Wounded Pt. 3

This is Ronald Hopkins, and thank you for joining the Life Center Church.

Amen.

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We've been on this series these last couple of weeks, and uh it's called Wounded.

We're gonna jump right in it today because they've given they gave me a clock.

So I've got to work on my clock management today.

Um this is they say amen.

This is part three, wounded.

Um, let's go back to Psalm number 147 because this has been our text.

Stanza number three, it says, He healeth, meaning God.

So God heals the broken heart and he binds up the wounds.

Go to Psalm number 109, and we'll look at stanza number 22.

David says, For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.

So we see from these two texts, number one, God will heal any heart that's been wounded.

In my experience in ministry over two decades, what I've come to understand is that there are many in the body of Christ who live a wounded lifestyle.

And we've been hiding the wounds, and it's time for God to heal those wounds.

I need a bigger amen than that.

Now, as a definition, let's go back and define what this word wound means before we get into what the Lord would have us to understand today.

A wound is an injury to the heart or your soul.

We know your soul is made up of your mind, your will, or your emotions.

So it's an injury to your mind, your will, and your emotions.

And it's caused by a painful experience that you may have had in life.

Or we can say it this way: it can also be caused by a traumatic event that happened in your life.

That when these wounds happen, they have a job description.

That is to damage your original identification.

When I'm talking about your original identification, I'm talking about the ID that God gave you before you came to this earth.

So these wounds are set up to damage your identification in Christ.

They are sent to damage your emotions.

They are sent to damage your beliefs.

There are many believers that have walked away from God because they've been wounded.

They haven't been wounded by church.

They've been wounded by bad leaders in the church.

See, we've gotta we've gotta be real with this because people will say church hurt.

No, it's bad leadership in the church that's called it, cause wounds that cause people to think that church is supposed to be this, but it doesn't look like what God ordained.

So because of that, they walked away or they stay away.

And now you have many believers that are shipwrecked in their faith because they're staying away.

You were never meant to stay away, you were supposed to be part of the body of Christ.

You have to understand God created this community, and yet we would rather have community with the world and participate with the world instead of community with the people of God.

And the reason why is because somewhere in your life you've been damaged, you've been wounded, you've been hurt, and it caused your belief system to be rocked.

Or it'll damage your relationships.

Your relationships with your children, your relationship with your spouse, your relationship with your aunties and your uncles, and just your relationships are no good because of the womb.

Now, let's go to Genesis chapter 1 because we're gonna get into some new areas today.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Genesis chapter 1, verse number 27.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

It says, So God created man in his own image.

And the image of God created he, him, male, and female created he them.

So there are different types of rooms that God created.

Last week we talked about the male room.

This week we're gonna talk about the female room.

So there's the female room, there's the daughter room, there's the mother room, and then there's the wife room.

Before we go any further, these are not actual rooms, they are places and spaces in your life where you're supposed to develop, grow, or you can get stuck.

So you can get stuck in a female room.

You can get stuck in a wife room.

Meaning, those experiences, if you don't learn from them, you can be stuck in one of these rooms and never get out.

Now, we looked at the strategy of the enemy.

So, Tina, if you put those up, I'm not sure if you put them up all as one or you put them separate.

Okay.

So, here are the strategies.

2 Corinthians chapter 2, verse number 11 says, we should not be ignorant of Satan's devices.

2 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

We have to understand that we do have an enemy, and he does have a job description.

You cannot be mad at him fulfilling his job description.

Steal, kill, destroy.

Don't be mad at him.

Just don't let him steal, kill, and destroy your life.

So we know that there's the womb, there's the lie, there's the agreement.

That part right there.

Then there's the behavior.

So, point number one, let's get into this today.

Stop defining yourself by how you were treated.

Many people are defining and find their value in life based upon how they were treated.

Whether you were treated good or whether you were mistreated, whether you were treated good by your spouse or mistreated by your spouse.

You should not allow that mistreatment to define who you are.

Now we're gonna look at a story because the goal in this series is for us to see examples that fit this model, how the enemy has been able to Old Testament and New Testament to use the womb, the lie, the agreement to cause their behavior not to be the behavior of Jesus.

You can always identify, or you should be able to, when we get done, you should be able to identify that's a wound.

Oh, that's a wound, that is the lie.

Oh, that is what I agreed to, and because I agreed with that, not believe that.

Notice now my behavior.

So you can always tell the behavior and the pattern from a person's life if they believe that lie.

Because they're gonna be in agreement.

You're gonna hear them talk about certain things, then you're gonna see their behavior.

They can say that they're not, but their behavior will say something completely different.

Then you'll be able to recognize that is the strategy that the enemy has been using.

You might even see it in your own life.

Come on, Pastor.

You'll be able to trace, oh, that's a wound.

Now, before we get into this, what I found out the most in talking and dealing with people, not just in Michigan, but from Atlanta, from Phoenix to Massachusetts, all over, because you all know we've lived all over for ministry.

What I have found, the womb or the person that causes the most wounds in the lives of God's people, shouldn't be any surprise, the father wound.

Whether you had a father or you didn't, why do you think there's an attack on fathers and men?

It's a strategy.

Remember, the Bible says don't be ignorant.

Why do you think the statistics are so high?

Fatherless children.

Or children that do have a father, but they don't show up.

And he is a liar.

Now, go to Genesis chapter 29, and we're gonna look at the story of Leah.

Genesis 29 · chapter mention

Now, let me give you some background as we start this.

There's a man by the name of Laban, and he had two daughters.

One was Rachel, who was the youngest, and Leah, who was the oldest.

And there was a man by the name of Jacob who came to the city where they lived at, and he came, and there's a whole story.

You know, if you read the Bible, you won't watch enough TV.

If you read the stories in the word, I'm trying to tell you, it will cause you to start digging and start reading.

Like, wait a second.

He left there because of what?

So there's a reason why he actually left to get him to the place where he was at.

So he ended up leaving that particular city and going to a city called Harem.

And he saw Rachel because the Bible says Rachel was beautiful.

So there was an instant I fell in love with her right off the bat.

That is possible.

Is that how it was with me?

That's right, absolutely.

So he fell in love with her right away.

And as he was falling in love with her, he worked as a not a shepherd, but a one who took care of the animals.

And so the father said to him, Because you're working, what are your wages?

I can't allow you to work for free.

Because there was instant love, he said, Well, I will work for you seven years for your hand, your daughter's hand in marriage.

That's a long time.

So the dad agreed to it.

But he had another daughter.

And what's interesting about this story is that after the seven years of him working tirelessly and diligently and faithful because there was an agreement, he thought that he was going to marry Rachel.

However, there was a custom during that time.

Is that the oldest daughter, y'all know the story, had to be married first.

So the day that they had their wedding and they went in to, you know, consummate that agreement, he ended up sleeping with his eldest daughter.

Now you might say, well, how is that possible?

Because in biblical times back in the day, they wore a veil over their faces because they treated virginity as holiness.

That's a message in and of itself.

And so he found out that he did not sleep with Rachel, but he slept with Leah and the oldest daughter.

And so he goes and he asks the father, why did you deceive me?

Why did you trick me?

Then he tells him the custom and he says, Okay, what do I need to do?

He said, Well, work seven more years.

So watch this.

They agreed to that.

One week later, because they made an agreement.

One week later, he ended up having two wives.

Now, how many of you know right there?

There is a problem.

He didn't just have one, he had two.

So although he married her one week later, he still had to work for seven more years.

Now, let's pick up the story in verse number 30 of Genesis chapter 29.

Genesis 29 · chapter mention

And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah.

And served him with yet seven more years.

And when the Lord saw Leah was hated, the word hated there means love lest.

He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

So here is the womb.

Rejected love.

She had to wake up every single day and go throughout the day believing that she was never first.

She was second, not to somebody that she didn't know.

She was second to her own sister.

So this rejected love created an identity crisis in Leia.

Now listen to this.

She was loved less by the persons whose affection mattered the most.

So she felt unwanted.

She felt overlooked.

She felt like she was passed over.

And when you get to the place when you are insecure, you are unstable in your identification.

Because this insecurity now causes you to live your life comparing what you have or comparing what you don't have to somebody else.

So insecurity causes comparison.

Let me tell you what's dangerous.

Social media.

And not doing anything with your own life.

Because you're watching, it's a trick.

You're watching somebody else's life that they made up to get you to pay attention to them.

And it will cause you to start thinking that maybe my life should be here.

Maybe because I am this age, I should be further along than what I should be.

Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 10.

2 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

We're going to come back to there.

Because comparisons don't create insecurity, it exposes yours.

Teaching, sir.

It just exposes your insecure thinking.

When you start comparing your life to somebody else's.

This is what she was dealing with.

This is her womb.

She was rejected.

Now, 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse number 12 says, Oh, don't worry.

2 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

We wouldn't dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are.

But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves.

Using themselves as the standard of measurement?

The standard of measurement who we should compare ourselves to is the only perfect person that walked the face of the earth.

That is the standard on which we should evaluate our lives.

You should not evaluate your life based upon your mama.

As long as you continue to focus on other people, listen, your insecurities will grow.

As long as you keep looking at somebody else, you're going to continue to be insecure.

Listen to this.

She allowed, Leah allowed another person's listen, inability to love her to become the measure of her worth.

He could not do what she needed in her life, but she kept going after that.

He wasn't able to love her.

So her value in life was based on his inability to do something.

She, like many other believers, allow people to define your value.

You think more about what your mother, who's not even born again, say about you.

And now it's defined you.

You let your father, who's never been in your life, tell you who you are, and he don't even know you.

And now your value is based off of what you think that he said.

And now you toe up from the flow up.

Amen.

This is the strategy, folks, that the enemy uses because you go from that womb to point number two, where's your focus?

Sir.

And this is the lie.

The lie is a false conclusion about God.

People don't know God.

They know of God.

That's a statement all by acceptance.

And because they don't know God, they don't know the characteristics of God.

They don't know the thinking of God.

They don't know the ways of God.

They know church.

So a lie is a false conclusion about God or yourself.

Some believers, you don't even know who you are.

You believe this, listen, because of your experience.

You can be seventy-five and have life experiences, but you can be an old fool.

Your experience should be you're led by Holy Ghost.

Because He shows you the way.

Life just starts life in you.

And now you base everything off of your experiences, which may not always be good.

Now go back to Genesis chapter 29, because I'm going to show you the lie.

Genesis 29 · chapter mention

Or what are you believing?

So there's the womb.

The womb's goal is to get you to believe the lie.

Genesis 29, 32.

And Leah conceived and bare son, and she called his name Reuben.

For she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction.

Listen.

Now therefore my husband will love me.

Verse 33.

And she conceived again.

I want you to see here's a pattern here.

And bear a son.

And said, Because the Lord hath heard I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also.

And she called his name Simeon.

And she conceived again and bare son and said, Now this time, my husband will be joined unto me because I have borne him three sons.

Therefore was his name called Levi.

You notice every statement has nothing to do with her.

She's looking for him to fill a void in her life.

One of the deepest pains in the female's room is being present but not being pursued.

She was tolerated but not treasured.

She was present but not preferred.

Her identity, listen, was tied to his response to her.

Her identity was tied to his response to her.

So if he yelled at her, she based that off of.

See, what the enemy is endeavoring for you to do is to stay in this realm of feelings.

Because that is the arena where he functions and flows in your emotions.

So if he can keep you angry, he got you.

If he can keep you stressed out, oh, he's got you.

If he can keep you frustrated, he's got you.

Be mindful of your emotions.

You are a spirit, not an emotion.

You realize there are no emotions in heaven?

You only need emotions on earth.

It's your soul, it's your mind, your will, and your emotions.

There are all spirits in heaven.

Let you think about that.

Which means if I'm walking in the face of the earth, I should not be led by my emotions.

My emotions should not run my life.

My feelings should not tell me what to do, when to do it, how to do it.

My spirit man should tell me what to do, when to do it, how to do it, not to do it.

Now go back to Genesis chapter 29, because this is the agreement.

Genesis 29 · chapter mention

How you decide to live your life.

It started with this womb.

Verse number 32.

And Leah conceived and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben.

And she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction.

Now therefore my husband will love me.

And she conceived again.

You said, You reading this again, I'm going to show you how this happens.

She bare a son and said, Because the Lord had heard I was hated, he had therefore given me this son also, and she called his name Simeon.

And she conceived again and bare son and said, Now, this time will my husband be joined unto me because I have borne him three sons.

Therefore his name was called Levi.

She had the title of a wife, but she longed for the affection of her husband.

She was looking for affection.

Now there is nothing wrong with the husband giving his wife affection.

I got two little amens.

Let me say that one more time just so I can make sure I'm in the right place today.

There's nothing wrong with the husband giving his wife affection.

Because a husband should give his wife affection because that is a need that she has.

Let me tell you what the issue is.

The weight that she put on her husband.

She placed a heavy weight on him that he could not carry.

Her value in life was solely based upon the affection from her husband.

There's only one person that's supposed to be on the throne of your life.

And when you put too much weight on that individual that they're not able to give you, then you're setting yourself up for a broken heart.

Your worth shouldn't be measured by whether or not somebody loves you.

Let me say that again.

Your worth in life shouldn't be based upon whether or not they love you.

Let me say that again.

Your worth in life should not be based upon whether or not they love you.

Let me talk to this side.

You do you your worth in life should be based upon He loves me.

And because He loves me, that is the only thing that I ever need.

If you give me something, praise the Lord.

If you don't give me anything, praise the Lord.

I'm not expecting anything from you in the first place.

See, this is where people get jacked up at because he didn't do this for me.

You put too much weight on him.

So now you have an unreasonable expectation of something that God should only do in your life.

Many marriages are busted up because of this.

You can't get along because you expected this person to do this.

You know why they can't do it?

They're wounded.

You married a wounded man.

You married a wounded woman, and now you expect them to do certain things because they go to a word church.

Guess what's happening?

They're not doing the word, they're not becoming the word.

And because they're not doing or not becoming the word, listen, they cannot be healed.

Because the only thing that's gonna heal that wound is the word.

And it works when you work the word.

Let me say this since I'm already out there.

You don't need validation from a man.

Attention can't heal rejection.

See, you looking for attention.

But you step up.

You attracting the wrong kind of person.

Because you're looking for something in a man.

You're looking for something in a woman.

And you think that because of their natural physique, that they could feel something that's internal.

That attention that you are seeking is gotten you in sin.

That attention is turning you out.

It has changed your identification where you're doing things that you you would never do.

How can you do those things or how can you watch those things?

Come on.

You're wounded.

So you're trying to feel that hurt with stuff.

And it's changed who God created you to be.

Go to Isaiah forty-three.

If you don't learn how to be accepted by God, you will spend your life trying to be accepted by people.

Isaiah 43, verse number one says, But now, thus says the Lord that created you.

Thus says the Lord that created you.

And he forms you.

Fear not.

I've redeemed you.

I've called you by your name, for you belong to God.

God establishes your identification before people recognize who you are.

It's about time you recognize who God created you to be and stop believing and entertaining the lie.

Now, let's look at this last one.

Because this is point number four.

What you do is important.

Because what you do tells us whether or not, or how you live tells us whether or not you believe the lie, or whether you got an agreement with it.

I'm not gonna reread that, but you can go back and you'll reread it again.

Genesis 29, 32, 33, and 34.

Notice what she was doing because she was in agreement and should believe the lie.

There was nothing wrong with her having children.

Because children are a blessing from God.

What she was trying to do by having the children, she was trying to earn his love by doing certain things.

You'll love me if I do this.

There are a lot of ungodly things that are happening in marriages because I'm trying to prove something to you.

I'm trying to prove that I need your love, so I need you to do this.

That's all she was doing.

She had hope that if she just did this one thing, but she kept doing it over and over and over again, that he was going to do something.

It's a pattern.

Ask yourself this question.

What are you constantly doing in your life to prove somebody that you love them?

Striving for acceptance.

And you know what this becomes?

Performance.

And if you find yourself performing, it is the language of a wounded heart.

And being a performer can become your identification.

Go to Galatians chapter one.

Performance.

Galatians chapter one.

For do I now persuade men or God?

Or do I seek to please men?

Notice these are question marks.

So these are questions we have to ask ourselves.

Is what you're doing, are you pleasing God?

Or whatever you're doing, you're pleasing man.

Pleasing yourself.

Or self-gratification.

Because there are some, oh yeah, I'll say that too.

Okay.

There are some that have decided that you're not gonna have sex, but you are pleasing yourself.

That's not God.

You're gratifying yourself, you're releasing yourself.

God is not pleased with that behavior.

We talked about opening up.

So what you don't realize, and the reason why you're doing that is because you've been wounded.

That's not normal behavior.

So your behavior is tied to your agreement, and your agreement lines up with the lie.

And now you trace it back to the wound.

Well, how come I'm doing this?

Galatians chapter one.

It's coming hard today, boy.

Because external things cannot heal internal wounds.

Help us get free.

Notice when you go back to this, they had stuff.

They had houses, they had the cars.

They had a little money.

And just because you have all those things, they cannot heal a wound.

You can have no money and still be wounded.

You can be rich or you can be poor.

It doesn't matter.

You can be white, you can be black, you can be Chinese, no matter your ethnicity.

You still are wounded.

And there's only one person that can heal that wound.

Thank you, Jesus.

There's a difference between living, that's that clock.

There's a difference between living for or by for or by.

So you get confidence from people giving you compliments.

He said this, and now you feel good.

What if he don't say it?

What if he doesn't say it at home, but you get a compliment at work?

Now you feel valued.

But you just open up a door.

And when you live like this, your peace is determined by people.

You're allowing people to steal your peace.

And yet peace should be developed.

That's the issue.

I'm praying for peace.

How's that working?

It's not.

Because peace is a fruit of spirit that you and I should be developing.

Or when you live by acceptance, this is where you have to realize you don't have to do anything but receive.

Because it's already been paid for.

So now I live my life not to please people.

I live my life to please him.

And as long as I please him, you're gonna be okay.

And if you're not okay, that's not on me.

That's between you and him.

Now let's close here because this is the takeaway.

This is what she did at the end.

Go to Genesis 29 and look at verse number 35.

This is how she got healed.

And point number five says this your worship is greater than your wound.

See, we have deduced worship to church.

Worship should be your lifestyle.

Not a song.

You can sing a song to worship.

This is how you get healed.

It's your worship to him.

Genesis 29, 35.

And she conceived again and bare son and said, Now she learned.

Now remember this seven years.

Seven years she was dealing with this.

So somewhere in this seventh year, the light clicked on.

Instead of seeking validation from her husband, she needed validation from the one who created her.

She said, Now I will praise the Lord.

She stopped talking about Jacob and she started talking about God.

You have to talk more about God than that person who can't give you what you need.

She stopped chasing approval from a man and started being approved by the man.

She started praising God and not him.

Stand on your feet today.

See, stop chasing after people and put the focus where it should be, which is God.

She started thinking more about the goodness of God than the limitations of her husband.

And she just started at this praise fest.

Now, take a moment and think about somebody who wanted you.

Somebody who you desire acceptance from.

Maybe it's your children.

And if you really admit it, it hurts.

Okay, now that you got that person or those people in mind.

You gotta break agreement with that today.

Because somewhere along the line, you agreed with the womb, you agreed with the lie, and now your behavior lines up.

So let's break agreement with that today.

Repeat this after me.

Say father today.

I break agreement with every lie that says my value is determined by how people have treated me.

I renounce the belief that I must earn love to be worthy of love.

I declare.

I am seen by God.

I am chosen by God.

I am accepted by God.

I am loved by God.

My identity is not determined by rejection.

My identity is established in Jesus Christ.

I no longer live for acceptance.

I will live from the acceptance that God has already given me in Jesus.

In the name of Jesus.

Now if you believe that, if you really believe that, you have to now celebrate that.

Like it's actually true.

Come on, open up your mouth today.

Thank God for the freedom.

Thank God that you no longer have to accept the rejection, but now you accept the freedoms that you have in Jesus.

Amen.

Don't go back.

Don't pick it back up.

Don't get back in the cycle.

It's done.

Today.

In the name of Jesus.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Amen.

Now every head is bowed.

Every eye is closed.

We never want to take this portion of the service for granted.

Maybe you're in here and maybe you're not born again.

Bible says these things are written so that you know that you have eternal life.

Eternal life doesn't start when you get to heaven.

Eternal life, according to the word, says, when you know him.

That's how you get to heaven.

You got to know him first.

You make that decision while you're here in the earth.

It's real simple.

You believe with your heart, you confess with your mouth that Jesus is the Son of God.

And the Bible says, thou shalt be saved.

So if you're in here today or you're online and you're not born again, if you're in here, real quick, shoot your hand in the air, we'll pray with and for you and show you from the word what the word has to say.

If you're online and you're watching us, put a one in the comments.

We'll know to pray with and for you.

If you're in here and you say, yes, Pastor, I'm born again, but I've got sin in my life.

Let's not play games with this.

If there's sin in your life and you want to get that right, this is how people open up the door to attacks of the enemy because of sin.

Sin is simply means missing the mark.

Satan is looking for open doors to get in.

You close the door.

Simple.

Don't sin.

Pack the word in.

Pack the word in your heart.

As David said, I might not sin against you.

Reason why people sin is because there's an absence of revelation of the word.

Have no light, so you can't see.

So you walk in darkness.

So if you're in here today and you're out of fellowship and you want to get that right and you need to get that right, go ahead and lift your hand in there and we'll pray with and for you today.

Don't play with this.

This is nothing to play around with.

Because if Jesus Christ would crack the sky right now, and you got sin in your life, I don't believe you're going up.

Why?

Because sin separates you from God.

Get that right.

And my last invitation is maybe you're in here and you say, Yes, Pastor, I'm born again.

I'm right with God.

But I'm just, I'm trying to do the best as I can.

I'm trying to live this Christian life.

I can tell you what you're missing.

Power.

Power.

Power.

Yes, we believe in praying in other tongues.

There's so much confusion about this, and I understand why.

Because again, the enemy is a master deceiver.

Jesus says, these signs shall follow them that believe.

Cast out devils, pray in other tongues.

The apostle Paul says, I thank God I pray in tongues more than you all.

Paul wrote one fourth of the New Testament and planted all of those churches.

He was responsible for all of those individuals.

He said, I thank God I pray in tongues more than you all.

Forbid them not.

It is the will of God for God's people to pray in other tongues.

Acts chapter 1, Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 9, Acts chapter 19.

Acts 1 · chapter mention Acts 2 · chapter mention Acts 9 · chapter mention Acts 19 · chapter mention

The Bible evidence that you're filled with God's Spirit.

Yes, you're born again.

The Spirit of God lives on the inside of you.

How do you know?

I just gave you four different witnesses.

And the Acts of the Apostles, they all will say they prayed in other tongues.

You gotta have the power when you're here in the earth.

And guess what?

It's not a heaven or a hell issue.

You don't need tongues in heaven.

You only need tongues while you're here in the earth.

You gotta be filled.

That's where the power comes in at.

He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not under man, but under God.

So if that's you, you're not filled.

You want to receive today?

Lift your hand in the air, we'll pray with and for you and show you from the book what the will of God is for your life.

Just want to make sure we got everybody.

You're not saved, you're not sure.

Out of fellowship, you don't pray in other tongues.

You want to receive any one of those invitations, lift your hand in the air.

All right.

Well, I trust everybody's heart and life is right with God.

That didn't sound too convincing.

Let me say it again.

I trust everybody's heart and life is right with God.