Hebrews to Negro: Ep. 6: The God Who Restores Identity

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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,

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where you take the word with you on your drive to work, while you're getting

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ready in the morning, 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 the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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I'm your host Connie Morris and we are in our final episode, day six, episode six.

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And the title is The God Who Restores Identity.

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This is from our series Hebrews to Negroes, When a People Lose Their Name.

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Today's theme is restoration, covenant, healing, and identity in Christ.

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Our foundational scripture is found in Galatians chapter 3, verse 29.

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If you are in Christ and Christ is in you, God says you are of Abraham's seeds

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and that you are an heir according to the promise.

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We've been walking through Hebrews to Negroes about the identity theft,

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but now we're going to talk about the restoration.

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What does God have in store for us? And I want to just do a little commentary

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on Galatians 3 to 9, we see that this scripture brings the identity conversation

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into full spiritual focus.

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Identity is not just about what man called you,

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what history erased or tried to erase, and how slavery renamed you,

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or how the system tried to bury the name and all the stories to go with it.

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The final question is, who do you belong to?

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At the end of each episode, I give you an opportunity to choose Jesus.

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I would not be a Christian if I did not offer you Jesus.

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So if something pricked in your heart or you want to know more,

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you're like, how does she get this information? I can't even understand it.

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Go ahead and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and be filled with the Holy

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Spirit and he will guide you into all things.

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Paul, truth. You don't have to stumble around in the dark anymore.

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And let's continue because I can get preaching on that topic too,

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but I don't want to preach today.

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I want to teach you something. So I want to continue.

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Paul says, if ye be Christ, that means identity is stored through covenant.

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When a people have been stripped of their name, their language,

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their land, their culture and history, God does not leave them broken in the hands of the oppressor.

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He restores them through promise.

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Last episode, we learned that through disobedience, through not hearkening to

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the word of God, it led the children of Israel and a generation into a curse, into being oppressed.

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But then we saw that in Deuteronomy 30, that that time is over,

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that God is now getting ready to restore.

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So that is good, good news.

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And so we understand that some of the history was erased, but it seemed to be resurfacing.

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Some of the lineages was erased.

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But God says, no, no more erasure. It's time for full truth.

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God's covenant is stronger than captivity.

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If you belong to Christ and you are connected to Abraham's promise,

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you are not a mistake. You are not a rejected people.

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You are not what slavery called you.

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You are not what racism named you, and you are not what propaganda reduced you to.

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You are heirs according to the promise. Who are these heirs?

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It says, if ye be Christ, if ye believe in Christ, if you accepted the Lord

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and Savior into your heart, and you join in partnership with the covenant he

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has created through his blood shed on the cross and his resurrection,

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then you are heirs according to the promise.

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That means that identity is not restored by man's permission.

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It is restored by God's declaration.

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And the more I think about this,

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I'm always on the topic of reparations on my other podcast. Not all the time, but it's the forefront.

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And I'm always wondering how they're going to ever pay us back.

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And Laura said, they will not ever be able to pay you back. You have to look to me for restoration.

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We're looking at, they're looking at how we're going to pay them back.

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And they started, you know how you go to a car dealership and you're trying

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to get a car and they're trying to offer you a discount and they start hitting that calculator.

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And I'm like, what are you doing? Just tell me what you take it off.

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And once they calculate everything up, you really didn't get a discount.

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They move in numbers around for their behalf. I want you to show me what my car is worth.

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I want to show you what I'm buying. And I want to see that taken away from that total.

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So I know I don't want you to blend it in, you know, with that calculator game.

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Like I told you, I don't like to play reindeer games. I call it anything that's

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not being truthful is a reindeer game. So let's continue.

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The next scripture is Isaiah 61, 7.

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Remember, God is in the restoration business. It reads, For your shame ye shall

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have double, and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.

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Therefore, in their land they shall possess the double.

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Everlasting joy should be unto them. I want to read that again because it says,

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For your shame you shall have double. That's one double.

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And for your confusion you shall rejoice in your portion. So it's going to be

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a good enough amount of this double that it's going to cause a rejoicing.

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Not only is that going to be good, therefore in their land, they should possess the double.

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So we got a double over here for your shame, a double in your land that was stolen.

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And then it mentions everlasting joy should be unto them.

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That means no one can take the joy away that God will give you.

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This scripture speaks directly to a people who have carried shame,

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who have carried confusion, loss, and displacement.

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Shame is what happens when someone else's sin gets placed on your body,

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your history, your skin, and your name.

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For generations, Black people were told to be ashamed of their color,

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ashamed of their hair, ashamed of their features, ashamed of their culture,

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ashamed of their names, and ashamed of their origin.

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But God says, for your shame, ye should have double.

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You ever notice that the Egyptian characters, they have.

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Statues of Egyptian mummies or kings over there. And you notice they always knock their nose off.

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Why is that? Because that nose look like our nose. It's not pointed. It's round.

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Why would they knock the nose off of a statue? Statues, statues, you should pull it up.

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Statues without noses. Because they were black people. They were niggas, kings, and royalty.

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What does that mean? They've done everything to take away our identity.

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But God tells us, and I want to say it again in Isaiah 6, 7,

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for your shame of your big nose. Come on now, you should have double.

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For your confusion, when you thought it was this way and they changed it and

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they keep changing it and they keep changing it, guess what?

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You're going to have joy in your portion.

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And in your land, you should possess not double, but the double and everlasting

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joy should be with you. I am sorry if I'm preaching because I am too excited

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about that. Let's continue.

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This scripture also says, For confusion, they should rejoice in their portion.

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Confusion is what happens when a people is disconnected from who they are.

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Because when you are confused, someone gives you a name. God gives you a name

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by your mind. He said, God told me to name you Connie.

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And then all of a sudden you get captured and go to a land and your name is

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no longer Connie. It might be Barbara.

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You're like, my name ain't Barbara. I'm confused because I don't know how to

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answer to Barbara because that's not my name.

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Right? That's a disconnection from who I am. My mama named me Connie.

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He did not name me Barbara.

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So when the names are changed, records are hidden, history is rewritten,

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and the truth is buried. Confusion becomes part of captivity.

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They purposely, purposely lost their birth certificate, purposely lost who they,

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when they were born, purposely lost their name and their tribal stuff.

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And they come over here, slave bound, barely making it through the transatlantic

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slave and all the other ships that went over there and picked up people, that's confusion.

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Especially when you snatched out of a home, that's confusion.

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When they changed your name, when they hid your records, when they try to rewrite

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history and they try to bury truth, confusion becomes part of captivity. But God is a restorer.

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He brings the people out of confusion and back into portion.

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A portion means there is something assigned to you. There is something God intended just for you.

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There is something with your name.

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On it. The enemy can use shame to cover identity, but God uses restoration to uncover it.

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It says again, for confusion, they should rejoice in their portion.

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Their portion is what is yours is yours.

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The enemy try to take it away. Enemy try to hide it. The enemy try to rewrite

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it. The enemy try to lie about the truth.

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The enemy try to cause confusion in every evil work.

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But God says, no, I'm going to uncover your identity and I'm going to use it as a rest.

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I'm going to use restoration to uncover it. You will no longer be hidden from what is true.

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The Bible always says what is done in the dark is always going to come into

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light. What is hidden should always be revealed.

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Let's go to Isaiah chapter one, verse 10.

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For the number of the children of Israel should be as the sand of the sea,

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which cannot be measured nor numbered.

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And it should come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them,

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ye are not my people, there it should be said unto them that ye are the sons

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of the living God. That's a reversal.

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That's a restoration right there.

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They've been telling you, you don't belong to God because they created a white

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God. They created a white Jesus. They created everything in the Bible to be white.

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And so there's no way you can find your identity in that.

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Even though the names in the Bible are black names, African names, yet.

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We were told that we don't have a Bible.

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Here, use the slave Bible. You're not supposed to be free. You are cursed.

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But God says in Hosea 6, 1, God says there will be a place where his people

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will be told, you are not my people.

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That means there will be denial. There will be rejection.

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There will be a system. Come on now, a system that would tell them they do not

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belong. They have no covenant.

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They have no God. They have no name. They have no inheritance.

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But God says in the same place where they were rejected, they will be restored. Now that is powerful.

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Think about it. Where was we rejected at?

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We got pulled out of Africa. I ain't from Africa, but I am African.

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I'm an African-American, right? And so is that a real thing?

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I don't know. I'm starting to look at my identity again based off of what I

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am learning. It says, you're going to be told that you're not my people.

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The first thing they do is change your name. The second thing they do is change your language.

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The third thing they do is change your God, a system that tells you you do not belong.

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And that's why we have such a high rate of incarceration. We have a high rate

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of fathers in prison. We have a high rate of children.

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In little juvenile centers, we have a high rate because they do not know their God.

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They do not know their God. And when you don't know your God,

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the system can take you here, there, and everywhere.

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When you feel like life is not worth living because you don't know your identity, that's confusion.

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But we see here in this scripture, Hosea 1.10, that yet the number of children

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of Israel should be as the sand of the sea.

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Check this out. If you could count the number of people, yeah,

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right now it seems like the Caucasians have a large percentage.

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They're always in the 60s in America. But if you put them over there in the

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continent of Africa, they are low, low numbers.

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And so it says sand of the sea. Who did he tell that to?

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He told that to Abraham, that your descendants would be as the sand of the sea.

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You are going to have many, many, many, many, many. Come on.

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That it cannot be measured or numbered. Come on now. It says,

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ye are not my people, was told.

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So it starts to be a denial. We start to feel rejections. We start to feel a

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system that would tell us that we don't belong, that there is no covenant,

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that they have no God, that they have no name. They have no inheritance.

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But God says this, in that same place where you were ejected, you will be restored.

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In that same place, in that same place.

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That means as we're looking for reparations, for restoration, we can't look to man.

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We have to look to God because in his word, it tells us here in Hosea 1.10,

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in that same place, in that same place.

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So I don't know how they doing a little calculator, how to figure it all out.

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They won't be able to figure it out.

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Restoration is going to come by any means necessary when God just pushed a button,

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when he says the word, if he snaps his finger, if he gives the wink,

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if he gives the nod, it's over.

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It is over. We will have restoration.

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They don't need to calculate it up and figure out we can never pay them back.

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No, you can't pay us back.

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God is going to pay us back. And it says.

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The thief be found sevenfold, even if you have to sell your own stuff.

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So even as the United States got to sell all the land to reclaim our,

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to get our restoration back, it's got to happen because we found who the enemy

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was. We know who they are.

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And in the same place that you told them, you are nothing, God says,

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you are sons of the living God.

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The same place that called them slaves, God calls them sons.

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The same place that stripped their names, God gives them identity.

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The same place that denied their humanity, God declares their covenant.

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This is not just a scripture about being found.

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This is a scripture about being publicly corrected.

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God says the place that lied on you will become the place where truth is revealed.

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And if we can take a moment And we can pause. And I need to slow down because

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I'm so excited. This is such a good stuff that even, can I say it?

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Even our enemies are forced to tell the truth.

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The word is out. The true Israelites are scattered.

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They're not in Israel. They're scattered. And when God give the wink,

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the nod, snap his finger, point his finger, wave his hand, it's all going to just be reversed.

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Restoration is going to happen so fast. Let's go to Ezekiel 37, 11 through 14.

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And it reads, Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.

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Behold, they say, our bones are dry and our hope is lost. We are cut off from

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all our parts. Sound familiar?

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Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus says the Lord God,

00:18:08.677 --> 00:18:12.797
Behold, O my people, I will open your graves. Come on.

00:18:12.937 --> 00:18:15.777
And I cause you to come up out of your graves

00:18:16.110 --> 00:18:22.110
and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye should know that I am the Lord.

00:18:22.330 --> 00:18:28.050
When I opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

00:18:28.190 --> 00:18:31.730
and shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live.

00:18:31.870 --> 00:18:34.430
And I shall place you in your own land.

00:18:34.850 --> 00:18:41.110
Then shall you know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, says the Lord.

00:18:41.270 --> 00:18:47.050
Ezekiel 37 is not just about dry bones. It's not just about people who have lost their hope.

00:18:47.350 --> 00:18:51.430
The scripture says these bones are the whole house of Israel.

00:18:51.690 --> 00:18:56.170
These bones represent a people who were scattered, who was broken,

00:18:56.470 --> 00:18:58.830
disconnected, and left for dead.

00:18:59.050 --> 00:19:02.430
They said, our bones are dry and our hope is lost.

00:19:02.670 --> 00:19:07.870
We are cut off. Think about that. That sounds like a people who have been severed

00:19:07.870 --> 00:19:12.690
from their identity, cut off from their lands, their name, their language,

00:19:12.690 --> 00:19:16.190
cut off from ancestry, cut off from covenant understanding.

00:19:16.610 --> 00:19:19.030
Cut off from the truth of who they are.

00:19:19.070 --> 00:19:22.250
But God does not speak to them as dead things.

00:19:22.370 --> 00:19:25.450
He says, my people. Come on.

00:19:25.810 --> 00:19:29.290
God says, remember he said he remembers your name. When God says,

00:19:29.550 --> 00:19:31.270
oh, my people, think about him.

00:19:31.670 --> 00:19:35.110
Think about how he's sitting there going like, he's shaking his head

00:19:35.474 --> 00:19:39.374
I know you were disobedient and I know I put the curse on you,

00:19:39.414 --> 00:19:41.174
but it's restoration time.

00:19:41.414 --> 00:19:45.454
So he's looking at the dead bones. He's telling Ezekiel, I want you to speak

00:19:45.454 --> 00:19:47.954
to the dead bones because these are Israel.

00:19:48.134 --> 00:19:53.794
These are Israel. And he says, oh, my people, even when they felt forgotten,

00:19:54.314 --> 00:19:56.474
God still calls them his people.

00:19:56.654 --> 00:20:00.274
Even when they were scattered, God still calls them his people.

00:20:00.454 --> 00:20:05.234
Even when they were buried under history, God still calls them his people.

00:20:05.474 --> 00:20:11.094
Even when they were Negro, color, slave, property, and three-fifths of a man,

00:20:11.514 --> 00:20:14.174
God still called them his people.

00:20:14.394 --> 00:20:21.254
Then God says, I will open your graves. A grave is a place where something has been buried.

00:20:21.834 --> 00:20:27.774
Identity was buried. History was buried. Truth was buried. Names were buried.

00:20:28.134 --> 00:20:33.934
Lineage was buried. But God says he will open the grave. This is why restoration

00:20:33.934 --> 00:20:36.554
is not just emotional, it's prophetic.

00:20:37.054 --> 00:20:41.694
God breathed life back into what captivity tried to kill.

00:20:41.854 --> 00:20:45.214
I believe that's going on right now, right now.

00:20:45.434 --> 00:20:52.594
Diary of Black Women podcast is speaking the truth right now to the ears that can hear right now.

00:20:52.914 --> 00:20:56.354
To those who need restoration right now.

00:20:56.754 --> 00:21:01.754
To those who need God to breathe on them, it's right now.

00:21:02.154 --> 00:21:08.714
You have to open your Bible. God is breathing life back into us.

00:21:09.034 --> 00:21:14.574
What captivity tried to kill, God is restoring. Let's go to Isaiah 43.1. Sorry about that.

00:21:15.120 --> 00:21:20.060
But now, thus says the Lord that created thee, O Israel, and he that formed

00:21:20.060 --> 00:21:24.180
thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee.

00:21:24.380 --> 00:21:28.300
I have called thee by name, and thou art mine.

00:21:28.560 --> 00:21:32.760
Sounds like God is speaking to us, to our hearts. This scripture is personal.

00:21:33.100 --> 00:21:36.480
It's for our covenant.

00:21:36.800 --> 00:21:42.180
God says, I have called thee by name. That means that before man renamed you, God knew you.

00:21:42.300 --> 00:21:48.540
Before slavery labeled you, God knew you. Before colonization categorized you, God knew you.

00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:51.240
Before racism judged your skin, color.

00:21:51.705 --> 00:21:56.545
God knew you. Before history books try to erase your history, God knew you.

00:21:56.885 --> 00:22:01.225
God does not call his people by the names oppression gave them.

00:22:01.385 --> 00:22:05.805
He calls them by what he created, formed, redeemed, and claimed.

00:22:06.225 --> 00:22:12.265
Scripture says, thou art mine. That is identity, ownership by God, not ownership by man.

00:22:12.405 --> 00:22:14.505
That is covenant, not captivity.

00:22:14.845 --> 00:22:19.865
That is restoration and not rejection. When God says, fear not.

00:22:20.085 --> 00:22:25.325
He is speaking to a people who have the reason to fear, a people who have been

00:22:25.325 --> 00:22:31.665
hunted, sold, separated, mocked, miseducated, and spiritually confused.

00:22:31.865 --> 00:22:37.805
But God tells them not to fear because redemption was already been declared.

00:22:38.245 --> 00:22:42.205
Man may have stolen the name, but God never forgot it.

00:22:42.505 --> 00:22:47.505
Second, I'm sorry, Joel 2 verse 25, and I will restore to you the years that

00:22:47.505 --> 00:22:50.765
the locusts hath eaten, and the canker worm, and the caterpillar,

00:22:50.885 --> 00:22:56.525
and the poma worm, my great army which I sent among you. This speaks of lost time.

00:22:56.725 --> 00:23:01.145
This speaks of a process of lost time. But the first thing God tells us is,

00:23:01.345 --> 00:23:03.945
I will restore you the years.

00:23:04.145 --> 00:23:07.925
Not just things, not just money, not just land.

00:23:08.305 --> 00:23:13.325
Years. I mean, God understands that damage was not small. It was generational.

00:23:13.685 --> 00:23:17.885
It was historical. It was layered. It was years of stolen labor,

00:23:18.145 --> 00:23:22.265
stolen names, stolen families, stolen property, stolen inventions.

00:23:22.825 --> 00:23:27.805
Stolen dignity, stolen culture, stolen records, stolen identity,

00:23:28.325 --> 00:23:30.485
and stolen truth. But God says.

00:23:31.162 --> 00:23:37.442
I will restore. This is important because some damage is too deep for man to

00:23:37.442 --> 00:23:39.202
repair by an apology alone.

00:23:39.402 --> 00:23:43.722
That's why we don't need your apology. If you're not going to be real with it, keep it.

00:23:43.822 --> 00:23:49.562
We don't need your apology. We need restoration at the deepest level.

00:23:49.682 --> 00:23:52.262
The only person can do that is God.

00:23:52.622 --> 00:23:55.462
Some wounds are too old for politics to fix.

00:23:55.662 --> 00:23:59.282
We don't need no new laws. The law's got us in trouble already because,

00:23:59.362 --> 00:24:02.922
you know, we tried and they tried to vote something in.

00:24:03.042 --> 00:24:05.362
Oh, we tried and it failed. No, we don't need that.

00:24:05.602 --> 00:24:08.702
We don't need that. God says, I will restore.

00:24:09.042 --> 00:24:12.182
Some thefts are too large for money to fully repay.

00:24:12.422 --> 00:24:19.702
God says, I will restore. Some trauma is too deep for a system that caused it to completely heal it.

00:24:20.082 --> 00:24:24.942
God will restore. Man cannot restore or even offer reparations,

00:24:25.122 --> 00:24:27.442
repair is to make whole, restore is to make whole.

00:24:27.662 --> 00:24:31.062
There's no way they can do it. And you can hear the calculator clicking.

00:24:31.342 --> 00:24:32.582
You can hear that, right?

00:24:33.002 --> 00:24:37.902
Restoration must only come from God. That doesn't mean man is not accountable

00:24:37.902 --> 00:24:39.302
because man is accountable.

00:24:39.782 --> 00:24:44.122
Nations are accountable. Systems are accountable. Oppressors are accountable.

00:24:44.122 --> 00:24:48.962
But the kind of restoration that heals the whole person, the body,

00:24:49.242 --> 00:24:54.942
the soul, the spirit, the memory, the family, the identity must come from God.

00:24:55.062 --> 00:25:00.442
Now, that's a revelation that really kicked into me last episode.

00:25:01.050 --> 00:25:02.870
As I was studying it, I was like,

00:25:03.130 --> 00:25:07.610
wow, wow, wow. I'm always talking about reparations on my other channel.

00:25:07.830 --> 00:25:12.910
And over here, God says, Connie, they cannot pay you back everything that they

00:25:12.910 --> 00:25:14.710
have caused, all the harm they have caused.

00:25:14.890 --> 00:25:21.950
There's no way that man can even start the process because man doesn't know how to redeem.

00:25:22.130 --> 00:25:24.130
They know how to steal, kill, and destroy.

00:25:24.410 --> 00:25:32.410
They do not know how to redeem. But God says, I'm holding everybody accountable. He says, I will restore.

00:25:32.570 --> 00:25:37.870
I will restore what the locust ate. I will restore what captivity consumed.

00:25:38.250 --> 00:25:44.990
I will restore what oppression has buried. I will restore what racism has denied.

00:25:45.630 --> 00:25:51.970
I will restore what history tried to erase. And as I was, I want to pause here,

00:25:52.110 --> 00:25:56.490
as I was going through another book, because I love studying history.

00:25:56.670 --> 00:26:00.890
And one thing that's missing from the slave history, as you go through,

00:26:01.010 --> 00:26:02.810
it's missing, I think it's missing purposely.

00:26:03.790 --> 00:26:09.050
There's a book titled Delectable Negro. And I was going through it and I might

00:26:09.050 --> 00:26:11.710
have an episode followed or not, because it's really raw.

00:26:11.850 --> 00:26:16.130
And I might not. I just follow what God has for this podcast.

00:26:16.130 --> 00:26:22.110
But there was times when even as a slave, even as you at your lowest,

00:26:22.490 --> 00:26:26.010
they talk about how they will actually starve you.

00:26:26.170 --> 00:26:30.510
They will actually roast you, eat you. Delectable means to eat,

00:26:30.610 --> 00:26:32.270
deliciously tasty, right?

00:26:32.470 --> 00:26:37.050
They will even have a fantasy about you and rape you.

00:26:37.527 --> 00:26:43.807
Men too, not just women. They have a fetish for the black flesh.

00:26:44.207 --> 00:26:50.327
The book talks about human consumption. And I only pause here to tell you that book is really deep.

00:26:50.487 --> 00:26:53.427
It's really, really like high opening.

00:26:53.667 --> 00:26:58.087
And there's probably other references that can help you get that idea back.

00:26:58.227 --> 00:27:01.487
But when I heard that, that what really bothered me.

00:27:01.687 --> 00:27:06.267
And that's when I went to prayer. I said, Lord, there's no way they can pay us back for all that.

00:27:06.767 --> 00:27:09.347
While they're calculating things on their little calculator,

00:27:09.647 --> 00:27:13.747
they didn't calculate the people they ate. They didn't calculate the people that they killed.

00:27:13.927 --> 00:27:17.367
They didn't calculate the people that they lynched. They didn't calculate the

00:27:17.367 --> 00:27:21.967
pregnant woman that was lynched and the baby killed and stepped on their head.

00:27:22.127 --> 00:27:26.647
They didn't calculate that lost soul. They didn't calculate the labor.

00:27:27.167 --> 00:27:30.407
The capital that they gained and invested,

00:27:30.407 --> 00:27:33.687
and invested and invested and invested and now the

00:27:33.687 --> 00:27:36.867
income versus black and white is so it's

00:27:36.867 --> 00:27:39.527
a big gap and if they were to calculate it would they

00:27:39.527 --> 00:27:43.467
calculate it fairly they can't calculate it fairly because it's going to cause

00:27:43.467 --> 00:27:48.727
them to be lost they're going to call them lose that loss but lose money even

00:27:48.727 --> 00:27:54.807
today the calculation calculation or the calculator is still clicking because

00:27:54.807 --> 00:27:58.787
the money is still old and we got interest in it.

00:27:58.887 --> 00:28:02.807
The more it builds up, the more interest happens on it.

00:28:02.987 --> 00:28:08.967
2 Corinthians 5, 17, it says, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.

00:28:09.307 --> 00:28:12.987
Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.

00:28:13.347 --> 00:28:16.447
Now, it doesn't mean you forget your history. It means that your history no

00:28:16.447 --> 00:28:19.667
longer has power to define your bondage.

00:28:19.787 --> 00:28:22.287
In Christ, identity is not limited to trauma.

00:28:22.907 --> 00:28:27.207
People can't remember what happened without being imprisoned by what happened.

00:28:27.507 --> 00:28:30.987
People can tell the truth about slavery, racism, theft, violence,

00:28:31.107 --> 00:28:35.947
and erasure while still knowing that God has the final word.

00:28:36.147 --> 00:28:41.407
That's a hard task to know that man cannot repay.

00:28:41.627 --> 00:28:43.587
Because, you know, we want the vindication.

00:28:43.827 --> 00:28:48.107
We want to see that person suffer as much as we suffered.

00:28:48.307 --> 00:28:52.687
But God says that won't happen. It will happen. because Psalm 91 said,

00:28:52.847 --> 00:28:57.767
you will see your enemy destroyed, but God always gives them an opportunity.

00:28:57.987 --> 00:29:03.887
They're calculating it up now, but we have to understand that through the slavery,

00:29:04.067 --> 00:29:06.327
through the racism, through the violence, through the erasure,

00:29:06.647 --> 00:29:11.287
while still knowing that God has a final word, that's what he wants us to do.

00:29:11.527 --> 00:29:18.387
He wants us just like Abraham. Remember, Abraham had to believe beyond belief that he would be able to,

00:29:18.567 --> 00:29:22.167
the vision that God gave him, that he would be able to have children in this

00:29:22.167 --> 00:29:26.647
old body through a lady who is also old. The Bible says old.

00:29:26.827 --> 00:29:33.327
He had to believe so much to believe that this guy who said this is going to be a good thing.

00:29:33.487 --> 00:29:37.527
The Bible tells us that old things are passed away and it continued,

00:29:37.707 --> 00:29:39.607
behold, all things have become new.

00:29:39.987 --> 00:29:43.527
But old things that pass away does not mean history disappears.

00:29:43.547 --> 00:29:46.867
It means the old label lose their authority.

00:29:47.367 --> 00:29:54.087
Slave is not your final name. Negro is not your final name. Oppression is not your final name.

00:29:54.587 --> 00:29:57.007
Rejection is not your final name.

00:29:57.527 --> 00:30:02.387
Forgotten is not your final name. Curse is not your final name.

00:30:02.667 --> 00:30:06.107
Sound like a broken record because I want you to get it.

00:30:06.327 --> 00:30:10.367
When they tell us you need to forget about it or they say I didn't have nothing

00:30:10.367 --> 00:30:12.547
to do with slavery, that's not the point.

00:30:12.787 --> 00:30:20.107
That's not the point. The point is, are you in the process of restoring us back to,

00:30:20.747 --> 00:30:27.087
our wholeness. And you can't. And if you can't do that, then you can't tell us to forget.

00:30:27.347 --> 00:30:31.327
You can't tell us to move on. You can't say you have nothing to do with it when

00:30:31.327 --> 00:30:32.987
you're benefiting from the system.

00:30:33.167 --> 00:30:35.447
In Christ, God gives a new identity.

00:30:35.667 --> 00:30:39.827
He restores the person from the inside out. He restores the wound.

00:30:40.067 --> 00:30:42.927
He restores the mind. He strengthens the soul.

00:30:43.207 --> 00:30:47.647
He strengthens the spirit. He gives the people back their voice.

00:30:47.807 --> 00:30:50.867
And this is why identity as Christ is so powerful.

00:30:51.087 --> 00:30:57.127
It does not deny the past. It redeems the person from being ruled by it.

00:30:57.307 --> 00:31:01.847
Let's go to our final scripture. It's found in Revelation 7, verse 9.

00:31:02.027 --> 00:31:05.047
After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude,

00:31:05.347 --> 00:31:09.867
which no man could number, of all nations, and kindred, and people,

00:31:10.027 --> 00:31:14.947
and tongue, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white

00:31:14.947 --> 00:31:17.487
robes and palms in their hand.

00:31:17.707 --> 00:31:22.087
This scripture shows the fullness of God's redemption plan. At the throne,

00:31:22.227 --> 00:31:25.687
there are nations, there are kindred, there are people, there are tongues.

00:31:26.067 --> 00:31:31.027
That means God does not erase ethnic identity to create unity.

00:31:31.247 --> 00:31:37.787
He redeems people from every nation and brings them before the Lamb. Did we get that?

00:31:38.007 --> 00:31:41.607
Because we always think that there's one, like this is going to be,

00:31:41.930 --> 00:31:47.710
white side in heaven and it's going to be a black side in heaven and it's going to be a tribe in heaven.

00:31:47.930 --> 00:31:51.190
God says, no, no, no, no, no. I created all people. He said,

00:31:51.310 --> 00:31:56.930
I'm bringing them all together in unity and I want them to stand before the throne.

00:31:57.090 --> 00:32:00.430
That's powerful because at the throne, there's nations.

00:32:00.710 --> 00:32:03.470
At the throne, there's kindreds. At the throne, there's people.

00:32:03.670 --> 00:32:06.790
There's tongues. Come on, different people speak in different languages.

00:32:07.110 --> 00:32:11.750
That means God does not erase ethnic identity to create unity.

00:32:12.030 --> 00:32:16.610
He redeems people from every nation and bring them before the land.

00:32:16.790 --> 00:32:23.050
This matters because some people teach identity in a way that creates pride, hatred, or division.

00:32:23.270 --> 00:32:27.710
Others teach unity in a way that erases history, lineage, and truth.

00:32:28.010 --> 00:32:31.650
But Revelation shows both truth and redemption together.

00:32:32.110 --> 00:32:35.430
On the last episode, I talked about having a balance between the both.

00:32:35.430 --> 00:32:41.910
You can't, don't get the pride side and get the hatred and don't get the other

00:32:41.910 --> 00:32:44.590
side where you don't recognize it.

00:32:44.670 --> 00:32:46.950
You say, I love everybody. There's a balance.

00:32:47.170 --> 00:32:49.530
There's some truth happening.

00:32:49.770 --> 00:32:52.790
There were some lies that happened and there are some truth happening.

00:32:52.930 --> 00:32:56.970
And we have to walk straight down the line and not get into pride.

00:32:57.210 --> 00:32:59.990
There are nations, there are kinder, there are people, tongues.

00:33:00.210 --> 00:33:05.950
They're all before the Lamb. That means identity belongs under Christ, not above him.

00:33:06.330 --> 00:33:11.990
The gold is not Rachel Pry without God. The gold is not historical discovery without salvation.

00:33:12.210 --> 00:33:16.870
And the gold is not proving who you are while losing who Christ is.

00:33:17.070 --> 00:33:21.850
The gold is restoration identity under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

00:33:22.150 --> 00:33:23.710
God can restore a people.

00:33:24.090 --> 00:33:29.050
God can restore a name. He can restore a history. He can expose deception and

00:33:29.050 --> 00:33:33.550
he can still bring them all together under his throne.

00:33:34.305 --> 00:33:39.605
Isn't that powerful? That God says, I want everybody. I want everybody together.

00:33:40.105 --> 00:33:45.385
I want everybody together. You know, I love this because we're going to go into some teaching points.

00:33:45.725 --> 00:33:48.405
Restoration is God's answer to erasure.

00:33:48.925 --> 00:33:52.745
Throughout this series, we've talked about what was stolen. We talked about

00:33:52.745 --> 00:33:57.045
names, language, family, history, labor, land, dignity, identity.

00:33:57.325 --> 00:34:04.205
But we see here in Joel 2.25 that I will restore the years that the locust has eaten. Wow.

00:34:04.385 --> 00:34:06.285
He said, I'm going to restore the years.

00:34:08.113 --> 00:34:11.773
Restoration does not, it says God, we say restore the years.

00:34:11.873 --> 00:34:14.833
He's talking about restoring the time. Can we get our time back?

00:34:15.293 --> 00:34:18.573
Can we get our, how we heal from trauma? There's trauma.

00:34:19.093 --> 00:34:23.413
It's generational trauma. How about the systems that still deny?

00:34:23.873 --> 00:34:26.753
How about even the system, when you talk about the constitution,

00:34:27.153 --> 00:34:30.633
when you're talking about the 13th amendment, where when you are arrested,

00:34:30.633 --> 00:34:35.553
you lose your privileges and they can just put you to work into like slave again.

00:34:35.713 --> 00:34:37.313
You know, that little gap.

00:34:37.533 --> 00:34:41.573
And we also want restoration on a generation that was lost.

00:34:41.773 --> 00:34:46.893
Restoration does not mean pain was not real. Doesn't mean the loss didn't matter.

00:34:47.313 --> 00:34:49.093
Doesn't mean we pretend nothing happened.

00:34:49.613 --> 00:34:55.033
Restoration means God has the final word. What was stolen is not greater than God's power.

00:34:55.333 --> 00:34:59.833
What was erased is not greater than God's memory. What was buried is not greater

00:34:59.833 --> 00:35:01.053
than God's resurrection.

00:35:01.133 --> 00:35:04.453
And what was renamed is not greater than God's voice.

00:35:04.713 --> 00:35:07.913
What was scattered is not greater than God's gathering.

00:35:08.193 --> 00:35:11.433
The God who restores does not ignore injustice.

00:35:11.773 --> 00:35:18.313
He confronts it. He exposes it. He heals it. He redeems it. He brings his people back to purpose.

00:35:18.553 --> 00:35:22.773
Point number two, God restores the people who were told they were not his.

00:35:23.333 --> 00:35:29.353
We read this already. One of the strongest scriptures for this final day is Hosea 1.10.

00:35:29.593 --> 00:35:34.213
And it should come to pass that in the last, that come to pass in the place

00:35:34.213 --> 00:35:38.373
where it was said unto them, you are not my people, there it should be said

00:35:38.373 --> 00:35:42.993
unto them, you are the sons of the living God. That's restoration language.

00:35:43.313 --> 00:35:47.793
In the very place where rejection was spoken, God speaks belonging.

00:35:48.153 --> 00:35:51.373
In the same place where identity was denied, God speaks sonship.

00:35:51.373 --> 00:35:55.933
In the same place where people were told they were nothing, God calls them his.

00:35:56.253 --> 00:36:00.953
That matters for people who were told they were property, people who were told they were inferior.

00:36:01.438 --> 00:36:05.498
Of people who were told they were cursed, people who were told they had no history,

00:36:05.738 --> 00:36:09.978
of people who were told they had no place in scripture, and people who were

00:36:09.978 --> 00:36:12.478
told they were not fully human.

00:36:12.638 --> 00:36:18.438
I want to stop here. A pause here because our next summer series is going to

00:36:18.438 --> 00:36:21.358
be about blacks in the Bible.

00:36:21.518 --> 00:36:27.178
And it's powerful because they're telling you there was no place for you in

00:36:27.178 --> 00:36:29.158
scripture, black and brown folk.

00:36:29.298 --> 00:36:33.018
And we're going to cover all the Bible characters, not all of them,

00:36:33.098 --> 00:36:36.118
but majority of them for eight weeks in the summertime.

00:36:36.358 --> 00:36:38.918
And we're going to take our time. We're going to walk through scripture.

00:36:39.535 --> 00:36:44.415
Going to walk through their lineage. We're going to understand their place in

00:36:44.415 --> 00:36:47.355
the Bible. It's time to get our identity back.

00:36:47.695 --> 00:36:51.495
It's time to get our restoration back. But it comes through knowledge.

00:36:51.655 --> 00:36:55.195
The Bible says we are destroyed because of lack of knowledge.

00:36:55.355 --> 00:36:58.675
And it continues because we reject knowledge.

00:36:58.855 --> 00:37:01.795
And he says, I will reject you, you and your children.

00:37:01.995 --> 00:37:07.595
And you don't want to go back through what your lineage already went through.

00:37:07.675 --> 00:37:12.215
They already went through the slavery because they know, they tasted what disobedience felt like.

00:37:12.675 --> 00:37:18.375
Disobedience stirs God. And so it's time for us as a new generation to understand

00:37:18.375 --> 00:37:23.915
the scripture, to understand God, to walk in obedience, right?

00:37:24.095 --> 00:37:29.015
We already know what this feels like. We do not know what the restoration of

00:37:29.015 --> 00:37:32.335
God feels like, but he is going to restore us.

00:37:32.455 --> 00:37:37.055
We see here that there was a loss saying that we, the identity saying you're

00:37:37.055 --> 00:37:39.515
not in scripture, saying you're not fully human.

00:37:39.695 --> 00:37:42.495
And I won't go into that because I wrote books on some of this stuff.

00:37:42.675 --> 00:37:46.735
It says, but God answers, ye are the son of the living God.

00:37:46.975 --> 00:37:50.595
That is not just encouragement. That is identity restoration.

00:37:51.035 --> 00:37:57.015
Man may say you're not, but God says you're mine. Man may say that you have no name.

00:37:57.275 --> 00:38:01.935
God says, I have called you by name. Man may say you have no inheritance.

00:38:02.175 --> 00:38:05.075
God says you are heirs according to the promise.

00:38:05.355 --> 00:38:07.175
And man may say you are forgotten.

00:38:07.495 --> 00:38:12.195
And God says, I remember. Point number three, the dry bones can live again.

00:38:12.853 --> 00:38:20.113
Ezekiel 37, give us that. We talked about this already, but I want to hear it from this perspective.

00:38:20.433 --> 00:38:25.313
The scripture says that God says, son of man, can these bones live?

00:38:25.473 --> 00:38:29.793
And then Ezekiel responds back because that question does matter.

00:38:30.073 --> 00:38:34.473
Can a scattered people live again? Can a renamed person live again?

00:38:34.773 --> 00:38:40.313
Can people buried under history live again? Can people stripped up identity live again?

00:38:40.673 --> 00:38:45.693
Can people who lost language, land, and lineage live again? Can people wounded

00:38:45.693 --> 00:38:47.833
by captivity live again?

00:38:48.502 --> 00:38:52.282
Ezekiel answers, only Lord God thou knowest.

00:38:52.442 --> 00:38:57.022
That is the right answer because restoration belongs to God.

00:38:57.202 --> 00:39:02.142
And when God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, Ezekiel 37,

00:39:02.142 --> 00:39:06.782
verse 4 says, prophesy upon these bones and say unto them, O ye dry bones,

00:39:06.922 --> 00:39:08.982
hear the word of the Lord.

00:39:09.142 --> 00:39:13.782
And notice what brings the bones back, the word of the Lord.

00:39:14.042 --> 00:39:20.102
Not politics, not anger alone, not identity alone, not history, not ancestry.

00:39:20.402 --> 00:39:24.282
The word of the Lord brought the bones together.

00:39:24.562 --> 00:39:28.862
The bones came together. Sinew came upon them. Flesh covered them.

00:39:29.222 --> 00:39:35.062
Breath enters them. They stand as an exceedingly great army. This is what God does.

00:39:35.342 --> 00:39:37.282
He brings structure where they're scattering.

00:39:37.582 --> 00:39:42.502
He brings life where there was death. He brings breath where there was silence.

00:39:42.742 --> 00:39:46.842
And he brings order where there was confusion. He brings identity where there

00:39:46.842 --> 00:39:49.422
were erasure. That is restoration.

00:39:49.842 --> 00:39:53.042
What causes restoration? The word of the Lord.

00:39:53.282 --> 00:39:57.482
He might, I mentioned he'll do a wink. He might do a little smile,

00:39:57.522 --> 00:40:00.362
but all he has to say is speak the word.

00:40:00.782 --> 00:40:05.842
Ezekiel, can these bones live? Ezekiel said, Lord, only thou know it.

00:40:06.202 --> 00:40:08.182
And then he says, go ahead and prophesy.

00:40:08.742 --> 00:40:13.362
He said, Go ahead and make it happen. Go ahead and make it happen.

00:40:13.562 --> 00:40:19.862
Being a vessel of God, he's speaking life back into dry situations.

00:40:20.222 --> 00:40:27.602
And what's going to happen is all the scattered children of Israel are going to come together again.

00:40:27.802 --> 00:40:29.702
That's only restoration.

00:40:30.222 --> 00:40:35.362
Let's go to point number four. Christ makes us heirs according to the promise.

00:40:35.362 --> 00:40:39.582
We're talking about identity, but our identity must be anchored in Christ.

00:40:39.982 --> 00:40:45.002
Galatians 3.29, if ye be Christ, then ye are Abraham's seed.

00:40:45.469 --> 00:40:50.049
Heirs according to the promise. This scripture is essential because it's keeping

00:40:50.049 --> 00:40:52.909
us from making identity an idol.

00:40:53.109 --> 00:40:57.289
The final question is not only, am I Hebrew? Am I Israel?

00:40:57.549 --> 00:41:02.349
Am I descended from the scattered tribe? Was identity stolen? Was history stolen?

00:41:02.749 --> 00:41:09.369
Those are important questions, but the internal question is, do I belong to Christ?

00:41:09.629 --> 00:41:13.509
Because we see here that Galatians says, if you belong to Christ,

00:41:13.709 --> 00:41:16.269
then you are Abraham's seed according to the promise.

00:41:16.549 --> 00:41:22.169
So that means that it's not secondary to identity. Christ is the center of identity.

00:41:22.609 --> 00:41:27.729
Without Christ, identity can become pride. History can become bitter.

00:41:28.009 --> 00:41:30.469
Without Christ, knowledge can become arrogance.

00:41:30.969 --> 00:41:37.269
Without Christ, pain can become hatred. Without Christ, restoration can become self-exaltation.

00:41:37.529 --> 00:41:42.529
But in Christ, identity becomes purpose. In Christ, history becomes testimony.

00:41:42.789 --> 00:41:47.169
In Christ, pain becomes healing. In Christ, truth becomes freedom.

00:41:47.409 --> 00:41:49.729
And in Christ, the covenant becomes life.

00:41:50.009 --> 00:41:53.729
So we do not end this series worshiping ancestry.

00:41:53.969 --> 00:41:59.789
We end it worshiping God, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and Jacob,

00:42:00.009 --> 00:42:02.349
revealed through Jesus Christ.

00:42:02.669 --> 00:42:05.989
Point number five, restoration must produce fruit.

00:42:06.169 --> 00:42:10.309
God's bringing us together. He wants to see some fruit. If God restores identity,

00:42:10.709 --> 00:42:13.309
that restoration must be righteous fruit.

00:42:13.469 --> 00:42:18.509
It should produce humility, holiness, wisdom, justice, companion,

00:42:18.989 --> 00:42:22.649
courage, obedience, and it should produce a love for God,

00:42:23.107 --> 00:42:29.147
and neighbor. Matthew 17, 16, Jesus said, you should know them by their fruit.

00:42:29.387 --> 00:42:34.107
That means restored identity cannot be a claim. It must become a lie.

00:42:34.347 --> 00:42:37.847
If I know God has restored me, then I should walk differently.

00:42:38.167 --> 00:42:41.887
If I know God has called me, then I should speak differently.

00:42:42.147 --> 00:42:46.287
If I know God has remembered me, then I should worship differently.

00:42:46.627 --> 00:42:50.507
If I know God has healed me, then I should treat people differently.

00:42:50.567 --> 00:42:55.687
If I know God has revealed truth, I should handle it responsibly.

00:42:56.927 --> 00:43:01.807
Restoration is not just about knowing who lied. It's about becoming the God

00:43:01.807 --> 00:43:07.887
who God called you to be because God does not restore identity so we can sit in anger.

00:43:08.127 --> 00:43:12.507
He restores identity so that we can walk in purpose.

00:43:12.847 --> 00:43:16.647
Number six, God restores without making us hate.

00:43:16.927 --> 00:43:21.247
This part is important for this last series because I don't want to leave anybody

00:43:21.247 --> 00:43:26.507
thinking that something was stolen and I'm mad about it and I hate these different people.

00:43:26.727 --> 00:43:29.887
Remember, I told you that hate is not going to get you anywhere.

00:43:30.187 --> 00:43:34.887
You need to take your focus, all that energy, and focus on God restoration.

00:43:35.427 --> 00:43:39.047
What did God say? That should outweigh a lot of things.

00:43:39.267 --> 00:43:43.427
Not saying you erased your emotions, but you didn't know this before yesterday,

00:43:43.787 --> 00:43:48.307
right? And so, but what it does is gives you the answer to all the pain that

00:43:48.307 --> 00:43:50.307
we feel in our hearts. At least it did for me.

00:43:50.767 --> 00:43:55.927
I was like, I kept saying like, oh, disobedience, oh, curse, restoration.

00:43:56.447 --> 00:43:59.767
You haven't forgotten about us. So understanding the truth can be painful.

00:44:00.147 --> 00:44:03.227
History is painful. I'm telling you, discovery can be painful.

00:44:03.367 --> 00:44:06.047
And the more you search it, the more you go like, oh my gosh,

00:44:06.167 --> 00:44:10.127
they got away with this too. and when you start calculating it with your little

00:44:10.127 --> 00:44:14.807
calculator, you realize the only person can restore things back to whole,

00:44:15.275 --> 00:44:20.195
is God. And when we stop looking at a man, because their calculator,

00:44:20.595 --> 00:44:22.615
their money ain't that deep, right?

00:44:22.835 --> 00:44:27.415
When we realize that people were renamed, oppressed, misrepresented,

00:44:27.415 --> 00:44:31.175
and erased can stir up some deep emotions.

00:44:31.295 --> 00:44:34.435
We're not trying to take that away, but we let that stir too long.

00:44:34.595 --> 00:44:36.615
It becomes, I'm going to read it right here.

00:44:36.815 --> 00:44:41.395
It becomes hatred, but it's found in Ephesians 4, 31 through 32.

00:44:41.535 --> 00:44:43.335
It tells us, it says, let all bitterness.

00:44:43.595 --> 00:44:47.915
So it starts out a little bitter. Then, and wrath, now it's the next layer.

00:44:48.055 --> 00:44:49.915
And anger is the next layer.

00:44:50.435 --> 00:44:57.375
Clamor is the next layer. Evil speaking, once you get all that in your heart, you have to speak it.

00:44:57.435 --> 00:45:00.035
And we just went through a series of verbal suicide.

00:45:00.135 --> 00:45:04.035
So just when you're thinking you got about to get restored, you just spoke out

00:45:04.035 --> 00:45:05.435
more curses over your liar.

00:45:05.855 --> 00:45:10.575
But God says, put those away from you. Put away bitterness, put away wrath,

00:45:10.775 --> 00:45:14.295
put away anger, clamor, evil speaking. Put that away.

00:45:14.535 --> 00:45:19.195
But he said, then be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,

00:45:19.355 --> 00:45:22.935
even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.

00:45:23.195 --> 00:45:28.135
That's why we have to walk in the middle line because we get over in that other

00:45:28.135 --> 00:45:31.595
side, we're going to hate or we're going to get on the other side and we're going to be proud.

00:45:31.855 --> 00:45:35.535
And God says, no, I want you to walk right in the middle and understand the

00:45:35.535 --> 00:45:39.815
balance because the lies that you were told was also told to them.

00:45:40.015 --> 00:45:42.115
They are not of Israel.

00:45:42.355 --> 00:45:44.635
That does not mean we ignore injustice.

00:45:45.055 --> 00:45:48.435
Does not mean we excuse evil, that we stop telling the truth,

00:45:48.575 --> 00:45:51.135
or that we pretend oppression did not happen.

00:45:51.295 --> 00:45:55.735
It means we refuse to let evil reproduce itself in us.

00:45:55.895 --> 00:45:58.655
We can't expose the lies without becoming hateful.

00:45:58.935 --> 00:46:03.135
Matter of fact, The more that I find out the lie, the more that I pray.

00:46:03.915 --> 00:46:08.615
The more I ask God to help my heart and the more I ask him, when's the restoration

00:46:08.615 --> 00:46:10.675
getting ready to happen? Wow.

00:46:10.915 --> 00:46:15.095
We can't reject the stolen identity without becoming cruel and evil.

00:46:15.275 --> 00:46:18.535
We can't speak truth without surrendering our spirit to bitterness.

00:46:19.115 --> 00:46:22.615
Restoration must heal the heart and not harden it.

00:46:22.715 --> 00:46:27.995
Because the enemy will love for a people to discover truth and then lose love.

00:46:28.175 --> 00:46:33.615
To love, he will love for identity to become an idol. He will love for history

00:46:33.615 --> 00:46:37.155
to become a weapon and he will love for Revelation to become a pride,

00:46:37.375 --> 00:46:40.155
become pride. But Christ calls us higher.

00:46:40.475 --> 00:46:44.535
Truth and love must walk together. Remember we talked about that thin line and

00:46:44.535 --> 00:46:45.995
I think this is the final point.

00:46:46.375 --> 00:46:50.775
The final picture is every nation, tribe, people, and tongue.

00:46:51.115 --> 00:46:56.775
The Bible does not end with one race worth worshiping God. It ends with a multitude.

00:46:57.395 --> 00:47:02.735
Revelation 7, 9 says, After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude,

00:47:03.055 --> 00:47:07.635
which no man can number, of all nations and kindred and people and tongues.

00:47:07.795 --> 00:47:14.155
That means the final story is not about racial hatred. It's the redeemed nations.

00:47:14.455 --> 00:47:19.195
It's the restored people. It's the worship before the Lamb. It's the tribe and

00:47:19.195 --> 00:47:20.555
tongue gathered before God.

00:47:20.795 --> 00:47:28.535
This matters because we can honor the story of stolen identity without forgetting God's final kingdom.

00:47:28.755 --> 00:47:33.895
Vision. God sees the tribes. He sees the nations. He sees the tongues.

00:47:34.155 --> 00:47:36.235
He sees the scattered. He sees the oppressed.

00:47:36.555 --> 00:47:41.835
He sees the hidden, and he sees the renamed. And in Christ, he gathers.

00:47:42.292 --> 00:47:49.132
So our final episode ends with restoration and not revenge. It ends with worship and not hatred.

00:47:49.432 --> 00:47:53.032
It ends with Christ, not confusion. When we think about this,

00:47:53.192 --> 00:47:56.772
what does restoration look like? What would it look like?

00:47:57.012 --> 00:48:01.912
Restoration looks like knowing your history without being controlled by your pain.

00:48:02.232 --> 00:48:06.592
Restoration looks like asking hard questions without losing your heart.

00:48:06.932 --> 00:48:11.552
Restoration looks like rejecting false labels without hating people.

00:48:11.552 --> 00:48:16.332
Restoration is seeing yourself in Christ without making yourself the center.

00:48:16.632 --> 00:48:21.792
Restoration looks like learning the truth and becoming more humble, not more arrogant.

00:48:22.132 --> 00:48:26.152
Restoration looks like healing from shame. Restoration looks like teaching your

00:48:26.152 --> 00:48:28.392
children that they are not inferior.

00:48:28.732 --> 00:48:33.292
Restoration looks like reading the Bible with fresh eyes. Restoration looks

00:48:33.292 --> 00:48:35.012
like returning to prayer.

00:48:35.352 --> 00:48:39.032
Restoration looks like walking in covenant. And restoration looks like getting,

00:48:39.312 --> 00:48:43.492
letting Christ define what oppression tried to destroy.

00:48:43.792 --> 00:48:50.272
How do we go from a stolen name to a new name? How does God do that? Here goes some ideas.

00:48:50.632 --> 00:48:56.172
They called us property, but God called us image bearers. They called us Negro,

00:48:56.432 --> 00:48:58.152
and God called us by name.

00:48:58.352 --> 00:49:02.612
They called us inferior, but God says we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

00:49:02.852 --> 00:49:04.272
They called us forgotten.

00:49:04.732 --> 00:49:10.072
God says, I remember. They call us cursed, and God said, I redeem.

00:49:10.432 --> 00:49:17.972
They call us broken, and God said, I restore. They call us to dry bones, and God says, live.

00:49:18.392 --> 00:49:22.372
They call us not a people. God says, sons of,

00:49:22.856 --> 00:49:28.876
living God. They called us lost and God calls us found. They called us scattered

00:49:28.876 --> 00:49:30.836
and God calls us gathered.

00:49:31.396 --> 00:49:36.676
They called us nameless and God says, you, I want to read just some more encouraging scripture.

00:49:37.036 --> 00:49:42.956
And it says, when the Lord, Psalms 126, when the Lord turned the captivity of

00:49:42.956 --> 00:49:45.816
Zion again, we were like them that dream.

00:49:46.096 --> 00:49:52.236
So restoration is going to be so sudden, so quick. It's going to feel like you're.

00:49:52.536 --> 00:49:59.516
In a dream. Jeremiah 30, 17 says, for I restore health unto you and I will heal all thy wounds.

00:49:59.656 --> 00:50:03.936
We know that trauma has caused harm in our generation, right?

00:50:04.096 --> 00:50:08.756
The trauma, the post-traumatic stress and everything, the high blood pressure, right?

00:50:08.936 --> 00:50:12.896
All the sickness and disease that comes in your body from being stressed or

00:50:12.896 --> 00:50:14.896
being racially fatigued.

00:50:15.016 --> 00:50:19.756
He says, I will restore health unto you and I will heal thy bones.

00:50:19.936 --> 00:50:26.296
Isaiah 62 says, and thou should be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord should name.

00:50:26.476 --> 00:50:31.736
God will call you by a new name. I'm looking so forward to know what my new name is.

00:50:32.036 --> 00:50:37.456
Zephaniah 3.20 says, for I will make you a name and a praise among all the people of the earth.

00:50:37.676 --> 00:50:42.896
So just as the name right now with all the racism and all the prejudice and

00:50:42.896 --> 00:50:45.076
stereotype, that's a name.

00:50:45.276 --> 00:50:48.876
But God says, I'm going to turn this around and I'm going to make you a name

00:50:48.876 --> 00:50:50.836
and a praise among the nation.

00:50:51.016 --> 00:50:54.716
So under your name, it won't be all the negative connotations.

00:50:55.016 --> 00:50:59.536
1 Peter 2.9, but ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,

00:50:59.756 --> 00:51:03.836
a holy nation of peculiar people. I love that.

00:51:03.996 --> 00:51:08.656
A royal priesthood. I want you to remember that. A chosen generation.

00:51:08.936 --> 00:51:12.116
So even though it looks like there's nothing chosen about the generation.

00:51:12.816 --> 00:51:17.916
Jesus, what the word, he said, the word of the Lord is more powerful than the word of captivity.

00:51:18.216 --> 00:51:23.376
So the word says, I have made you a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.

00:51:23.456 --> 00:51:27.636
We back to that royalty, a holy nation and a peculiar people.

00:51:27.856 --> 00:51:33.136
Let's go to Colossians 3, 10, 11. It says, and have put on the new man where

00:51:33.136 --> 00:51:37.576
there is neither Jew nor Greek, circumcision or uncircumcised.

00:51:37.916 --> 00:51:43.776
Circumcision for Christ is all in and all. like we're not going to be identified by our ethnicity.

00:51:44.156 --> 00:51:48.916
We're going to be identified by who is living on the inside of you.

00:51:49.036 --> 00:51:51.296
Is it Christ or is it Satan?

00:51:51.636 --> 00:51:58.996
And then John 8, 36, for the son, therefore, should make you free and you should be free indeed.

00:51:59.576 --> 00:52:03.936
Let's get to the decrees that set the atmosphere like it wasn't already set.

00:52:04.136 --> 00:52:05.156
This is our final episode.

00:52:05.396 --> 00:52:09.336
And it says, I decree that God restores what man tried to erase.

00:52:09.416 --> 00:52:10.596
Remember, our focus is on God.

00:52:10.816 --> 00:52:14.836
I decree that stolen identity is not stronger than divine restoration.

00:52:15.256 --> 00:52:20.296
I decree, according to Galatians 3, 29, that if I belong to Christ,

00:52:20.296 --> 00:52:23.636
I am Abraham's seed and heir according to the promise.

00:52:24.170 --> 00:52:30.070
I decree, according to Isaiah 43, 1, God has called me by name and I belong to him.

00:52:30.230 --> 00:52:34.810
And I decree, according to Hosea 1, 10, you are my people. And God declares,

00:52:35.010 --> 00:52:36.890
you are the sons of the living God.

00:52:36.930 --> 00:52:40.550
I love that when God speaks like that. I decree that dry bones will live again.

00:52:40.830 --> 00:52:43.710
I decree scattered identities will be gathered.

00:52:44.050 --> 00:52:49.310
I decree that stolen names will be restored. I decree that hidden history can be revealed.

00:52:49.490 --> 00:52:55.090
And I decree that wounded hearts can be healed. I decree that truth will not make me hateful.

00:52:55.250 --> 00:53:01.290
Truth will make me whole. And I decree that I will not turn identity into an idol.

00:53:01.530 --> 00:53:04.510
I decree I will not let bitterness become my inheritance.

00:53:04.830 --> 00:53:09.490
I decree that I will walk in wisdom, holiness, discernment, and love.

00:53:09.790 --> 00:53:16.110
I decree God is restoring a covenant memory. I decree that God is restoring righteous identity.

00:53:16.390 --> 00:53:21.630
I decree God is restoring purpose. I do hear God is restoring the sun that the

00:53:21.630 --> 00:53:23.790
captivity tried to silence.

00:53:24.010 --> 00:53:29.290
I decree according to Joel 2.25, God can restore the years that were eaten,

00:53:29.570 --> 00:53:30.970
stolen, wasted, and lost.

00:53:31.110 --> 00:53:37.510
And I decree according to John 8.36, that whoever the sun makes free is free indeed.

00:53:37.890 --> 00:53:41.130
And I decree that I am not what oppression caused me.

00:53:41.290 --> 00:53:46.430
I decree that I am not what slavery named me. I decree that I'm not what racism

00:53:46.430 --> 00:53:51.470
tried to reduce me to. And I decree that I'm not what history tried to erase.

00:53:51.670 --> 00:53:57.790
I decree that I am who God calls me. And I decree that restoration is my portion

00:53:57.790 --> 00:53:59.510
through Christ. Let's pray.

00:53:59.710 --> 00:54:03.210
Father God, you are the God who restores. You are the God who remembers.

00:54:03.450 --> 00:54:06.110
And you are the God who gathers what was scattered.

00:54:06.616 --> 00:54:12.916
Heals what was wounded, reveals what was hidden, and calls by name what man tried to erase.

00:54:13.096 --> 00:54:17.036
Lord, as we close this seven-day journey, it's really six days,

00:54:17.316 --> 00:54:22.576
we thank you for walking us through identity, captivity, renaming,

00:54:22.836 --> 00:54:27.676
covenant, discernment, Africa's place in history, and the restoration through Christ.

00:54:27.936 --> 00:54:33.056
Thank you for reminding us that before man renamed a people, you already knew them.

00:54:33.296 --> 00:54:38.056
Thank you for reminding us that captivity does not cancel covenant.

00:54:38.276 --> 00:54:43.636
Thank you for reminding us that Babylon may rename, Egypt may reclassify.

00:54:44.196 --> 00:54:47.336
History may distort, but you still know the truth.

00:54:47.736 --> 00:54:52.176
Thank you for reminding us that not all who claim the name carry the covenant.

00:54:52.436 --> 00:54:57.256
Thank you for reminding us that you expose falsehood, reveal truth,

00:54:57.496 --> 00:54:58.936
and restore what was stolen.

00:54:59.236 --> 00:55:03.476
Thank you for reminding us that Africa was always in the Bible.

00:55:03.736 --> 00:55:07.916
Thank you for reminding us that Christ is the center of our identity and restoration.

00:55:08.396 --> 00:55:12.556
Father, today we bring you every stolen name, every broken family line,

00:55:12.876 --> 00:55:17.856
every erased history, every distorted language, every false image,

00:55:18.296 --> 00:55:23.756
every identity wound, every generational burden, every place that shame was.

00:55:24.000 --> 00:55:27.960
Place dignity. Every place where confusion replaced truth.

00:55:28.120 --> 00:55:32.020
Every place where captivity tried to silence the song.

00:55:32.420 --> 00:55:37.180
Lord, breathe on the dry bones. Let what was scattered come together.

00:55:37.380 --> 00:55:39.420
Let what was dead live again.

00:55:39.680 --> 00:55:43.800
Let what was hidden be revealed. Let what was stolen be restored.

00:55:44.100 --> 00:55:48.860
Let what was wounded be healed. Let what was confused be made clear.

00:55:49.140 --> 00:55:51.680
Let what was renamed be oppressed.

00:55:52.140 --> 00:55:56.440
Let what was renamed by oppression be renamed by you.

00:55:56.640 --> 00:56:03.800
Father, restore us without allowing bitterness to rule us. Awaken us without making us arrogant.

00:56:04.160 --> 00:56:06.880
Teach us without making us hateful.

00:56:07.300 --> 00:56:12.780
Heal us without making us deny the pain. Strengthen us without making us cruel

00:56:12.780 --> 00:56:15.760
and give us truth and keep us in love.

00:56:15.960 --> 00:56:20.400
Lord, we reject every label that was created to reduce, control, or dehumanized.

00:56:20.480 --> 00:56:24.340
Reject every lie that says black people were outside your story.

00:56:24.756 --> 00:56:31.796
We reject every false image that made holiness look like empire and oppression look like divine order.

00:56:31.996 --> 00:56:36.276
We reject every teaching that makes the oppression feels forgotten by God.

00:56:36.416 --> 00:56:37.936
And we also reject hatred.

00:56:38.136 --> 00:56:40.136
We reject pride. We reject revenge.

00:56:40.436 --> 00:56:44.776
We reject bitterness. We reject making identity an idol. And we choose Christ.

00:56:44.996 --> 00:56:48.456
Let our restoration identity lead us deeper into righteousness.

00:56:48.896 --> 00:56:53.436
Let our restored memory lead us deeper into wisdom. Let our restored history

00:56:53.436 --> 00:56:54.876
lead us deeper into humility.

00:56:55.136 --> 00:56:58.596
Let our restored understanding lead us deeper into worship.

00:56:58.876 --> 00:57:03.156
Father, make us a people who carry truth with clean hands and a pure heart.

00:57:03.356 --> 00:57:07.056
Make us a people who speak boldly without speaking hatefully.

00:57:07.316 --> 00:57:10.836
Make us a people who can expose lies without losing love.

00:57:11.796 --> 00:57:16.136
Make us a people who remember history without being imprisoned by it.

00:57:16.136 --> 00:57:21.276
According to Galatians 3.9, if we belong to Christ, we are Abraham's seed and

00:57:21.276 --> 00:57:22.696
heirs according to the promise.

00:57:22.916 --> 00:57:26.296
So let us walk like heirs. Let us speak like heirs.

00:57:26.516 --> 00:57:32.916
Let us pray like heirs. Let us live like people restored by God who restores.

00:57:33.216 --> 00:57:38.916
Lord, where it was said, you are not my people, let it now be said, you are the people.

00:57:39.156 --> 00:57:42.836
You are the sons of the living God. Where it was said, you are forgotten.

00:57:43.096 --> 00:57:45.076
Let it be said, you are remembered.

00:57:45.506 --> 00:57:52.286
Where it was said you are nameless, let it be now said you are called my God. You are called by God.

00:57:52.586 --> 00:57:58.426
Where it be said you are broken, let it now be said you are restored.

00:57:58.686 --> 00:58:04.306
Where it was said you are dry bones, let it now be said live.

00:58:04.646 --> 00:58:10.406
Father, don't let this journey end here. Let us become a beginning,

00:58:10.646 --> 00:58:15.586
beginning of deeper study, deeper prayer, deeper healing, deeper truth,

00:58:16.026 --> 00:58:18.646
deeper discernment, and deeper covenant with you.

00:58:18.926 --> 00:58:23.706
Restore the name, restore the memory, restore the purpose, restore the dignity.

00:58:24.206 --> 00:58:28.406
Restore the covenant understanding, restore the song, and above all,

00:58:28.506 --> 00:58:32.306
restore us to Christ. In Jesus' name, amen.

00:58:32.666 --> 00:58:37.546
A people can be renamed by man, scattered by ships, wounded by captivity,

00:58:37.786 --> 00:58:42.306
and hidden by history, but they cannot be erased from the memory of God.

00:58:42.546 --> 00:58:48.306
What man stole, God can restore. What man buried, God can breathe on.

00:58:48.526 --> 00:58:55.726
And what man calls forgotten, God calls mine. Wow, what a powerful series.

00:58:55.986 --> 00:59:00.166
What a powerful series. And like I said, it don't stop here.

00:59:00.366 --> 00:59:04.066
This is something that I've been studying that I want to share with you.

00:59:04.246 --> 00:59:06.526
And so I want you to join me.

00:59:06.995 --> 00:59:15.055
For a new study. It's called Blacks in the Bible. It's from our book that I've given you.

00:59:15.195 --> 00:59:18.075
I'm going to post it on this podcast.

00:59:18.235 --> 00:59:24.435
It's an eight-week series. It's going to be airing Monday through Friday at 5 p.m.

00:59:24.555 --> 00:59:29.555
Central Time on the Diary of Black Women podcast. We are going back to Scripture,

00:59:29.855 --> 00:59:36.155
shining a light on what has been there all the time and allowing God to restore

00:59:36.155 --> 00:59:38.935
what has been hidden, stolen, overlooked.

00:59:39.315 --> 00:59:44.255
It's time to get our identity back. It's time to get our restoration back.

00:59:44.455 --> 00:59:48.075
And so I want to just take you on this journey through Blacks in the Bible,

00:59:48.075 --> 00:59:54.435
which changed my life because we'll learn a little bit about why it happened,

00:59:54.435 --> 00:59:58.575
but also we're still dealing with the stolen identity.

00:59:58.795 --> 01:00:02.175
I've given you examples of how Daniel's identity was stolen.

01:00:02.795 --> 01:00:06.135
Esther, Joseph, our identity was stolen too.

01:00:06.335 --> 01:00:09.255
Not just biblical, it's happening in real time.

01:00:09.415 --> 01:00:15.035
And because we have been destroyed for lack of knowledge and we have rejected knowledge,

01:00:15.275 --> 01:00:22.035
God is saying, no, I want you to understand your identity and that people of

01:00:22.035 --> 01:00:25.655
the black and brown skin color are in the Bible.

01:00:25.895 --> 01:00:29.535
I know that's going to be hard, but I want you to pray. I want you to put on

01:00:29.535 --> 01:00:34.655
your helmet of salvation so you can have the mind of Christ so that you can receive it.

01:00:34.815 --> 01:00:37.695
It won't be our long series. I won't do that to you.

01:00:38.269 --> 01:00:42.789
I think there'll be about 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the topic and the scripture.

01:00:42.989 --> 01:00:47.269
It's going to be scripture and it's going to just be just like I do it now.

01:00:47.429 --> 01:00:51.889
But this is a little bit longer series, about an hour, 45 minutes to an hour.

01:00:52.069 --> 01:00:57.169
I made these long on purpose because I wanted to give you all the information at once.

01:00:57.229 --> 01:01:00.549
And then you can sit there and marinate on it and listen to it again.

01:01:00.769 --> 01:01:05.329
But starting on the next episode, I believe that's going to start on Monday.

01:01:05.329 --> 01:01:11.069
We're going to go through Blacks in the Bible and I'll give you the full name on Monday.

01:01:11.269 --> 01:01:13.869
So I want to say thank you for listening.

01:01:14.129 --> 01:01:15.749
This is your host Connie Morris.

01:01:16.009 --> 01:01:18.649
This has been the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

01:01:19.089 --> 01:01:23.609
I hope you enjoyed it and it's going to be a part where you can accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

01:01:24.730 --> 01:01:28.850
And just remember, and I'll see you guys on the next episode. Bye-bye.

01:01:29.250 --> 01:01:32.810
Before we close today, I don't want to take for granted that everyone listening

01:01:32.810 --> 01:01:34.550
knows Jesus personally.

01:01:34.830 --> 01:01:39.410
If you have listened to this episode or any other episodes and felt something

01:01:39.410 --> 01:01:44.430
stirring in your heart, maybe you know about God, but you're not sure you truly know Him.

01:01:44.730 --> 01:01:48.850
Maybe you grew up in church, walked away, got hurt, became tired,

01:01:49.070 --> 01:01:53.430
and never fully surrendered your life to Jesus. I want you to know this.

01:01:53.650 --> 01:02:01.390
God loves you. He has not forgotten you. He is not waiting to shame you. He is calling you home.

01:02:01.710 --> 01:02:05.750
The Bible says in Romans 10, 9, if you declare with your mouth,

01:02:06.170 --> 01:02:13.150
Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

01:02:13.350 --> 01:02:18.890
Salvation is not about being perfect. It's about surrendering to the one who is perfect.

01:02:19.210 --> 01:02:26.610
Jesus died for your sins, rose again, and made a way for you to be forgiven, restored, and made new.

01:02:26.790 --> 01:02:30.310
So right where you are, you can pray this prayer with me.

01:02:30.510 --> 01:02:33.490
Lord Jesus, I come to you today with an open heart.

01:02:33.610 --> 01:02:38.670
I believe you are the son of God. I believe you died on the cross for my sins.

01:02:38.850 --> 01:02:42.830
And I believe that God raised you from the dead today.

01:02:43.644 --> 01:02:48.344
I confess that I need you. I repent of my sins. I ask you to forgive me,

01:02:48.524 --> 01:02:51.364
cleanse me, and make me brand new.

01:02:51.584 --> 01:02:57.644
Jesus, come into my heart. Be my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer, and my King.

01:02:57.844 --> 01:03:02.924
I surrender my life to you. I give you my past, my present, and my future.

01:03:03.184 --> 01:03:07.184
Teach me how to walk with you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit.

01:03:07.624 --> 01:03:12.904
Lead me in truth, healing, obedience, and love. From this day forward,

01:03:13.044 --> 01:03:16.324
I belong to you. In Jesus' name, amen.

01:03:16.664 --> 01:03:21.704
If you pray that prayer from your heart, I want you to know that heaven has heard you.

01:03:21.924 --> 01:03:26.244
This is not the end. This is only the beginning of your walk with Jesus.

01:03:26.604 --> 01:03:30.384
Find a Bible-believing church, begin reading the word of God,

01:03:30.724 --> 01:03:33.684
pray daily, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow.

01:03:33.984 --> 01:03:38.704
God is not looking for perfection from you. He is inviting you into relationship,

01:03:39.284 --> 01:03:42.544
transformation, and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

01:03:42.984 --> 01:03:48.964
And remember, you are loved, you are not forgotten, and God still has a purpose for your life.

01:03:49.164 --> 01:03:51.924
Thank you for listening to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

01:03:52.344 --> 01:03:56.704
Until next time, keep walking in truth, faith, and freedom.

01:04:07.707 --> 01:04:10.847
Family, thank you for spending time with me today.

01:04:11.107 --> 01:04:14.847
To every woman listening who has ever felt hidden, overlooked,

01:04:14.887 --> 01:04:17.247
or pushed aside, hear me clearly.

01:04:17.547 --> 01:04:22.067
God has not forgotten you, and neither have I.

01:04:22.427 --> 01:04:27.327
Now let's go before the Lord and close this out with a word from God,

01:04:27.507 --> 01:04:32.027
because someone out there needs this reminder today.

01:04:32.367 --> 01:04:39.087
Jeremiah 29, 11, verses 11 through 14. For I know the plans I have for you,

01:04:39.247 --> 01:04:42.867
declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

01:04:43.227 --> 01:04:45.527
plans to give you hope and a future.

01:04:45.807 --> 01:04:50.647
Then when you call on me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you,

01:04:50.867 --> 01:04:56.087
you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

01:04:56.227 --> 01:05:02.147
I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and bring you back from captivity.

01:05:02.807 --> 01:05:08.547
Father God, we thank you for your word, that it is true, that it is living, that it is for us.

01:05:08.787 --> 01:05:13.867
You said you know the plans you have for us, plans to prosper us and not to

01:05:13.867 --> 01:05:16.667
harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.

01:05:16.867 --> 01:05:21.307
So today we receive that, not just in our minds, but in our hearts.

01:05:21.427 --> 01:05:22.727
When we feel overlooked,

01:05:23.281 --> 01:05:29.221
remind us, you still see us. When we feel forgotten, remind us, you still have a plan.

01:05:29.401 --> 01:05:33.221
And when we feel hidden, remind us, you are still working.

01:05:33.641 --> 01:05:36.741
Your word says that when we call on you, you will listen.

01:05:37.001 --> 01:05:42.641
So we call on you now, hear us, strengthen us, guide us, help us to seek you

01:05:42.641 --> 01:05:46.961
with our whole heart, not halfway, not sometimes, but fully.

01:05:47.221 --> 01:05:53.741
And as we seek you, let us find you in every season, in every place, even the hidden one.

01:05:53.921 --> 01:05:59.681
Restore what was lost, renew what feels broken, and remind us that nothing in

01:05:59.681 --> 01:06:02.181
our lives is wasted in your hand.

01:06:02.381 --> 01:06:08.541
Lord, we trust you, we believe you, and we stand on your word. In Jesus' name, amen.

01:06:08.961 --> 01:06:13.081
This is Diary of a Black Woman podcast, and I'm your host, Connie Morris,

01:06:13.241 --> 01:06:15.981
and I'll see you on the next episode.