and never speak out or speak to. What’s oppressing you?

There’s nothing wrong with the dance, but the problem begins when you stop dancing and never decree like Isaiah that God is mightier than all the misery that’s in your life.

HE’S A MIGHTY GOD!

And now we are here at “Can’t Breathe” “Hands Up” miserable, still staring injustice, tribulation, and discrimination in the face.

I have some good news: we are not serving a miserable God. But we serve a Mighty God even in miserable times.

Our God is Mighty. He is not shaken by our circumstances and taunted by our troubles. His battle plans are already completed, the victory is already won.

And I don’t know about you, but our God is too mighty to sit here with our “altogether lovely selves” and not prophesy that enough is enough. Do I have any contemporary Isaiahs? Who refuse to sit back and allow the devil to floss and flex? But you are ready to prophesy that enough is enough.

Will the real prophets please stand up?

Enough of burying Black men and boys before their time. Enough of their lives being snuffed out by the very people who are trained and paid to protect and serve. Enough of America turning a blind eye to police brutality and overall violence against Blacks. Enough is enough.

Will the real prophets please stand up?

I couldn’t breathe in 2006 when Sean Bell was shot and killed by a undercover NYPD officers

I can’t breath at the mentioning of the names of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, or Michael Brown.

And I don’t know about some of you. But I come like the Prophet Isaiah prophesying that God is mightier then our misery. Isn’t that Good news? That his name will be called…Mighty God.

This name Mighty God in the Hebrew is El Gibbor,

El comes from the root word meaning strength, power and might! Somebody shout, “He’s a mighty God!” Gibbor means that God is a Warrior and a Champion.

God is our Strength. God is our Power. And God is Mighty.

Gibbor means champion,

Gibbor means conqueror.

Gibbor means warrior.

Gibbor means hero.

Is there anybody here who don’t mind touching your neighbor and tell them God is my hero? Isn’t that good news, that our Savior supersedes superhero status?

Jesus is better then Superman: he knows all things, created all things, and has authority and power over all things. Kryptonite can’t stop him: he had no hidden agendas. He didn’t need a mask, a created identity or a double-lifestyle. He simply walked with God.

Tell somebody: He’s a mighty God.

Hindus acknowledge many gods, Buddhists say there is no deity, New Age followers believe they are God, Muslims believe in a powerful but unknowable God.

But we believe in a mighty God.

I dare you to touch somebody and tell them “God is my hero!”

Let me tell you how I know that God is mighty! The infinitely powerful became weak. The wonderfully majestic became humble. The creator of the universe became one of us. The infinite, eternal, self-sustaining being, who created every atom in the universe and put them all in their respective places became dependent on the nourishment of his mother’s breast and the warmth of her loving touch.

He’s a mighty God.

He is a Servant who was rejected.

He is a Substitute who was punished.

He is a Savior who made provision.

He’s a mighty God.

He became like us to free us.

He walked among us to guide us.

He stayed with us to teach us.

HE’S A MIGHTY GOD!

The eternal became the mortal. When the Word became flesh:

The infinite became the finite.

The glory put on sandals.

The majestic wore clothing.

The creator walked among us.

HE’S A MIGHTY GOD!

And the government rested on his shoulders. And that’s why we sing:

What a mighty God we serve!

What a mighty God we serve!

Angels bow before Him

Heaven and earth adore Him

What a mighty God we serve!

In the name of Jesus, we have the victory! Anybody have victory today in the name of Jesus, Satan will have to flee! Tell me who can stand before us when we call on this great name?

JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, JESUS! We have the victory!

Can somebody help me call his name today?

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

There’s just something about that Name.

Master, Savior, Jesus,

Like the fragrance after the rain.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, 

Let all heaven and earth proclaim,

Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,

But there’s something about that Name.

Do you know him?

In Genesis he’s the seed of the woman.

In Exodus he’s the Passover lamb.

In Leviticus he’s the high priest.

Do you know him?

In Numbers he’s the cloud and the fire.

In Deuteronomy he’s the prophet like Moses.

In Joshua he’s the captain of our salvation.

In Judges he’s the Judge and Lawgiver.

Do You know him?

In Ruth he’s the Kinsman Redeemer.

In 1 and 2 Samuel he’s the prophet of the Lord.

In 1 and 2 Kings he’s the Reigning King.

Do you know him?

He’s Ezra faith scribe.

He’s Nehemiah’s wall builder.

He’s Esther’s Mordecai.

He’s Job’s dayspring from on high.

He’s Psalms’ shepherd.

He’s Proverbs’ and Ecclesiastes’ wisdom.

He’s Solomon’s lover and bridegroom.

He’s Isaiah’s suffering servant.

Do You Know Him? I’m glad I know him: He’s the lily of the valley, he’s a bright and morning star. It’s good to know the Lord! He’s Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. It’s good to know the Lord! He’s joy in sorrow, he’s my hope for tomorrow. It’s good to know the Lord!

Can somebody throw back your head and throw up your hand and call his name? Jesus!

HE’S A MIGHTY GOD!