Bible History Unmasked: Move Forward — Don’t Die at the Edge of Promise-Part 2

WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host,

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Connie Morris, and this is Faith on the Go, where you take the word with you

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on your drive to work, while you're getting ready in the morning,

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or even in those quiet moments before prayer.

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Real life, real word, and real growth, all while you are on the go.

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Before we get into today's word, let's take a moment to center ourselves with a familiar prayer.

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The prayer of Jabez.

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Oh, that you will bless me indeed and enlarge my territory.

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Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.

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Father God, we come before you this day asking that you will indeed bless us,

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not just with what we have, but in who we are becoming.

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Enlarge our territory, Lord. Expand our capacity, our mindset,

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our ability to receive what you have for us.

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Let your hand be upon us, guiding us, covering us, and leading us in every decision we make.

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And Father, keep us from harm, physically, emotionally, and spiritually,

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that we may walk in peace and not in pain.

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And Lord, just as you heard Jabez when he cried out to you, hear us now.

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Your word says that you granted his request and we believe that you are the same God today.

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So we come boldly before you, knowing that you hear us, knowing that you see

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us and knowing that you respond to the prayers of your people.

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Have your way in this moment as we sit, listen and receive your word.

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In Jesus' name, amen.

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Hello and welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast. We are at our water

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break and we're on part two of moving forward.

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We left off where we found out that God is telling us, yeah,

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you've been through some stuff.

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Yeah, you've been through a lot of giants, been trying to kick your butt, but guess what?

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You've been at this mountain long enough. It's time to move forward.

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We understood that even though God has said it, unbelief kicked in for the children

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of Israel and that generation never made it into the promised land.

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They carcasses was left in the wilderness.

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You know, and so God is saying, let's move forward.

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Even if you're afraid, move forward. Even if you are discouraged, move forward.

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Because I said it, it shall be done unto you. And so I want you to put all your thinking cap.

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So that you can pay attention and also put on your mind of Christ so that we

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will know exactly what the Lord is speaking into our hearts. Let's continue.

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Today we're going to talk about, you know, many times you ever,

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I don't know how to say this, but a lot of times God wants us free,

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but our mentality won't let us free.

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We stay around the same people who are in bondage and they talk you into staying in bondage.

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But sometimes people are free and they're still not happy. How can that be, right?

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You cried to be free. The wilderness, they were slaves and they wanted to be

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free. But yet when they were free, they were afraid. And all they talked about was going back to Egypt.

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And when I think about Egypt, I think of going back to a comfort zone.

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You know, as a female, a lot of times we may break up with a person and yet

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that person was not good to us at all.

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But yet he comes back around with flowers and we take him in.

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But we know that he wasn't good. So some reason we think that going back is

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going to make this person better. It doesn't.

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We find out that that relationship ends more horribly because you trusted them,

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but they never changed or you never really let go because they hurt you so much, you know?

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And so you're living in this kind of, I'm happy when you're here,

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but when you're gone, I'm very insecure because of what you did last time.

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But God doesn't want us like that. God want us to understand that when he says

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you're free, he says stay free.

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When God sets us free, he wants us to stay free.

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He reveals different things to us at different times of our lives so that we

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can have enough faith to walk through that season.

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And for this season, God is teaching us about black history unmasked,

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about picking up our Bible, about going back to him, returning to him.

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And for this series, we're talking about moving forward.

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We can't stay here at this mile any longer.

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And so we're going to continue our story because our story does not end with the spies. It doesn't.

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They didn't die right away, but God is always keeping his promises because Israel's

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struggle was not only fear, it was also appetite.

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They were free, but they weren't happy. So that's the title of the podcast today is free, but not happy.

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Free, but not happy. Because when your appetite is not fulfilled,

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you're never, ever going to be fulfilled.

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If God is not enough for you now, he has to be enough for you later.

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Otherwise, you're going to live in this kind of double-minded world.

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One minute you're all into him, and the next minute you are doubting.

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And there's no way. It says a double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways.

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I mean, what does that mean? That means that you're going to be stuck.

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He's telling us to move forward. And so we have to move forward.

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God had brought the Israelites out of Egypt with a mighty outstretched hand.

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He had opened up the Red Sea.

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He had destroyed Pharaoh's army.

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He had given them manna from heaven, heavenly food. He had brought water from a rock.

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He had covered them with cloud by day and a fire by night. Think about that.

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The cloud and the wilderness and the wilderness, when you think of wilderness, you think of forest.

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But if you've ever been to Israel, wilderness is desert. So if you're in the

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desert, the desert is very hot by day.

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So that cloud kept them cool and then fire by night because at night the temperatures

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drop and then so it's cold. So he kept them warm by the fire at night.

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Let's go to Exodus 13, 22 to see how God provides for his people.

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They didn't even ask for that. You ever had God give you something you did not

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ask for? They didn't ask for fire and cloud.

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You know, they asked for deliverance. They asked for food, but the extras that

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God give us, the extras, think about it. 21.

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And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud.

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That was him. Think about this. Not just giving them a cloud.

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He said, the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them

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the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, to go by day and night.

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He took not away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night

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from before the people. Think about this.

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Not only, this is what I think about God.

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He's a hands-on God, right? He's a hands-on God. He's not up in his heavenly

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throne sitting there with his feet up eating bonbons or like ice cream sandwiches

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that I like, you know, or just being like snapping his fingers.

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No, no, no. He's a hands-on God. So he's coming down to make sure my people are okay.

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So he says he went before them by day in a pillar of cloud.

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So God is chilling in the cloud, watching over his people.

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That's why when Miriam and.

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Aaron talked about Moses' wife. He was right there. He says,

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you're talking about my man. What's up?

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Think about that. He's that close. He's that close. So what does that mean to you?

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That means that he never abandoned them in the wilderness. They were afraid. Think about this.

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If you know that God is in a cloud by day and a fire by night,

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and he's telling you to go take the giants.

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Come on now. The victory is won. Why? Because he's already told you to take

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the land. He want to see if you can do it.

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But if you're really paying attention, God was always present.

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He was always present with his people. Check this out. By day,

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God covered them. By night, God led the way.

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In hunger, God fed them. In thirst, God gave them water. In danger, God protected them.

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In confusion, God led them.

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But even with all that, they still complained. Numbers 11, and the mixed multitude

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that was among them fell on lusting,

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and the children of Israel also wept again and said, who should give us flesh to eat?

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We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely, the cucumbers and the

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melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic.

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Think about this. You were a slave. You weren't eaten like a king in a castle

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or a queen at the throne room. You were a slave.

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If you understood how they treated slaves, they didn't get all that.

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That wasn't happening. But in their mind, because they wanted to go back.

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They made what was minuscule something big, right?

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But it says, now our soul is dried away and there's nothing and all besides

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this manna before our eyes. Wow.

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You were a slave. You saw them eating fish, cucumbers, melon,

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leaves, onions, and garlic, right? You can't tell me you had that as a slave.

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Because you read about what they gave the slaves, they gave them junk,

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what they didn't want, and not even enough to eat.

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That's where we end up getting soul food because they created food from the waste.

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Think about not really waste, but the things that they threw away.

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You know, mustard greens. Remember the mustard greens.

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Remember the turnips. You got to understand what they ate and what we eat as

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soul food now and understand the history of that.

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But yet God says, I got something better than your fish, your cucumbers,

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your melons, your leeks, and your onions.

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I got some manna. And then they said this to God. Think about how God felt.

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Somebody gives you a gift and you go, oh, this manna? Anything?

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Can we have anything else besides this manna?

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Before you were a slave, you're in the wilderness and God is feeding you heavenly food.

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This is so powerful, but also so painful.

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They were looking at a miracle bread and calling it nothing.

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They were getting fed from heaven's kitchen and they cried out for the menu

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of Egypt or the menu of this world.

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Remember, Daniel said that I will not eat this. This is not what I'm going to eat. I'm in bondage.

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I'm a hostage to the situation, but I'm not going to eat like I'm a hostage. I want to eat.

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I don't eat the king's food. I want to eat what I normally eat.

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I don't want all that rich food.

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I want basic food. This is what bondage can do to you.

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It can make you romanticize the place that enslaved you. It can make you remember

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the food, but forget the chains.

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It can make you remember the flavor, but forget the whip.

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It can make you remember the Egypt gave you, but forget what Egypt took from you.

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That is why freedom requires more than a changed location.

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Freedom requires a changed appetite. Israel were out of Egypt,

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but Egypt was still in their cravings.

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They had left the land of bondage, but their mouths were still speaking like slaves.

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They were walking under God's cloud and complained like they had no covering.

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They were following God's fire, but talking like they had no direction.

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They were eating supernatural provision, but still call it not enough.

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I don't know what I'm thinking about this. I think about people,

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and that people can be you.

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You're at a job. It's supplying your needs, basic needs that God told you.

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You tithe. God doesn't want to supply your needs. You plant your seeds.

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Of course, I'm not going to preach on that.

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But also I want to say that we can be in a place of provision and still complain and whine about it.

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It could have been supernatural. I read supernatural provision.

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The job I have now is I love my job.

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And I haven't loved a job in a wild town, in a wild town, in a long time.

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We know how I know why I love it? Because I know it came from a supernatural

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provision. It just came.

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Out of the blue, this position opens up.

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Out of the blue, I get two interviews. Out of the blue, I get hired.

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And I get hired, and I'm getting paid way more than I got paid in any other

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job, even as a retired officer after 27 years.

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Think about that. So it has to be supernatural.

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You know, and I remember walking to my car with one of my cohorts and I said, what's your plan?

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And I said, we got a race coming. He said, yeah.

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He said, I do the same thing over. I said, yeah, but you're getting paid to do it.

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He said, you're right. And then he stopped whining, right?

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They're paying you enough to do your job, right? Because you can't pay your

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bills and you don't have enough to coverage.

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That's not the job's fault, right? Think about this.

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Your job could be what is a supernatural provision for you.

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But yet you sit there at your office desk and you complain and you whine and

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you talk about everything.

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You better be careful because you're going to die in the wilderness. I know.

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I didn't say I put a curse that you're going to die. But I want you to think

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about it because they might be laying off. That would be death, right?

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They might close your job down. That might be death, right?

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So I saw that happen in real life where I was working as a police officer and.

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They had like the records unit.

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And these girls they love they love to complain about their job and it came

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a point where they had to uh they were laying off people and guess who they

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picked the two big mouths.

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Who's saying this job this job this job this job i had a funny said well guess

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what connie they're gonna lay me up i said well you you thought you were tired

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of this job i know but i don't know how i'm gonna pay my bills you see what i'm saying,

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Your job could be a supernatural provision for you, but you're still calling it not enough.

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I had to take a pause and talk about that. Real life things happening in the

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Bible, but we have to be careful.

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And if we're honest, this is not just Israel's story.

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This is our story too. Sometimes God is providing, but we are still complaining.

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Sometimes God is protecting, but we're still panicking.

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Sometimes God is leading, but we're still looking backwards.

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Sometimes God is feeding us what we need, but we're crying for what we used to want.

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This is where the Bible history, I'm asking, is real.

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Because oppressed people often learn how to survive on what bondage gives them.

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And after delivering, it's hard to trust a new way of living.

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When you have been trained by lack, you struggle to recognize provision.

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When you're trained by trauma, peace can feel real strange.

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And when you're trained by survival, freedom can feel uncomfortable.

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The wilderness exposed Israel's appetite.

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They did not just want meat. They wanted familiarity.

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They wanted control. They wanted a taste of Egypt without admitting the cost of Egypt.

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But you cannot walk into a promise while still craving bondage.

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Come on now. God wants us to move forward.

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He doesn't want us to look back. He doesn't want us to cry about the past.

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He said, I'm your provider.

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I will take care of you. Do you trust me?

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I'm sharing this because we're talking about God's getting ready to do something

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supernatural, unprecedented in our lives.

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And you might miss it because you're doubting.

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You might miss it because you're complaining. You might miss it because you're not prepared.

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You might've went to the party, the watch party, but yet you didn't bring enough oil. Come on, come on.

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You might went to see the new land, but in your heart you're saying, we can't get this land.

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We can't get this land. We can't get this land. Think about this.

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Exodus 16, 3. It says, And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God

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we have died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the

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flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full, for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness

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to kill the whole assembly with hunger.

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Hunger. Think about how your memory can lie on you.

00:17:32.560 --> 00:17:35.912
You know, think about it. You're thinking about the time when you used to be

00:17:35.912 --> 00:17:39.601
cute and going out to the club and you was thinking, I got everybody numbered.

00:17:39.915 --> 00:17:43.264
But at the end of the day, you were broke, you were poor, you were towed down,

00:17:43.484 --> 00:17:45.950
right? You looked in the mirror, you were a hot mess.

00:17:46.153 --> 00:17:50.402
That wasn't a good time, but our memory can lie to us.

00:17:50.702 --> 00:17:55.517
Our memory can have us going backwards. Our memory can have us stuck.

00:17:55.702 --> 00:17:59.946
Think about this. They said they sat by flesh pots and ate bread to the full.

00:18:00.195 --> 00:18:05.675
Slaves don't eat to the full. Hello, but in our imagination, come on, think about it.

00:18:05.873 --> 00:18:08.555
But Egypt was a place where they were oppressed.

00:18:08.909 --> 00:18:11.631
When you were oppressed, you are not eating nothing to the full.

00:18:11.869 --> 00:18:14.682
Egypt was a place where Pharaoh made their labor harder.

00:18:15.022 --> 00:18:20.332
How soon do we forget? Egypt was a place where their baby boys were under death

00:18:20.332 --> 00:18:24.675
orders. Egypt was a place where they cried out to God for a deliverer.

00:18:25.052 --> 00:18:30.242
But now, because wilderness is uncomfortable, They are remembering Egypt like

00:18:30.242 --> 00:18:33.249
it was a restaurant instead of a prison.

00:18:33.435 --> 00:18:35.223
That is what complaining can do.

00:18:35.432 --> 00:18:40.935
It can't edit the past until bondage starts to look better than obedience.

00:18:41.446 --> 00:18:47.069
And guess what? And God heard them complain. Go with me to Numbers 11, 18. God heard them.

00:18:47.389 --> 00:18:49.589
Why did he hear him? He's right there in the clouds.

00:18:50.024 --> 00:18:55.336
He's paying attention. His eyes ain't closed. His ears are not closed up. He ain't deaf.

00:18:55.649 --> 00:19:01.495
He can hear you. 18 to 20. And say thou unto the people, sanctify yourself against

00:19:01.855 --> 00:19:04.212
tomorrow, and ye should eat flesh.

00:19:04.421 --> 00:19:09.018
For ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, who should give us flesh to eat?

00:19:09.314 --> 00:19:11.764
For it was well with us in Egypt.

00:19:12.101 --> 00:19:17.987
Therefore, the Lord will give you flesh and ye should not eat one day,

00:19:17.987 --> 00:19:22.907
nor two days, nor five days, neither 10 days, nor 20 days, but even a whole

00:19:22.907 --> 00:19:25.475
month until it comes out of your nostrils.

00:19:25.754 --> 00:19:31.094
It will be loathsome unto you because that ye have despised the Lord, which is among you.

00:19:31.373 --> 00:19:36.541
And you have wept before him saying, why came we forth of Egypt?

00:19:36.668 --> 00:19:40.287
And I said, I'm going to give you some meat. Not just for one day,

00:19:40.287 --> 00:19:44.637
not for two days, not for five, not for 10, or even 20. I'm going to give you

00:19:44.637 --> 00:19:47.203
meat until it comes out of your nostrils.

00:19:47.383 --> 00:19:52.196
God says, I'm going to feed you, but you're going to be so sick of it. You ever had that?

00:19:52.648 --> 00:19:57.387
That kind of, you just eat too much. And it's like Thanksgiving or Christmas,

00:19:57.387 --> 00:19:59.858
you know, those holidays where you're just waiting to eat.

00:20:01.470 --> 00:20:07.107
He says, why did we come out of Egypt? Why did we come out of Egypt?

00:20:07.506 --> 00:20:12.262
Because bondage can be so familiar that freedom feels like a mistake.

00:20:12.621 --> 00:20:18.158
But freedom is not a mistake. Freedom is process. The wilderness was not proof

00:20:18.158 --> 00:20:19.476
that God had failed them.

00:20:19.755 --> 00:20:25.839
The wilderness was a place where God was teaching them how to trust him daily. Manic came daily.

00:20:26.187 --> 00:20:28.538
The cloud moved daily. The fire appeared

00:20:28.538 --> 00:20:33.460
nightly. God was training them to depend on him one day at a time.

00:20:33.774 --> 00:20:38.997
But they wanted Egypt's leftovers more than God's daily bread.

00:20:39.166 --> 00:20:44.268
Wow. Think about that. Is that you? Is that you? Let's go to Deuteronomy 8.2.

00:20:44.541 --> 00:20:49.899
They wanted Egypt's leftovers more than God's daily bread.

00:20:50.195 --> 00:20:52.314
I'm just going to let that marinate in your heart.

00:20:52.868 --> 00:20:57.048
Let's go to verses 2 and 3. And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord

00:20:57.048 --> 00:21:01.938
thy God led thee these 40 years in the wilderness to humble thee and to prove

00:21:01.938 --> 00:21:07.378
thee to know what was in thy heart, whether thou would keep his commandments or no.

00:21:07.820 --> 00:21:11.506
And he humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger and fed thee with manna,

00:21:11.872 --> 00:21:15.674
which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know.

00:21:16.075 --> 00:21:21.104
But he might make thee know that man does not live by bread alone,

00:21:21.104 --> 00:21:26.065
but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of the Lord does man live.

00:21:26.355 --> 00:21:30.361
There it is. The wilderness was revealing what was in their heart.

00:21:30.622 --> 00:21:33.048
It revealed their fear. It revealed their unbelief.

00:21:33.374 --> 00:21:37.674
It revealed their appetite. It revealed their memory. reveal whether they trusted

00:21:37.674 --> 00:21:40.988
God or not, or when provisions looked familiar.

00:21:41.255 --> 00:21:45.414
That is a word for us. Sometimes the wilderness reveals where freedom still

00:21:45.414 --> 00:21:47.949
needs to heal. Freedom from Egypt is one thing.

00:21:48.268 --> 00:21:52.854
Freedom from Egypt mindset is another. You can't be free in your body,

00:21:52.854 --> 00:21:54.828
but still bound in your mind.

00:21:55.158 --> 00:21:59.541
You can be out of the old place, but still hungry for the old patterns.

00:21:59.826 --> 00:22:03.767
You can walk towards promise, but still speaking the language of bondage.

00:22:04.145 --> 00:22:07.529
This is why many died in the wilderness. They were delivered.

00:22:07.848 --> 00:22:12.243
They were not transformed. They were free, but they were not faithful.

00:22:12.527 --> 00:22:15.685
They had promise, but they had no contentment.

00:22:16.091 --> 00:22:19.938
They had covering, but they had no gratitude. They had miracles,

00:22:19.938 --> 00:22:23.992
but they had no trust. That's what connects us to Black history amassed.

00:22:24.346 --> 00:22:28.793
Because after emancipation, freedom did not automatically mean safe,

00:22:29.007 --> 00:22:34.254
safety, wealthy, or land, education, justice, or peace. Freedom was real,

00:22:34.590 --> 00:22:36.233
but the wilderness was also real.

00:22:36.547 --> 00:22:41.008
The people had to learn how to build families again, own land,

00:22:41.308 --> 00:22:47.141
read, vote, worship freely, organize, protect one another, and dream beyond survival.

00:22:47.408 --> 00:22:52.058
And even today, many of us are still walking through a wilderness places.

00:22:52.058 --> 00:22:57.168
We are free but still healing, free but still tired, free but still fighting

00:22:57.168 --> 00:23:02.328
systems, free but still learning our history, free but still breaking generational

00:23:02.328 --> 00:23:06.582
trauma, free but still asking God how to build what we have.

00:23:06.866 --> 00:23:11.678
But the warning from Israel is this, do not let the discomfort of freedom make

00:23:11.678 --> 00:23:13.786
you crave the comfort of bondage.

00:23:13.977 --> 00:23:17.269
Do not let the wilderness make you forget the miracle.

00:23:17.571 --> 00:23:22.075
Do not call manna nothing when it's the thing that's keeping you alive.

00:23:22.244 --> 00:23:25.071
Do not curse the cloud that covers you.

00:23:25.309 --> 00:23:28.141
Do not ignore the fire that guides you.

00:23:28.438 --> 00:23:31.137
Do not forget that God who brought you out.

00:23:32.703 --> 00:23:36.296
The promised land requires the people who trust God beyond appetite,

00:23:36.465 --> 00:23:39.495
beyond fear, beyond nostalgia, and beyond complaint.

00:23:39.779 --> 00:23:42.409
Because God is not only trying to get us out.

00:23:42.820 --> 00:23:50.873
He's trying to grow us up. So the question becomes, can we trust God when provision is simple?

00:23:50.989 --> 00:23:54.221
Can we trust God when the menu changes?

00:23:54.598 --> 00:23:59.705
Can we trust God when freedom feels unfamiliar? Can we trust God when we have

00:23:59.705 --> 00:24:04.670
enough for today, but not the full picture for tomorrow? Israel cried for me,

00:24:04.937 --> 00:24:07.677
but God was offered maturity.

00:24:07.812 --> 00:24:09.593
God is telling us to grow up.

00:24:09.814 --> 00:24:14.464
Is there a cry for me? Out of all the things in the world, you cried for me.

00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:21.262
But not that you cried for me, you downplayed the manna that was keeping you alive.

00:24:21.546 --> 00:24:26.765
God wants us to grow up. Why? The place He's taken us, He needs us to mature.

00:24:26.765 --> 00:24:31.854
They wanted what tasted good, and God was trying to give them what would make them whole.

00:24:32.103 --> 00:24:36.815
And sometimes listening to today's needs to hear this, You know,

00:24:36.815 --> 00:24:40.515
I think this is, it's as somebody who's listening today need to hear this.

00:24:40.515 --> 00:24:43.231
God was trying to give them what would make them whole.

00:24:43.406 --> 00:24:48.137
And God wants, this is like an assigned message for us today.

00:24:48.299 --> 00:24:52.670
Not just you, for all of us. Do not trade your promises for old appetite.

00:24:53.094 --> 00:24:57.204
Do not go back in your mind to what God already delivered you from.

00:24:57.651 --> 00:25:01.157
Do not let temporary discomfort make you doubt your permanent freedom.

00:25:01.645 --> 00:25:06.793
You may be in the wilderness, but ye are not. covered.

00:25:07.153 --> 00:25:11.935
You may be in transition, but you are not alone. You may be in the wilderness,

00:25:11.935 --> 00:25:13.724
but you are not uncovered.

00:25:14.049 --> 00:25:18.443
You may be in the transition, but you are not abandoned. You may be eating manna,

00:25:18.832 --> 00:25:20.672
but you are still being fed.

00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:24.312
But the cloud and fire means God is still leading.

00:25:24.608 --> 00:25:29.814
The same God who brought you out is the same God who will bring you through.

00:25:30.075 --> 00:25:35.352
And the same God who brings you through, the same God who can bring you in.

00:25:35.613 --> 00:25:41.430
Let's finish this, y'all. Let's cross the finish line. God is still guiding us to freedom.

00:25:41.726 --> 00:25:46.335
And this is where the whole story becomes both encouraging and a warning.

00:25:46.678 --> 00:25:51.101
God was guiding Israel to freedom. He did not leave them in Egypt.

00:25:51.414 --> 00:25:56.697
He did not abandon them at the Red Sea. He did not forget them in the wilderness.

00:25:57.045 --> 00:26:02.728
He gave them a cloud by day. He gave them fire by night. He gave them manna from heaven.

00:26:03.053 --> 00:26:07.645
He gave them water from a rock. He gave them law, order, identity, and promise.

00:26:08.034 --> 00:26:14.530
God was guiding them to every step of the way, but still not everyone crossed the finish line.

00:26:14.855 --> 00:26:17.806
This is the part that we must sit in.

00:26:18.166 --> 00:26:23.609
We must understand that they were delivered, but some died in the wilderness.

00:26:23.858 --> 00:26:28.106
They were free from Pharaoh, but some were still bound by fear.

00:26:28.106 --> 00:26:32.089
They were out of Egypt, but Egypt was still alive in their thinking.

00:26:32.425 --> 00:26:37.876
They had promise in front of them, but unbelief kept pulling them backward.

00:26:38.207 --> 00:26:42.004
God is saying, I want you to move forward.

00:26:42.352 --> 00:26:47.496
Do you hear me? I want you to move forward. Hebrews 3.19 tells us,

00:26:47.496 --> 00:26:54.815
So see that they cannot enter in because of unbelief. This scripture is so plain, so simple.

00:26:55.088 --> 00:26:58.345
They did not miss the promise because God was weak.

00:26:58.664 --> 00:27:03.856
They missed the promise because they forgot God. They did not miss the promise

00:27:03.856 --> 00:27:05.833
because the land was not real.

00:27:06.123 --> 00:27:09.310
They missed the promise because of their unbelief.

00:27:09.612 --> 00:27:14.761
And this is a warning for us and for every generation that's walking towards freedom.

00:27:15.144 --> 00:27:20.363
You can be close to promise and still miss it if fear becomes louder than faith.

00:27:20.769 --> 00:27:24.206
You can be out of bondage and still not free in your mind.

00:27:24.577 --> 00:27:29.383
You can have God leading you and still complain all day long in your circle

00:27:29.632 --> 00:27:31.844
and walk in circles for the rest of your life.

00:27:32.169 --> 00:27:36.192
You can have evidence of God's provision and still call it not enough.

00:27:36.476 --> 00:27:41.740
And you can see the fruit of the land and still believe that the giants are

00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:46.990
bigger than the promise. Let's go to Numbers 14. We were there regarding what

00:27:46.990 --> 00:27:50.025
happened when we don't believe. Verse 29 and 30.

00:27:50.321 --> 00:27:55.708
Your carcass shall fall in this wilderness, and all that were numbered of you,

00:27:55.877 --> 00:27:59.981
according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward,

00:28:00.277 --> 00:28:01.960
which have murmured against me.

00:28:02.227 --> 00:28:07.330
Doubtless ye should not come into the land, certainly which I swear to make

00:28:07.330 --> 00:28:13.320
ye thereon, except save Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joseph the son of Nihon.

00:28:13.410 --> 00:28:15.707
I said nobody's making it except them two.

00:28:15.985 --> 00:28:21.120
That was hard, but it was true. Some of them died on the way to the place God

00:28:21.120 --> 00:28:22.643
intended for them to possess.

00:28:22.806 --> 00:28:27.884
And when we bring this into Black history unmasked, we must tell the truth there too.

00:28:28.162 --> 00:28:33.150
Black people were declared free, but many still died in that very land where

00:28:33.150 --> 00:28:34.553
they were supposed to be free.

00:28:34.838 --> 00:28:38.525
They were free but still hunted. Free but still segregated.

00:28:38.786 --> 00:28:43.121
Free but still denied land. Free but still denied education.

00:28:43.354 --> 00:28:47.691
Free but still denied protection. free but still denied voting rights,

00:28:48.026 --> 00:28:51.533
free but still denied fullness of citizenship.

00:28:52.027 --> 00:28:57.386
Free but still forced to fight for dignity in a land where they had already

00:28:57.386 --> 00:28:59.405
benefited from their labor.

00:28:59.655 --> 00:29:01.703
This is black history all over again.

00:29:01.964 --> 00:29:06.510
Freedom was declared, but wilderness was still real. Emancipation was real,

00:29:06.823 --> 00:29:09.906
but so were the giants. Jim Crow was a giant.

00:29:10.045 --> 00:29:13.209
Lynching was a giant. Redlining was a giant.

00:29:13.621 --> 00:29:20.064
Voter suppression was a giant. Stolen wages were a giant. Erased history was a giant.

00:29:20.413 --> 00:29:25.206
Broken promises were giants in the land. And many of our ancestors died in the

00:29:25.206 --> 00:29:27.371
land where they were supposed to live free.

00:29:27.691 --> 00:29:32.341
But here is the unmasked truth. Even when systems try to block freedom,

00:29:32.491 --> 00:29:36.183
God is still guiding his people. He's guiding them through prayer.

00:29:36.479 --> 00:29:40.671
He's guiding them through songs. He's guiding them through hushed harbors.

00:29:40.932 --> 00:29:44.258
He's guiding them through mothers and fathers who refuse to give up.

00:29:44.560 --> 00:29:48.327
He's guiding them through preachers, teachers, writers, organizers.

00:29:48.716 --> 00:29:50.940
Builders, and dreamers, and podcasters.

00:29:51.311 --> 00:29:55.816
He's guiding them through people who said, we may not see the whole promise,

00:29:56.054 --> 00:29:58.167
but we're going to keep walking.

00:29:58.463 --> 00:30:04.587
We're going to keep moving forward. That's why we cannot let doubt have the final word.

00:30:04.819 --> 00:30:09.684
Because some did not cross the finish line, but somebody kept walking.

00:30:09.939 --> 00:30:14.763
Some died in the wilderness, but Joshua and Caleb crossed over.

00:30:14.897 --> 00:30:19.500
Some was buried before they saw the promise, but their faith became a bridge

00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:21.926
for the next generation.

00:30:22.246 --> 00:30:27.980
Joshua 14. Are you feeling what I'm feeling? God wants us to move by faith.

00:30:28.299 --> 00:30:33.076
He might tell you to go forward. You know, it's interesting because I remember

00:30:33.076 --> 00:30:40.316
sharing with you, like the story during the story of the wise and foolish versions.

00:30:40.316 --> 00:30:44.902
And I had a similar experience when I took a couple of days off to.

00:30:45.394 --> 00:30:49.730
Just go enjoy myself and see my mom and go back to Michigan for a little bit.

00:30:49.928 --> 00:30:54.980
And I remember just, I was in this, I was asleep. I was sleeping and the Lord,

00:30:54.980 --> 00:30:57.004
and I was deciding when I was going to go home.

00:30:57.283 --> 00:31:00.145
And the Lord said, it's time for you to get, get on your journey.

00:31:00.458 --> 00:31:03.720
Like I want you to leave tomorrow. I didn't have no plans to leave tomorrow.

00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:06.400
I had big plans to leave. I was going to leave on the road.

00:31:06.827 --> 00:31:11.435
Like Monday morning, the Lord told me to leave Sunday morning.

00:31:11.435 --> 00:31:14.025
And during the night, he says, I want you to go.

00:31:14.292 --> 00:31:16.707
And so I woke up and he said, go.

00:31:17.038 --> 00:31:21.472
And I started looking for a hotel, at least about five hours, just a 10 hour drive.

00:31:21.768 --> 00:31:24.885
And he just said, I need you to go. And all that whole time,

00:31:24.885 --> 00:31:29.485
I did not understand because I was on vacation. I wanted to stay another day.

00:31:29.485 --> 00:31:33.181
I had some things I wanted to do, right? And because I had already mapped it out.

00:31:33.517 --> 00:31:38.695
But because I obeyed, I ended up finding a beautiful hotel off of the Mississippi

00:31:38.695 --> 00:31:44.547
River. And I had an opportunity to sit and enjoy God's presence, just me, him.

00:31:44.686 --> 00:31:48.958
And it was a quiet time because it's that holiday weekend.

00:31:49.278 --> 00:31:54.605
So people were not in a busy place. And I didn't realize that a lot of times

00:31:54.605 --> 00:31:58.075
when God wants to talk to you, he wants to move you forward.

00:31:58.075 --> 00:32:02.255
It's going to come like a jerk in the night. And what would you do?

00:32:02.895 --> 00:32:08.845
It reminds me, too, of when God gave Joseph a dream to move because of Harrah's

00:32:08.845 --> 00:32:12.312
was going to kill the baby Jesus, killed all the babies under two.

00:32:12.573 --> 00:32:16.926
And he just got up next day. He didn't ask no questions. He just packed up and he left.

00:32:17.655 --> 00:32:20.975
So I got up the next morning. I just started packing. My mom was still in the

00:32:20.975 --> 00:32:24.555
room. And she said, where are you going? I said, I got to go.

00:32:24.555 --> 00:32:26.715
I had a dream. And she just said, OK.

00:32:27.293 --> 00:32:31.392
I just packed up. And I left earlier than I wanted to. But God had it all scheduled.

00:32:31.548 --> 00:32:36.145
And just like God was showing the Israelites about what he wanted for them,

00:32:36.145 --> 00:32:40.749
God showed his presence. God always comes down and visits us.

00:32:40.958 --> 00:32:43.251
He's not sitting in a far off place.

00:32:43.513 --> 00:32:48.225
He gave us the Holy Spirit to be here. And sometimes he just shows up.

00:32:48.225 --> 00:32:53.642
He watches us. He has a plan for it. We're valuable and precious to him.

00:32:53.898 --> 00:32:59.535
So think how he felt when he had this big plan for the Israelites to do great

00:32:59.535 --> 00:33:02.222
and mighty things. And yet they doubted him.

00:33:02.501 --> 00:33:06.575
And when they doubted him, it locked up his hand, you know? And so I want to

00:33:06.575 --> 00:33:08.433
talk to you about Joshua 14.

00:33:08.983 --> 00:33:13.483
Let's go to verses 10 and 12. And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive.

00:33:13.773 --> 00:33:18.776
And as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word

00:33:18.776 --> 00:33:24.306
unto Moses, while the children of Israel wander in the wilderness, and now, lo,

00:33:24.806 --> 00:33:32.056
I am this four-day score and five years ago, as I am as strong this day as I

00:33:32.056 --> 00:33:34.286
was in the day that Moses sent me.

00:33:34.791 --> 00:33:41.542
As my strength was then even so it is my strength now for war both to go out.

00:33:42.088 --> 00:33:50.825
And to come. And God kept his promise to Joshua and Caleb 40 years later.

00:33:50.941 --> 00:33:55.283
And they were so happy, says, behold, the Lord has kept me alive.

00:33:55.475 --> 00:33:57.965
Now, therefore, give me this mountain.

00:33:58.284 --> 00:34:02.621
This is the spirit we need, not the spirit that says, let us go back to Egypt,

00:34:02.923 --> 00:34:06.359
but the spirit that says, give me this mountain,

00:34:06.690 --> 00:34:10.991
not the spirit that says we are grasshopper, but the spirit that says,

00:34:11.247 --> 00:34:13.666
if God promised it, we are able.

00:34:13.933 --> 00:34:18.618
Not the spirit that complains over manna, but the spirit that says God is feeding

00:34:18.618 --> 00:34:23.285
us for this journey, and not the spirit of fear, but the spirit of faith.

00:34:23.593 --> 00:34:29.348
Let's go to Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4, 1 through 2, verses 1 and 2.

00:34:29.528 --> 00:34:33.363
It says, God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners,

00:34:33.665 --> 00:34:39.853
spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, had in these days spoken

00:34:40.009 --> 00:34:46.528
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heirs of all things, by whom also he.

00:34:46.988 --> 00:34:50.702
Made the world. Wow, wow.

00:34:50.824 --> 00:34:56.333
Let us therefore fear, unless a promise before us left us, right?

00:34:56.623 --> 00:35:05.035
Don't let us get caught up in this. God wants us to mix our faith with his promises.

00:35:05.255 --> 00:35:07.078
History must be mixed with faith.

00:35:07.403 --> 00:35:11.291
Faith must be mixed with faith. Freedom must be mixed with faith.

00:35:11.465 --> 00:35:13.021
History must be mixed with faith.

00:35:13.364 --> 00:35:15.221
Survival must be mixed with faith.

00:35:15.570 --> 00:35:20.498
The Word must be mixed with faith because God is still guiding us to freedom.

00:35:20.893 --> 00:35:28.538
But we have to walk. We have to move. We have to believe. We have to build.

00:35:28.915 --> 00:35:34.523
We have to heal. We have to remember. We have to teach the next generation.

00:35:34.842 --> 00:35:40.995
We have to stop letting fear tell us we are all grasshoppers when God has called us his people.

00:35:41.152 --> 00:35:45.001
So this water break ends with both a warning and a word of hope.

00:35:45.355 --> 00:35:48.432
Do not die at the edge of what God has promised you.

00:35:48.710 --> 00:35:51.874
Do not let doubt stopped what deliverance started.

00:35:52.135 --> 00:35:56.930
And do not let unbelief rob you of the land that God told you to possess.

00:35:57.226 --> 00:36:02.184
Do not let the wilderness become your final address. God is still guiding us.

00:36:02.509 --> 00:36:07.936
The cloud is still covering. The fire is still leading. The word is still speaking.

00:36:08.285 --> 00:36:12.561
The promises are still ahead. Ancestors are still witnessing.

00:36:12.915 --> 00:36:16.921
The next generation is still watching. And God is still saying,

00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:20.455
you have been at this mount long enough.

00:36:20.712 --> 00:36:25.576
Now move. Now move with faith. Move with courage. Move with memory.

00:36:25.838 --> 00:36:32.559
Move with truth. Move with history unmasked and move towards the freedom God has intended for you.

00:36:32.746 --> 00:36:35.624
Because the goal is not just to come out of Egypt.

00:36:35.996 --> 00:36:39.474
The goal is to cross over it. Let's pray.

00:36:40.077 --> 00:36:45.447
Father God, we thank you for being the God who brings your people out and leads them through.

00:36:45.551 --> 00:36:48.994
We thank you for every cloud by day and every fire by night.

00:36:49.354 --> 00:36:55.025
We thank you for the ways you covered us when we did not know how we were going to make it.

00:36:55.333 --> 00:36:59.814
We thank you for the manna, the water, the mercy, the miracles you provided

00:37:00.163 --> 00:37:01.834
in the wilderness places.

00:37:02.171 --> 00:37:05.840
Lord, we confess that sometimes we have been free but still afraid.

00:37:06.113 --> 00:37:10.991
Sometimes we have been delivered but still doubtful. Sometimes we have seen

00:37:10.991 --> 00:37:13.640
your hand move and still question your promise.

00:37:14.017 --> 00:37:20.362
Forgive us for the times that we complain about the manna while forgetting the change that you broke.

00:37:20.595 --> 00:37:23.045
Help us not to die in the wilderness of unbelief.

00:37:23.456 --> 00:37:27.941
Help us not to stop at the edge of promise. Help us not to let fear,

00:37:27.941 --> 00:37:33.318
trauma, history, or old appetites pull us back into places you already deliver us from.

00:37:33.591 --> 00:37:37.736
Father, we pray for every listener who walks through their own wilderness.

00:37:38.062 --> 00:37:41.631
Strengthen their faith. Heal their memory. Restore their courage.

00:37:41.951 --> 00:37:45.260
Remind them that the dry place is not the final place.

00:37:45.515 --> 00:37:52.087
Remember them that, remind them that horror was preparation and not punishment.

00:37:52.202 --> 00:37:54.089
And Lord, we remember black history.

00:37:54.373 --> 00:38:00.075
Help us honor those who walked, prayed, fought, taught, built, believed before us.

00:38:00.422 --> 00:38:03.981
Help us carry their faith forward and not just their pain.

00:38:04.295 --> 00:38:08.269
Help us teach the next generation that they are not grasshoppers,

00:38:08.548 --> 00:38:11.978
that they are not forgotten, and they are not without promise.

00:38:12.234 --> 00:38:17.621
Guide us by your word. Cover us by your presence. Lead us by your spirit.

00:38:17.621 --> 00:38:24.244
Give us the faith of Caleb and Joshua to say, if God promised it, then we are able.

00:38:24.569 --> 00:38:26.706
Lord, we have been at this mountain long enough.

00:38:27.298 --> 00:38:31.686
Help us to walk forward, forward in truth, forward in faith,

00:38:32.058 --> 00:38:35.129
forward in healing, forward in promise, forward in freedom.

00:38:35.419 --> 00:38:37.741
And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

00:38:38.043 --> 00:38:43.398
This has been your host, Connie Morris, and this is the Diary of Black Women

00:38:43.398 --> 00:38:46.274
podcast. And I'll see you on the next episode.

00:38:46.472 --> 00:38:50.210
Before we close today, I don't want to take for granted that everyone listening

00:38:50.483 --> 00:38:51.905
knows Jesus personally.

00:38:52.288 --> 00:38:57.675
If you have listened to this episode or any other episodes and felt something stirring in your heart.

00:38:58.111 --> 00:39:01.826
Maybe you know about God, but you're not sure you truly know him.

00:39:02.017 --> 00:39:06.196
Maybe you grew up in church, walked away, got hurt, became tired,

00:39:06.585 --> 00:39:08.918
and never fully surrendered your life to Jesus.

00:39:09.318 --> 00:39:13.728
I want you to know this. God loves you. He has not forgotten you.

00:39:13.728 --> 00:39:15.687
He is not waiting to shame you.

00:39:15.849 --> 00:39:22.428
He is calling you home. The Bible says in Romans 10, 9, if you declare with

00:39:22.428 --> 00:39:28.088
your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from

00:39:28.088 --> 00:39:30.472
the dead, you will be saved.

00:39:30.681 --> 00:39:33.108
Salvation is not about being perfect.

00:39:33.322 --> 00:39:36.219
It's about surrendering to the one who is perfect.

00:39:36.550 --> 00:39:43.957
Jesus died for your sins, rose again, and made a way for you to be forgiven, restored, and made new.

00:39:44.068 --> 00:39:47.585
So right where you are, you can pray this prayer with me.

00:39:47.748 --> 00:39:52.914
Lord Jesus, I come to you today with an open heart. I believe you are the son of God.

00:39:53.303 --> 00:40:00.606
I believe you died on the cross for my sins. And I believe that God raised you from the dead today.

00:40:01.005 --> 00:40:04.071
I confess that I need you. I repent of my sins.

00:40:04.391 --> 00:40:10.844
I ask you to forgive me, cleanse me, and make me brand new. Jesus, come into my heart.

00:40:11.169 --> 00:40:14.971
Be my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer, and my King.

00:40:15.351 --> 00:40:20.306
I surrender my life to you. I give you my past, my present, and my future.

00:40:20.584 --> 00:40:24.509
Teach me how to walk with you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit.

00:40:24.781 --> 00:40:28.731
Lead me in truth, healing, obedience, and love.

00:40:29.051 --> 00:40:31.611
From this day forward, I belong to you.

00:40:31.991 --> 00:40:35.997
In Jesus' name, amen. If you pray that prayer from your heart,

00:40:36.159 --> 00:40:40.478
I want you to know that heaven has heard you. This is not the end.

00:40:40.809 --> 00:40:43.631
This is only the beginning of your walk with Jesus.

00:40:43.971 --> 00:40:47.705
Find a Bible-believing church, begin reading the word of God,

00:40:47.978 --> 00:40:51.043
pray daily, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow.

00:40:51.322 --> 00:40:56.076
God is not looking for perfection from you. He is inviting you into relationship,

00:40:56.384 --> 00:40:58.613
transformation, and eternal life.

00:40:58.805 --> 00:41:03.494
Through Jesus Christ. And remember, you are loved, you are not forgotten,

00:41:03.615 --> 00:41:06.215
and God still has a purpose for your life.

00:41:06.547 --> 00:41:09.432
Thank you for listening to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

00:41:09.634 --> 00:41:14.099
Until next time, keep walking in truth, faith, and freedom.

00:41:25.075 --> 00:41:28.245
Family, thank you for spending time with me today.

00:41:28.529 --> 00:41:32.185
To every woman listening who has ever felt hidden, overlooked,

00:41:32.185 --> 00:41:34.648
or pushed aside, hear me clearly.

00:41:34.903 --> 00:41:39.448
God has not forgotten you, and neither have I.

00:41:39.843 --> 00:41:44.603
Now let's go before the Lord and close this out with a word from God,

00:41:45.021 --> 00:41:49.456
because someone out there needs this reminder today.

00:41:49.723 --> 00:41:53.711
Jeremiah 29, 11, verses 11 through 14.

00:41:54.135 --> 00:41:58.995
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you

00:41:58.995 --> 00:42:02.895
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

00:42:03.185 --> 00:42:07.939
Then when you call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you,

00:42:08.195 --> 00:42:13.505
you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

00:42:13.505 --> 00:42:19.567
I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and bring you back from captivity.

00:42:19.944 --> 00:42:25.916
Father God, we thank you for your word, that it is true, that it is living, that it is for us.

00:42:26.061 --> 00:42:31.105
You said you know the plans you have for us, plans to prosper us and not to

00:42:31.105 --> 00:42:34.020
harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.

00:42:34.304 --> 00:42:38.606
So today we receive that, not just in our minds, but in our hearts.

00:42:38.832 --> 00:42:42.542
When we feel overlooked, remind us you still see us.

00:42:42.832 --> 00:42:48.062
When we feel forgotten, remind us you still have a plan. And when we feel hidden,

00:42:48.393 --> 00:42:50.599
remind us you are still working.

00:42:50.883 --> 00:42:54.047
Your word says that when we call on you, you will listen.

00:42:54.378 --> 00:42:57.571
So we call on you now. Hear us. Strengthen us.

00:42:57.820 --> 00:43:02.145
Guide us. Help us to seek you with our whole heart, not halfway,

00:43:02.354 --> 00:43:04.316
not sometimes, but fully.

00:43:04.606 --> 00:43:08.977
And as we seek you, let us find you in every season, in every place.

00:43:09.500 --> 00:43:14.719
Even the hidden one. Restore what was lost, renew what feels broken,

00:43:15.038 --> 00:43:19.455
and remind us that nothing in our lives is wasted in your hand.

00:43:19.856 --> 00:43:26.042
Lord, we trust you, we believe you, and we stand on your word. In Jesus' name, amen.

00:43:26.361 --> 00:43:30.430
This is Diary of a Black Woman podcast, and I'm your host, Connie Morris,

00:43:30.704 --> 00:43:33.444
and I'll see you on the next episode.