Don’t Trust The Cast | Sarah Jakes Roberts

if you would just for a moment remember

what it was like when you were where you

wanted to be and not where God was if

you would just for a moment give

yourself an applause for finally coming

to a place in your walk with Christ

where you’re hungry enough to say I want

to be where you are

sometimes we can be so overwhelmed with

how much work we have yet to do that we

fail to realize how far we’ve come and

while we’re all striving to be exactly

where God is I’m just grateful that I

wasn’t that I’m not where I used to be

unfortunately I wasn’t here last week

but I am grateful to be back in the

house of the Lord this weekend sharing

the word for today if you don’t mind I’m

just going to take a moment to pray and

then we’re going to get right back in

the word father God if you would please

stature ate this place open hearts to

hear revelation and words and

confirmation Oh God if you would please

use my voice as your vessel remove any

anxiety or nerves or fears or

insecurities that would hinder me from

delivering all the truth press into my

spirit oh God and let there be an

overflow that saturates your people like

never before let this word first help me

and then them so that they can be the

hands and feet of your word in your

message Oh God thank you for what you’re

going to do in this place in Jesus name

Amen

I have to pray because y’all’s pastor

preaches so good that he makes their

heart out here for the women’s of God

we’re going to be in Joshua seven verses

10 through 12 today and it reads so the

Lord said to Joshua get up why do you

lie this on your face

Israel has sinned and they have also

transgressed my covenant which I

commanded them for they have not before

they have even taken some of the

accursed things and have both stolen and

deceived and they have also put it among

their own stuff therefore the children

of Israel could not stand before their

enemies but turn their backs before

their enemies because they have become

doomed to destruction neither will I be

with you anymore unless you destroy the

accursed from among here I have come on

this beautiful Sunday to serve notice

that you are paying attention at a cost

you cannot afford did you all know that

recently Facebook in 2012 purchased

Instagram for seven hundred and fifteen

million dollars I’m not sure where they

pay their tithes

but if you’re watching three years later

what they bought at 715 million dollars

is now 49 times that much thirty-five

billion dollars did you know that your

attention was worth thirty five billion

dollars thirty five billion dollars and

I’m going to have a little bit of

testimony service today because I know

people church people like to leave you

out here by yourself so I’m just going

to share it and if it hits anybody you

just know okay Thank You major I think I

might be addicted to Instagram here’s

the thing when I wake up in the morning

I really do mean to go to my Bible app

but the way my finger is set up

it automatically just goes the Instagram

and don’t let the orange notifications

come up in the corner that someone has

left me a comment you’re talking to me

what you say ciao what you say and it

doesn’t just stop with the comments or

the notifications because when I post a

picture I need to see how many likes I

got and I need to see who didn’t like my

picture as well I’m not saying anyone in

this room does it but sometimes you will

like a picture and I speaks to me in

person

and so I just need to know when you like

in pictures that you’re gonna like me in

real life Oh

some of y’all following don’t like it

all the way my ratio is set up I don’t

really I don’t really understand how I

could have these followers and my like

me like nah homie you don’t even know

these people it’s not that I really

think I know them but it’s like if

you’re gonna follow me like me yes yes

yes 35 billion dollars that’s how much

our attention is worth have you ever

been waiting on a text message and on

Instagram Oh somebody has got the

revelation

but before you can reply you need to

finish scrolling the timeline and I’m

not just talking about spam text

messages I mean when your mother texture

and you automatically know she don’t

really want nothing that’s more

important than what somebody just posted

on Instagram okay this is when you leave

me out here by myself that’s all right

the distractions of life 35 billion

dollars if I knew that my attention was

worth thirty five billion dollars I

would devote it to something else

somebody somewhere has discovered that

it pays for you to be distracted that

you can be distracted by things that

really aren’t even your business and can

you imagine how difficult it can be to

be distracted by things that are not

your business yet be crying out to God

to give you a business

can you afford to be distracted and we

can’t just blame this on Instagram

because we started practicing being

distracted long before there were

handheld devices we started being

distracted by our fears long before we

had cell phones devoting our 35 billion

dollar attention to all of the ways we

could fail investing time energy thought

to how we won’t make it and crying out

to God like Joshua God where are you in

the midst of my distractions in the

midst of the distractions that I have

volunteered to take on you see it’s one

thing to be distracted by life but it’s

another one we sign up to be distracted

can you really afford to be lost on

Instagram for 30 minutes 30 somebody

said an hour two hours time is passing

us by we are so invested in other

people’s lives that we have no time to

build one ourself

don’t worry I’m not deleting my

Instagram account nor am I going to

suggest that you do that because I know

you will leave the church I am

suggesting on the contrary that you

learn to use that platform for your

destiny that if you don’t take an

opportunity to take advantage of other

people’s attention and dare to lift it

to a higher cause that you are just as

guilty of abusing people’s attention as

you are of abusing your own do you have

any substance if I am to look at your

page to determine who you are because

that is what this world is coming to

before we ever have a conversation I can

sum up who you are and what you stand

for based off of what you post I’m

grateful that some of you are in here

today have you ever had to screenshot

somebody’s page and then send it to

someone and ask what are they going to

get it together

we are judging you based off of who you

tell us you are are you proud of who

you’ve created on your platform can you

stand by the messages that you send in a

world where Christians are being

beheaded are you proud of the hashtag

about last night who is willing to stand

before their enemies in a world where we

don’t even want to post pictures out of

fear that it won’t get enough likes do

you see what the cost of distraction is

boiling our lives down to the

meaninglessness of likes and comments we

use time we don’t have to build things

that do not benefit us that wasn’t

Joshua’s problem though because when we

find Joshua in the text he is not

dealing with any level of distraction

he’s dealing with discouragement because

somehow he has managed to do what some

of us strive a lifetime to figure out

and that is that he has managed to no

longer pay attention to his fears he has

learned to hear the voice of God in his

life and he’s learned to not just hear

it but to become a doer of the word when

we find Joshua in this text he has

brought the walls of Jericho down

he’s marched around the wall seven times

and within seven days and on the seventh

day he released a shout and the walls of

Jericho came tumbling down and so we

find him in the scripture ready to take

on the next enemy that God has laid

before him

he’s strong he’s ready to see because

there’s one thing like hearing a word

from God for the first time and then

doing it and recognizing that God wasn’t

lying to you have you ever had God tell

you something that would risk you

looking a little bit crazy and you did

it anyway

and think you got to post it on

Instagram because God came through for

you in a major way in a way that you

couldn’t even imagine and when everyone

was doubting you and everyone thought

you were crazy you get to post that

picture that says look at me boo-boo you

had me messed up God was really with me

and so we find Joshua reeling off of the

victory of God being with him he’s ready

to go into the city of eye and to really

capture it like he’s done in Jericho and

he know he can do it because he’s done

it before and he loses have you ever

wondered where God was after your

victory surely I’ve made it this far and

you were victorious with me last time

and so surely from now on after 40 years

of being in the wilderness and my family

got it wrong and my grandfather got it

wrong and finally you’ve called me up

and I’m finally ready to get it right

and I have victory and then you abandon

me again God right when I was breaking

the generational curse right when it

seemed like I had escaped my past I’m

more defeated than I felt before I ever

won its I almost wish you wouldn’t have

let me win because now I know I could

have done it and I can’t do it anymore

have you ever had to wonder

why you couldn’t win anymore have you

ever wondered what was happening to you

that you couldn’t even stand before your

enemies much less yourself and so we

find Joshua in the text crying out to

God asking him why didn’t we win I did

exactly what you told me to do

I fought exactly the way you taught me

and I didn’t win and we see in verse 11

if you would put it back up on the

screen for me then he says Israel has

sinned and they have also transgressed

my covenant which I commanded them this

was the first time Joshua had heard

about that because his heart was right

so you telling me someone I’m affiliated

with is the reason why I can’t win can

you afford to pay attention to the

people you’re affiliated with at the

expense of your own destiny for they

have even taken some of the accursed

things and have both stolen and deceived

and they have also put it among their

own stuff

when did somebody’s issues become your

own stuff when did what was hurting them

begin hurting you it wasn’t just that

they stole the accursed things they

deceived

they tried to pretend that they didn’t

take the accursed things you see it’s

not just what happened to you it’s who

you had to become to deal with what

happened to you it’s the lie you had to

learn to live to bear with what you’ve

done

stolen and deceived via cursed things

what are the accursed things I looked it

up in my concordance because I wanted to

have that good word for you I learned

that the accursed things are things

which should have been utterly destroyed

how many of us are holding on to people

things dreams and goals that should have

been utterly destroyed crying out to God

bless me please bless me I’m ready to go

into battle but I want to take my curse

with me a blessing and a curse things

which should have been utterly destroyed

that doesn’t mean just let go that means

that you know that you know that you

know you have no business being

connected to that yet you do it anyway

out of fear of loneliness rejection

rejection or the idea that you might

have to actually do it on your own that

we’re so afraid of being by ourselves

that we’ll take the company of a curse

even if you break me I’ll hang on to you

even if it uh Turley destroys me and

utterly destroys everything I know to be

true about God and everything I know to

be true about love and everything I know

to be true about my destiny I’m going to

hang on to you guilty by association

what if the fact that you’re losing has

nothing to do with you and everything to

do with who you’re holding on to don’t

trust the cast that is my title of

today’s message don’t trust the cast

what does that mean that means when a

leg is broken and placed in a cast that

the reason why it’s placed in the cast

is so that it could be stable long

enough for the bones to regenerate cells

so that it can heal it was never about

the cast it was about the healing taking

place on the inside but she says

sometimes we fall so in love with the

cast and the sympathy that comes with

having a cast

then we don’t really want to be healed

that we don’t really want the cast to be

removed because then no one will feel

sorry for me and I will have to really

become something without hanging on to

anyone else don’t trust the cast for

Joshua the cast came in Jericho after

being in the wilderness for generations

after generation he was finally walking

stabili and the promises of God it was

proof that God had been with them and

that they made it into the promised land

but the cast was never meant to stay on

because he had to go back into I and he

couldn’t take the victory from Jericho

and assume that it would be what would

make I work he had to be willing to take

the cast off to walk boldly into I and

fight to conquer more territory for his

people but was what was so very

important was that everyone who was

connected to him had to have the same

plan of letting go of the cast they had

to be willing to let go of the accursed

things the things that would utterly

destroy them in order to fight another

battle so I’ve come on this Sunday to

let you know that there could be a thief

among you

that your destiny and your attention is

for sale at the tune of thirty-five

billion dollars and you are giving it

away freely to the things that utterly

destroy you and crying out to God in

verse 12 we see that the therefore the

children of Israel could not stand

before their enemies but turn their

backs before their enemies sometimes we

don’t even try to fight because we know

that there is a thief amongst us because

we know that if we go to the next level

it may risk us losing the cast from the

last level so we would rather turn our

backs and cry out defeat because we

can’t bear to admit that we’ve made

something that was supposed to be

temporary a permanent fixture in our

lives

literally from the moment a cast is

placed around a broken bone it is doomed

it’s doomed it’s not supposed to stay on

there there’s already a plan for when it

will come out but we take our cast and

we make them permanent against the word

we heard from God how many times has God

told you to let someone go told you to

let a dream go told you to let a

position go and you hung on to it anyway

you ignored the word that you heard from

God yet cried out to him that you want

it to move forward you cannot hang on to

what destroys you and the God who builds

you up at the same time you willingly

undo his work for company for company

for for likes and comments you will put

yourself on sale you will deceive us

into believing that you’re someone

you’re not we learn to play these roles

and to avoid our realities but there is

a part of us that cries out for destiny

there is an accursed thing among you we

see in the text that the Lord says

neither will I be with you anymore

unless you destroy via curse from among

you what does that mean that means that

God can be for you

but not with you that your world can

become so crowded with the accursed

things that you just had to have that he

can still wish the best for you

but not fight alongside with you what if

you became as bold as God and decided

that you could be for someone and not

with them it’s not that I don’t want to

be with you because I see so much

promised in you and I see so much hope

in you and if only you could get it

together I see so much potential in you

but because you refuse to let go of the

things that are cursing you I cannot be

with you we stay with people until their

contamination becomes our disease and

now we’re both in need of healing

I want to know what you’re going to do

with the accursed things among you I

want to know how you’re going to stand

before your enemies and make love to

them at the same time making love to the

very thing that destroys you

the very thing that destroys you you

sign up for time after time the same

thoughts of negativity the same

replaying of your past the same

generational curses that you really want

to break but don’t believe it’s possible

because your mama was like that way and

your grandmother was like that way and

your great-grandmother was like that way

and you want to break them but you can’t

break the tie in your mind long enough

to believe what God told you when’s the

last time you took inventory of who

you’re connected to you see ladies and

gentlemen there is a battle to fight

that is much bigger than trying to make

someone be what you need them to be this

battle is over your destiny it’s over

your purpose and you will never find out

what your purpose truly is if you’re

still pretending to be someone you

aren’t if you were so committed to

ignoring the voice of God so that you

can be all things to people who are

destroying you you will never have the

clarity necessary to go to the next

level in God so you get to choose and as

you can see God is not going to fight

with you while you make a decision

he’s not going to fight with you while

you decide whether or not you can give

him up this week he won’t be fighting

with you while you decide whether or not

you can just do the job one more time

and then after that I’m going to get my

life right he would let you have your

way that’s how good he is because when

you know you good you don’t have to sign

up for foolishness

I just feel in my spirit somebody needs

to know how good they are you need to

know your value thirty-five billion

dollars Instagram means nothing without

your attention it’s nothing it’s not

worth thirty five billion dollars unless

we’re logging going that’s how much it

costs to be connected to you yet we put

ourselves on clearance and we beg and we

beg and we beg what if you took the time

to devote your attention to something

that builds you up instead of tearing

you down

God’s promise to Joshua is that once he

aligns who was around him with what God

has told him he can win again that that

once he’s willing to take remove the

cast remove the accursed things amongst

you then I will be with you again this

is the promise of life that over and

over again we will be faced with the

reality that there are accursed things

amongst us and because of the light that

we emit we attract curse things to us

and if we are not careful we will be so

covered in the accursed things that we

cannot find our light anymore and we

will cry out to God asking him where is

the person I used to be the hope I used

to have the joy are so desperately one

again and as I prepare to close I just

want to encourage you all to not fall in

love with the cast that there are some

things in your life that you needed to

bring you stability in that season so

that you could recognize the healing

that could take place on the inside of

you and if you are not careful you will

choose to stay broken just so that you

can have the covering of a cast that was

never meant to stay

it was never about the cast it was never

about the people you were aligned with

it was about what was happening on the

inside of you it was about the healing

that was supposed to take place while

you had the cast but you have AB used

abused the cast so much that you missed

the opportunity to have your own healing

if we’re going to have a cast let us do

so knowing that we’re not going to fall

in love with the cast we’re going to

fall in love with the destiny that God

has for us and that means that even when

things in our lives have to be removed

that our trust was never in the cast but

in the Creator that caused us to heal

and constantly allows all things to work

together for our good would you stand

with me please

we want God’s power in our life we need

God’s power in our life yet we want to

divide our power with the accursed

things the things that call us bit

causes bitterness the things that make

us unforgiving and the things that

ultimately utterly destroy us if there

was something in this message today that

resonated with the part of you that

can’t stand to say goodbye to the cast

that once stabilized you would you come

down to this altar you see the reality

is that until we release the accursed

things that are amongst us that we’re

going to become too familiar with

defeats we were never meant to become

familiar with defeat but we cannot win

and hang on to our curses at the same

time there is no drug there is no bottle

there is no curse no relationship

nothing that is destroying you

I think I can’t hear

Wow

it’s not just keep talking

so much so that they would block a word

from coming to you

your attention has a cost your attention

has a cost and if you can be distracted

by the noise of life and the midst of

God calling you deeper you’re going to

miss an opportunity to grow we will have

church without a microphone

there is no addiction no bottle no

relationship more powerful than the name

of Jesus you have to make a decision

that nothing will separate you from the

love of God especially not the things

that destroy you so I’m going to give

you one more opportunity because I feel

like there’s someone who got distracted

right in the perfect moment and it kept

them from coming down now would be the

time

every chain must be broken every

stronghold must come down your life has

a cost you cannot be distracted you

cannot afford to be distracted your

destiny is priceless in God’s eyes it’s

got to become priceless in your own do

you see at what links distraction will

go to deter you from destiny they will

distract a church service if they think

they can get away with it but we are

here to serve notice on every accursed

thing in our lives

you cannot hold on to me any longer is

there anyone else out there who needs to

make this physical act of moving away

from the accursed thing by coming down

to this altar and showing the enemies of

our life that God will not just be for

us but that he will fight with us is

there anyone else in this building

committed to releasing the accursed

things out of their lives we come down

to the altar not because we want to

embarrass you or make you feel bad

there’s something about putting one step

in front of the other and walking away

from the things that threaten to hold

you back that physical act of walking

towards greater is the beginning of the

rest of your journey of God being not

just for you

but fighting with you can you meet him

halfway if he brought the word right to

you if he is all in your business right

now can you at least come down and

acknowledge that something has happened

in this room that you will not easily

forgive

that you will not easily forget it even

be placed on a cross and cavalry for the

world to see for your sins and your

transgressions can you move ten feet to

the altar to make a commitment to him

not that will be perfect because we are

were human he knows we won’t be perfect

but that we will not hold on to any

accursed thing

that we will not be bound by who we used

to be that this moment is bigger than us

that this is a destiny decision taking

place at this altar this is a destiny

decision taking place of this ultra the

enemies cannot afford for you to

recognize who you are no problems with

sound

somebody’s in this room and somebody’s

going to turn their life over in a way

that cannot imagine they’re going to be

freer than they ever thought possible

chains are going to be broken

strongholds are going to come down we’re

going to make a decision right here and

right now that the accursed things can

no longer destroy us we will be strong

we will stand before God even if it

means we have to let go of our cast the

cast has served its purpose in your life

you’re ready to walk on that brokenness

again you’re more healed than you

thought you don’t need the cast anymore

you need to trust the promise and you

have to know that God is going to be

fighting with you

wow wow wow wow you feel the Lord in

this place come on the Christ is in this

place

he’s in this place and there is a grace

there is a grace I hear the Lord saying

don’t be afraid it’s me don’t be afraid

it’s me I just want to pray for you if

God was speaking of you and you know

what I just want you to lift your hands

like you get ready to receive something

father thank you so much for this rich

grace that’s hitting this place right

now Wow radical grace and I thank you

that there was some here

that were so perplexing sir so confused

that had you not encountered them in

this way they wouldn’t be alive by the

end of the week and I thank you Lord God

for the lives that you have rescued I

thank you for breaking through and

getting to your sons and daughters right

now now god I also pray that you would

put to death the lie of fear the lie

that is producing fear in the lives of

your sons and daughters even standing

here at the altar in this moment half

believing that it’s over and the Lord

wants you to embrace a sense of finality

there was a moment in scripture where

God told the children of Israel as they

were leaving out of Egyptian bondage

that the Egyptians and it had nothing to

do with ethnicity or race right that the

enemy that you see today you will see no

more again forever God is saying I’m

bringing you out of and into once and

for all prepare for new scenery prepare

for new surroundings

prepare to see views that you never

thought you would see before I’m

bringing you into it right now and I’m

closing the door you’re crossing over

the Red Sea and your enemies cannot

follow behind you

I potted it for you but I’m closing it

up for them and I’m going to drown every

lie I’m gonna drown every enemy I’m

gonna drown everything negative it can’t

come after you it can’t swim I’m giving

you the ability to swim in oceans and in

waters that you didn’t know existed

so father in the name of Jesus I plead

the blood of Jesus I draw a bloodline

right now over your sons and daughters

sever i sever every time that the enemy

had over them and I thank you God that

their deed nipping baptized baptized and

brought forward into their purpose into

their destiny and into their potential

in the mighty and matchless name of

Jesus now I want you to repeat after me

Heavenly Father I thank you for your

love I thank you for your mercy I thank

you for your grace and God I thank you

for the word that is hitting me today

I’m being born again right now I’m being

baptized in my destiny right now and I

thank you all the most for Jesus Christ

thank you for making him who had no sin

to become all of mine thank you for

making him who had no curse to become

all of mine thank you for making the

holy thing the accursed thing so I can

be holy whole and free again I receive

him right now and I lay hold of my

future and just as you put my bondage on

him and nailed it to the cross and put

it to death just as he was raised up

free from all those things I’m being

lifted right now I’m raised up – I’m

elevated – nothing can stop me nothing

can hold me back I’m breaking out I’m

breaking loose how to step it into my

future and I’m never going back in the

mighty name of Jesus

now Holy Spirit fill me up right now

we’re another living God fill me up from

the soul of my feet to the overflowing

of myself fill my soul fill my spirit

give me God thoughts I receive it right

now new beginnings fresh starts I’m lay

hold of destiny in Jesus name Amen come

on now just give God a shout you’ve got

a new sound you’ve got a new sound

you’ve got a new destiny and their new

future hallelujah

may the Lord bless and keep you may make

his face to shine upon you and be

gracious towards you may lift up his

countenance over you and grant you

Shalom Shalom Shalom come on lift up a

shout lift up a shout of victory shout

hallelujah

victory shout

Ventura shower

a victory shout come on somebody

how do you if you need prayer get it

it’s over there and it’s over there and

if you haven’t connected with our

movement we want you to come to north

education dinner to get some of the

practical see those who have iPads we

love you so much see you next week

walk in it get prayer if you need to get

prayer if you need to get prayer if you

need it Wow