Are You Positioned For Promotion?

This morning, as we prepare,

you know, I meet with pastor frequently, and we prepare different things,

and this time there wasn't really a theme.

You know, we've been talking a lot about faith and our hopes fulfilled,

and last Sunday I was back with the youth, and so when I got home,

I listened to the message, and I thought, oh my goodness, he's done taught my whole message.

But the Lord continues it.

And it's really about this morning, about not being complacent with where you're

at, but to continue to strive to go deeper with God.

And so this morning, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to really

meditate upon this question throughout the services.

Are you positioned for promotion?

So join me in Joshua chapter 1. and hang with me for just a little bit because

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

we're going to read a lot of verses here, but I want you to really let this sink into your spirit.

In Joshua 1.8, the New Living Translation, it says, Study this book of instruction continually.

Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.

Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

In the New King James Version, it says,

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate

in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.

For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

So Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you today. I thank you for this word.

I thank you that this is good ground and that the people's hearts are open to

receive this word today.

I ask, Holy Spirit, that you flow through me, that the people don't just hear me, Lord.

They hear your voice, and I yield to you in Jesus' name.

If we look at Joshua 1.8 in the message translation, it says,

After the death of Moses, the servant of God, God spoke to Joshua, Moses' assistant. it.

Moses, my servant is dead. Get going.

Sometimes things can happen in our life where we want to stay complacent. We want to stay put.

There's so much going on that we just want to settle.

But here God spoke to Joshua and said, Moses, my servant is dead. Get going.

Cross this Jordan River. You

and all the people cross the country I'm giving to the people of Israel.

I'm giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on,

just as I promised Moses,

from the wilderness and this Lebanon east of the Great River,

the Euphrates River, all the Hittite country, and then west of the Great Sea. It's all yours.

God did not have a problem with Joshua obtaining the land.

People have problems with you obtaining the land. They say how you shouldn't obtain something.

But it's because they're just mad that they can't obtain it.

So please remember that. It goes on to say, it's all yours, all your life.

No one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses,

I'll be with you. I won't give up on you. I won't leave you.

Strength, courage. You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that

I promised to give their ancestors.

Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure to carry out the revelation

that Moses commanded you, every bit of it.

Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you are going.

Don't look at the distractions around you. Keep your eyes on the Word of God.

And don't for a minute let this book of the revelation be out of mind.

Ponder it and meditate on it day and night. making sure you practice everything written in it.

Then you'll get to where you're going, and then you'll succeed.

Haven't I commanded you strength, courage? Don't be timid. Don't get discouraged.

God, your God, is with you every step you take.

Are you positioned for promotion? And do you have what it takes to live a prosperous life?

If you're sitting here and you're like yes that is

me then there are two things that you

have to have in your life and that is willingness and

obedience you have to be willing to put the Word of God first no matter what

and then you have to have the obedience to go with that willingness that is

how you have a prosperous and successful life.

God told us right here in the Word, don't let this Word depart from your eyes.

Meditate on it day and night. If you take a look in Isaiah chapter 1.

Isaiah 1 · chapter mention

Verse 19, it says, if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.

And here God is telling us again, if you're willing and obedient,

I'm going to give you the land.

Whatever that means to you, whatever you're standing and believing for that

God has spoken to you, he's saying if you're willing and obedient, it's already here.

I'm already providing it for you.

And so I look at two different types of people.

Some people say, I'm willing. I really am willing to do what God is calling me to do.

But what happens is they allow distractions to come in and begin to choke the Word of God.

This may not be on the screen, but you can turn in your Bibles anyway.

It's Mark chapter 4.

Mark 4 · chapter mention

In Mark 4, verse 14, we hear Jesus is telling us a parable.

Mark 4:14

And he says that if you don't understand this parable, that you'll not understand any other parable.

And here it talks about soil, the ground. And it talks about seed.

And the disciples, they didn't understand this parable, so he went further to explain it.

And in verse 14, it says.

The farmer plants seed by taking God's Word to others.

That can be you, that can be a preacher, whoever's going to open their mouth

and give the Word of God to others.

And then in verse 15 it says, The seed that fell on the footpath represents

those who hear the message only to have Satan come at once and take it away.

So the Word is the seed. The seed that was planted in the ground is the Word

of God being planted in your heart today.

But in this room and those that are watching online, we have to examine our own heart.

Is our heart like the first where it's just a smooth footpath?

And when the Word lands upon our heart, the enemy comes immediately and just steals it.

And he just takes it away and it's not fruitful. You don't allow it to really take root in your life.

And then it says that in verse 16, it says, "...the seed on the rocky soil represents

those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.

But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long.

They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's Word.".

In verse 18, it says, The seed that fell among the thorns represent those who

hear God's word, but they too quickly, they're all too quickly,

the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth,

and the desire for other things.

So no fruit is produced. I believe this ground that God is talking about,

that Jesus is talking about, is those that are willing. They're willing.

But they allow distractions to stop them.

They allow distractions to choke the Word of God out of their life.

They allow fear to stop them from moving forward.

And these people, the ones that I believe that is like thorny ground that is

choking the Word of God, I believe these are willing people,

but they become complacent and they become stagnant,

because of other things that they're allowing before their eyes.

The other type of person is those that say they're obedient.

But they have bitterness and a bad attitude any time that they're serving God or obeying.

It's even in the message when we talk about giving.

It says, be a cheerful giver.

Don't give grudgedly and with bitterness and they're just wanting my money.

I've got to get through this part of the service.

It's about being willing and obedient.

In whatever God is telling us to do. And it's important for us to guard our heart.

In Proverbs 4, verse 23, it says, Guard your heart above all else,

Proverbs 4:23

for it determines the course of your life. Let's leave that up there for just a minute.

Here we see, Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Your heart is that ground that receives the seed.

So when you receive the seed, it's not the seed's fault if a harvest does not produce.

It's the condition of the soil. So I love having a garden every year.

And when I sow the seed or I plant by seed, I never question is the seed actually going to produce.

I have to watch the condition of the soil and what I put into it.

Because that seed's going to do what it's supposed to do, and it's going to

grow, and it's going to produce. It's the same thing with you.

This seed, the Word of God, we just sang about it. It's never going to fail.

When you have a scripture that you stand upon, and you dig your feet in,

and you have that tenacity and that faith that I believe that God's going to

do what He said He's going to do, it's not going to fail.

It's our heart. It's that soil. What are we doing to our heart and the ground

to make it and help it grow, to nourish it and nurture it?

You have to guard your heart.

So, we are not called to a stagnant life. We are not called to a complacent life.

We are called to live a life of abundance.

And we are called to live a prosperous life. We are to be positioned for promotion in our life.

John chapter 15. We're going to start in verse 3. It says, you have already

John 15 · chapter mention

been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.

Remain in me and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if

it is severed from the vine.

And you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

Here God is telling us we have to stay connected to him.

The world, you know, this was an example that Jerry Savelle gave this example.

Years ago, and the Lord brought it back to my remembrance as I was studying this message.

It's like a current.

Each day, each day that you are not moving closer to God is a day that you are

moving further away from Him.

There's not this middle ground. There's not this.

I guess, still water, I feel like, in the kingdom of God. It's always currents, ebb and flow.

And when you are not spending time with God each day to move closer to God,

that is a day that you are moving further away from Him because it's like a current.

And the world's current is fast, and it is attempting to pull you further away from God.

But we, as we draw closer to God, we have to work up against the current because

the world throws everything at us.

And each day that we're not growing spiritually, we're dying spiritually.

And that is in the Word. In John 15, it says right here in verse 3.

Further on in verse 4, it says, Remain in me and I will remain in you.

For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine,

and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. You are not going to be fruitful.

You are not going to be successful and prosperous and positioned for promotion apart from God.

We may look at the world and see people that we perceive as successful,

but you don't see those secret places with them.

You don't see what goes through their mind and the mental turmoil that they have.

You don't see the relationships that are failed. What you see is materialism.

And that is where the message gets twisted, where the world wants to say prosperity

preachers are bad and they're out to get your money or those that want you to prosper.

But it's very interesting. Interesting, those same people, their life goal is

to gain more material things.

They're wanting things. They're looking at houses. They're looking at cars.

God is not against you having nice houses and cars. But we're looking to his kingdom.

We're seeking his kingdom first. We're abiding in him. And as we're abiding

in him, the word is just working.

People are getting mad. The word is working.

When we're sowing and we're tithers, the Word is working.

We are called to be a prosperous family for the Lord. And it's not for selfish gain.

It's so that then you can open your hands and extend your resources to bless other people.

To go out in the Great Commission, you have to go and spread the good news.

Now, if you think about, well, actually, let's go back to verse 5.

Sorry, those that are doing the words, which I am thankful for.

I'm kind of all over the place.

It says in verse 5, it says, Yes, I am the vine, and you are the branches.

Those who remain in me and I in them will produce much fruit.

For apart from me, you can do nothing.

Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers,

and such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.

But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything

you want and it will be granted.

When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples and this brings great glory to my Father.

So right here in verse 7, we see that God is saying, If you will remain in me,

if you will abide with me daily, I am going to remain in you and you can ask

me for anything you want and it will be granted.

The world gets mad at verses like that.

But it's right here in the Word. There are some Christians that will get mad

by hearing me stand up here and say, if you abide in God and put Him first,

you can ask for anything, and it's going to be granted to you.

But Jesus said it, and the Word does not fail.

Because what happens is when you are abiding in Christ, you begin to seek His will.

You're not seeking selfish gain.

You begin to transform into the image of Christ. And so the things that you

are praying for and believing for align with the kingdom of God.

And he said that it would be granted.

And it goes on further and it says that you will produce much fruit for you are my true disciples.

And it brings glory to the Father. If you are a true disciple of Christ,

you should have fruit in your life.

You should be bearing fruit. That is how people know you are a true disciple

of Christ, is if you are bearing fruit for him. And it says that it brings God much glory.

So he needs your willingness, and he needs your obedience to advance the kingdom. He needs you.

Yes, Jesus, he died on that cross, and he rose from the dead,

and he has filled that gap that separated us from God. Thank you, Jesus.

But it doesn't stop there.

He ascended on high and then said, you go. You go.

And you go make disciples.

You have to be a disciple, a true disciple of God to go make a disciple.

You have to be able to teach people. How do you become a true disciple?

You are willing and obedient. You abide in the Word of God daily,

just like food. I hope you eat food every day. I hope you open your Bible every single day.

That is how you grow spiritually. You have to abide daily.

A day that goes by that you are not in your word, you are further away from God.

So as I was meditating upon this message and really praying about it,

God really put upon my heart that I believe those that are here today,

you are not here by mistake.

You are not here by mistake.

Those that are watching online, you are not listening to this by mistake.

I believe that God is speaking to you, whether he's speaking to you when you

open up the Bible to read, whether he's speaking to you when you're praying.

Maybe he's speaking to you in the shower. Maybe he's speaking to you moms when

you're doing the laundry for the hundredth time this week.

Maybe you're cleaning up that mess again, but God is speaking to you.

Maybe he's speaking to you, dads and gentlemen here, that when you're going

to get your oil changed, God is always speaking to you.

You can't get so religious that you think that God can only speak to you in church.

Thank God you're here. But God wants more than just your Sunday.

He wants your everyday life.

That is how you serve him. It's everyday. We can clean up, we can fake it for

about two hours in a building.

But what kind of fruit are you really bearing every day of the week?

Do you have joy? Do you have faith? Do you have love and peace and gentleness

and kindness and faithfulness and self-control every single day?

And we mess up, yes, but thank God for His mercy and goodness.

And do you take the Word of God and do you believe the Word of God when it says

by His stripes I'm healed and something comes on my body? I don't just allow

it. I take the Word of God and I open my mouth and say, by His stripes, I'm healed.

I'm healed. I believe it. And when a bill comes in or when taxes are due or

when whatever comes into your home and you look at that bill and you think,

how am I going to pay for this?

How am I going to get through the summer when I don't have a job?

My God shall supply all of my needs according to His riches.

Not my riches, thank God. God, he's going to apply and supply according to his riches.

You have to take the word. And here's the thing. You can be like, yes, I believe it.

But when you leave here on Monday morning, you better be willing and you better

be obedient to do what the word of God is telling you to do.

We are not called to live a stagnant life.

We are not called to just be complacent. And I believe that God is speaking

to people today saying, this is what I have for you.

This is a purpose and a calling I've placed in your life.

And I want you to be willing and obedient to follow him no matter what distractions are around you.

You know, in Genesis 26, this was the offering.

You don't have to put this on the screen. I just go back to think about Isaac in that moment when.

When the conditions didn't seem right, there was a famine. People were struggling.

God told him to sow. It was not convenient, but he called him to be a man of faith.

I have found that when God calls you, a lot of times it is during the most inconvenient time.

Or maybe that's just our flesh saying, oh, now is not the time.

You know, when Pastor Devon, I was very, I'm going to be honest,

I've shared this. I was content coming to church here.

I sat right back there where you gentlemen, where you are sitting.

I sat there. That was my seat. I was content.

Praise God. I'm going to worship. And when it's over, I'm going to leave.

And I was content with that. I was complacent.

But then God spoke to Pastor Devon and said, I really think,

you know, Jeannie would be pretty good on the pro-presenter.

Let's see if she'll volunteer for the pro-presenter.

I didn't want to do it. It was inconvenient to my flesh, but I was willing and

obedient because I've always said, God, from my childhood,

there's a whole other story, but I said, if you will help me and get me out

of this situation and turn my life around, I will serve you.

Whatever you ask me to do.

So I remember that every time that I want to say no. And so I did the pro presenter

and then, you know, I was helping to clean.

I would clean those toilets unto the Lord. And then I became complacent.

I was fine with coming in. I would do the words.

And then when I wasn't on the words, I would sit right there in that seat and

then I would go clean those toilets and I was out.

And then Pastor Devon said I need to meet with you you know if you've ever met

with Pastor you're always like what is he going to meet with you about,

because that's all he says I need to meet with you I'm like okay and he said you know Stacy,

Stacy was praying and she really feels like you need to give a message for the offering one Sunday.

So are you positioned for promotion?

And I don't talk in front of people, but I said I'm willing and obedient.

And so I did. It was an inconvenient time for me to do that, but I did.

And I continued to serve God in different areas that he would tell me to do.

And every single time, it was inconvenient to my flesh.

And then Natasha came to me and said, Jeannie, this year, it was a few years ago.

We're going to have you do pastor appreciation message. And it was very inconvenient time for me.

I had sat here for years and watched men of faith come in and give that message to honor our pastor.

And everything in me wanted to say no.

But I am willing and obedient to follow what God has placed in me.

So I said yes, and when I got home, I said, what have I done?

What have I done? Who am I?

First, I'm a woman. I know I'm a woman.

We're just going to, you can edit that out of the video. I'll pass that. I know I'm a woman.

Yes, I got up and shared the word of God as a woman.

And I honored pastor that day. and I continue to be willing and obedient,

you have to be willing and obedient. Are you positioned for promotion?

Because I believe there's an anointing here today for promotion.

And I'm talking spiritually. I'm talking physically and financially.

Don't limit God. Don't limit God by, oh, they're talking about money,

money, money. No, we're not.

I am talking about prospering you in the kingdom of God so that you are positioned

in places of leadership in your

realm so you can go out and be a blessing and get things done for God.

So then, obviously, here I am. So then there are times that I will come up and

I will teach messages. But each time, it took a willingness to push aside the

things that were trying to choke out the Word of God.

Trust me, even before I got up here today, I heard the lies of the enemy.

Me. Who do you think you are?

Who's going to listen to this message? Should you really do this? And you know what I did?

I kept the word of the Lord right before my eyes, just like Joshua 1 says.

I kept the word of God. I didn't look to the right. I didn't look to the left.

I said, God, I'm doing this for you.

Not for the people that are going to send in stuff to Pastor Devon.

Not for those that are going to make comments on the live stream.

I'm not doing that. Those aren't the people that their heart is ready to receive.

I'm doing this because God. I'm not even doing this necessarily because Pastor asked me.

I do it to respect him and honor him. But I'm doing it because I know that he hears from God.

And I trust that he hears from God. And I'm doing this for God.

And I'm doing this because I know that God has placed something in me that I'm

going to sow into you today. And that it's going to bless you.

And so I do want to share one more story before I pray today.

And this is also about a very inconvenient time. So I don't just serve the Lord up here with my Bible.

What I really serve the Lord doing is what I do a Monday through Saturday.

So I'm called, I believe, by God in my life to help children.

And I pour my heart into helping children.

Because many of these children that I work with, I was there.

You know, we work with kids that have developmental delays.

They may have a diagnosis, but I also work with a lot of kids in foster care.

And they have behavioral regulation concerns, and they're angry.

And that was me. And that's a story for another time, but God has delivered me through that.

And I believe that he's positioned me to know exactly where those kids are.

So when those kids are yelling at other therapists and they don't want to work,

I just step right in with love because I've been there.

I've been there. That bitterness, that behavior that they are showing,

it's just communication. It's just hurt.

And so I was sitting right back there about three and a half years ago,

and Pastor was teaching, he was preaching, and he was talking about not letting

your hope really die, just not letting your hope die,

not living a complacent life, and that is where I was at.

It was right in 2021, the COVID time, and God really started speaking to my

heart, I want you to step out and start a business.

I have no business background. I had no clue what I was doing. I did not have any money.

I didn't have a savings at the time.

My husband Josh was working swing shifts, 12-hour days.

I barely saw him maybe two days out of a month because when he was at home sleeping,

we were going about our day.

And then when he was there in the day, he was working, or at night he was working.

So it was a really inconvenient time for God to speak to me on that Sunday and

say, you should start a business.

We had no money and we had no time And I really fought that for a while.

But then I said God I'm willing and obedient I have no clue what to do Lord

So pastor shared a little bit of my story So I went in and it was during a time

where small businesses were closing They weren't opening.

And I went in and I gave my notice and was immediately fired and let go at that point.

And then we were going to see how my faith was really going to work because

now I didn't have a job and I had an idea of starting a business.

I had started seeing a few clients privately, but God started leading me.

And during that time, I literally had to depend upon him for everything.

Everything. How is our bills going to be paid? How am I going to get a network

with this insurance company? I don't know what I'm doing. And I would cry and

say, I don't know what I'm doing. Why did you call me to do this?

But I was willing and obedient because I couldn't shake it. I knew God was saying,

this is what I want you to do.

And so fast forward, we have been open three and a half years.

And in that amount of time, we have grown fast because of God's favor and his blessing.

I didn't know how to interview people. When I'm telling you I had no clue what

to do, God would tell me step by step.

And if I obeyed that step, guess what he would do? He would tell me the next step.

And when I got to that step, and I would say, I can't keep up with the work

anymore. What am I going to do? Hire another person.

Payroll used to just destroy me almost. I would have to go before God and say,

I need help because I was so anxious.

And then fast forward into 2022, I was attacked in my mental health.

Like I have never been attacked before, and I'm going to be vulnerable with you.

I began to look at other things. Okay, so I'm going to help you kind of like a mom would.

I've been there, done it wrong, and so I'm going to teach you.

I am like, Lord, I believe you.

But somewhere along that believing, I did what Mark 4 says.

I let the cares of the world start coming in, and it was choking.

And spiritually, it felt like it was choking. If you have never dealt with anxiety

and panic attacks and fear, that is crippling. It is crippling.

And I was dealing with this at home. Josh was still working swing shifts, 12 hours.

I was dealing with a child that I was learning diagnoses of my own child and

navigating all of that and standing for that child's healing.

And I took my eyes off the word. And what did I tell you before?

Each day that you do not press into God and grow closer to him,

you are being drifted away.

And I dealt with that. And then one Sunday, the breakthrough that came,

I was sitting again back there and pastor

called those that were dealing with

anxiety to come forward and I knew I

needed to actually I'll be honest I was supposed to be and I don't know if Natasha

knows this I was supposed to be on the pro presenter that day and she had to

I asked if she would take me off I'm not I am not against medication I don't

take any medication right now.

But in that moment that I was so crippled, I didn't listen to God.

I am not saying medication is wrong. If God tells you to take medication,

please take medication.

But he didn't tell me to take medication. It was a spiritual condition that I was dealing with.

And I took a medication as a trial because I was done with the panic attacks.

And I had a severe reaction, a severe reaction.

That almost ended me up in the hospital a Friday night. And I said, no more.

If God hasn't told me to take something, I'm not taking it again.

But I was still dealing with the side effects Sunday morning.

And I couldn't control my hands. I was shaking so bad from the medication that

I had taken. And so I told Natasha, take me off of the pro presenter.

I'm being honest with you and vulnerable this morning. This was not in my lesson to share this.

So I still am like, Lord, why am I sharing this?

But hopefully it is for somebody that's listening.

Again, pastor will be back next week.

So I was shaking so hard that I told Josh, maybe I shouldn't go.

And he's like, because he was off that day. The one Sunday that he was able

to come, he said, you're going. And it was good. It was good to have a husband

that was the head of the house that said, no more, my wife is getting delivered today.

And so I came in, I sat back there. Someone else did the words.

And when Pastor was praying, I just, I found myself coming forward to be delivered.

And I remember Natasha, she may not remember this. She had her hand behind me praying for me.

And Pastor was teaching on, my father loves me.

The banner of love will surround you and set you free.

And that banner of love came on me that day, and this was spiritual.

Now, this mental turmoil that I was dealing with was not physical.

Okay, so I don't want someone feeling shamed if they're dealing with something

and it's a physical thing in your body. You can be healed and delivered.

But I know that in this moment, it was a spiritual thing for me,

and I literally stood there saying, my father loves me.

And I didn't grow up with a dad love, a fatherly love.

But in that moment, the love of the father completely came in.

And it literally, what felt like thorns choking the word of God,

completely let go and released.

And it can happen for you too.

Completely set you free. so

fast forward I'm willing and obedient God is

telling me each and every day I want you to grow I want

you to hire this person I want you to do this I

want you to expand to this location because why my ministry

for God being positioned for promotion was that we were able to reach out and

help more families we were able to extend our services to more and more families

we weren't just providing services at a clinic now we're going into daycares

and preschools now we're going into homes.

We're not just in Cabarrus County. We're going into multiple counties.

It wasn't for selfish gain.

It was because I was willing and obedient to say, God, what do you want me to

do? What can I do for your kingdom?

And he said, your ministry is you're going to go out and you're going to help

all these families and you're going to help all these kids.

While sharing the Word of God. And that's how you do it.

Whatever it looks like for you. I don't know your walk of life, but God does.

And God placed you here this morning because He knows whatever you're walking

out, He's positioning you for promotion.

Are you willing and obedient?

And now, God, I'm sitting here meditating and worshiping God every day,

and I said, okay, God, a lot has happened in three and a half years. Can we just coast now?

Can I just enjoy the fruit of the labor that I have put into this company?

And, you know, we're doing well.

Thank you, Jesus. I didn't know how I was going to pay my bills three and a

half years ago. But thank you, Jesus.

Jehovah Jireh stepped on the scene and provided all of our needs.

And now I'm like, can we just relax?

And you know what he speaks? No.

Expand. Expand. Add an addition.

Ownership. And a pastor has been teaching and believing on ownership,

and when he gave me that word, I knew what I needed to do.

I said, I've got to sow a seed because I have a need.

I have no idea how I'm going to own a clinic, but I'm sowing,

and I'm putting it in to the Exodus project here because I believe that all

of our hopes will be fulfilled this year. I'm willing and obedient.