Affirmed | Dr. Matthew Stevenson | God's Plan For The Little Man

this morning we're going to be in Luke the nineteenth chapter we've been learning about identity and we've been learning how important it is to have God visit your esteem and to know who you are why you are and what God is doing with your life it is so important to have your identity under control and one of the principles that I often teach when teaching identity is that you're never going to know it all at once you're never going to know it all at once the Lord reveals to you who you are based upon your ability to steward what he shows you so he never reveals everything about you when you want to know it the Lord knows that there are things in you that need to change for you to handle here and hold fast to who he said he made you to be say yes and one of the things you need to know is that the devil is never going to fight anything more than your identity he's not gonna fight your body more he's not gonna fight your money more he's not gonna fight your relationships more he is after what you know about who God made you to be and here's why everything God has assigned to your life is going to flow from your identity your relationships your opportunities your access points it is a matter of your identity so I'm preaching this because I want you to get good at being you number two I want you to stop fighting to not be you and and doing so so that people can receive you better you see if people cannot receive you those are not your people and you drain yourself trying to force those people to be your people but there is a people that's been assigned to your life say yes so I'm working in you because I think that what God is pouring out next is going to require stronger esteem you're going to have to be the type of people that cannot be easily torn down for the types of stuff your future demands you need stronger self-esteem and this act this morning I'm going to Luke 19 because this is a word that blesses me in Luke 19 1 it says Jesus into Jericho and was passing through and a man was there by the name of Zacchaeus say hey Zacchaeus and he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy and he wanted to see who Jesus was but because he was short he could not see over the crown so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see him since Jesus was coming that way and when Jesus reached the spot he looked up and said to him Zacchaeus come down immediately because I must stay at your house today so he came down at once and welcomed him gladly and all the people saw this and began to mother he has gone to be at the house of a sinner but Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord look Lord here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor and if I have cheated anybody out of anything I'll pay them back four times the amount and jesus said unto him today deliverance has come to this house because this man too is the son of Abraham for the Son of man came to seek and save the Lost father help me to preach this in Jesus name Amen this morning we're talking about God's plan for the little man God's plan for the little man God has a plan for the little man in your life there's going to be several junctures where you feel small it doesn't have to be at the hands of people at the words of people it could simply be because of where you've come from Saul felt small when God spoke to him and told him he was going to be king a part of how he responded was but I am from the least of the tribes there were times in Jeremiah felt small and God called him and told it I'm gonna give you governments and nations and the heads of Kings he said but I am only a child they're men and women in the Bible who respond to God's bigness in the knowledge of their smallness and all of us on the road to identity are gonna reach a point where we simply feel like we are not enough and not only are we not enough maybe we don't have enough and maybe we don't have enough but we also don't know enough just small and then when you feel small and when you believe you're small there are certain terrors that always find you small men little men always feel intimidated by everything it amazes me how easily threatened people are when they have low self-esteem everything threatens a person that feels small even people's attempt to try to love or care or support isn't not to evoke fear in the heart of somebody who feels small and then it doesn't help that when you feel small or you come from small and you look and realize that this is pretty much all you know that people have a way of reminding you of how little you are you know even if you try to dream outside of your small circumstance or small background it seems as if the devil is very strategic but by appointing people around you to remind you of your size the real term for it is inadequacy that no matter what I do or what I know or where I've been I never feel like I can handle the size of what's before me remember that David felt small but he did something different with his smallness he his smallness as the witness to deal with something being my assignment this morning is to deal with the little man now the person next to you may not realize that you've got these intimidations and these inadequacies but deep inside you know that when you hear these prophecies or hear these dreams or even try to imagine what your life has the power to look like the first thing that you're reminded of is how much you don't have now now you can fool me but I know a people that don't really believe God when he says you're going to prosper or I'll deliver you or I'll make you giddy in a mighty nation the first place we go is in adequacy small little then if you have a moment rocky of inspiration you start admiring the beer so you watch documentaries of the big you read stories of the big you watch movies of the big you meet big people take selfies with big people and you are inspired by the big but nothing seems to translate from the largeness that you're learning to the little that you feel and so you end up living in conflict because the Lord will let you see large and learn large and study large and get exposed to large and when you go home small starts talking to you you can be a part of something large sitting world changes summon sit in service and run and be a part of something bigger than yourself and never find your place and the bigger thing because of how small you feel lord have mercy and there can be people around you that say listen Zacchaeus there's more in you I see where you're going I want to be a part of it and if you don't ever deal with yourself and your smallness bit can preach to you beer can lay hands on you large can look at you and listen to you but until you made the decision that I'm not going to always be this size I'll get there in a minute then it doesn't matter how much effort the Lord makes to show you where you're going you're gonna always be trapped by your current size I love this story of Zacchaeus and not because I'm just somebody who talks about midgets or Dwarfs but it shows wisdom in identity and it shows that even when you're small God will use your small season to give you leverage that the large does not have let's do some work through here the Bible says that there was a man whose name was the kiyose and if you believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God then you know that Jesus doesn't allow anything to be Canaan eyes pointlessly I'm gonna say that again Jesus does not allow anything to be canonized pointlessly that means that everything written in the Word of God is for your benefit from colors two names two times two shapes two sizes there is revelation in every story we have got to start looking at the Bible to be more than principle and find the mystery therein there is revelation in the punctuation in the scriptures you can get revelation in commas and periods you can get revelation in the red letters y'all hate talking to me even in the italicized there is still a point you got to read that Bible better and a part of what this shows us is the Spirit of God through the writer thought it necessary for us to know that there are times when Jesus partners with the little he shows us that on Jesus's journey he could have chosen to acknowledge or to engage anybody that was affluent or anybody that had come into their own by themselves anybody that had maximized their own potential but the Bible says in this story that Jesus was walking and somebody called his eye and the somebody that parties I wasn't sick wasn't infirmed wasn't somebody that was bleeding out was it somebody that was vets with the demon you know normally in the travels of Jesus it was the demon eyes and those that needed mercy but on this day the person that caught the eye of the Messiah was a little man who was rich already let me help you now I'm gonna crack this open for you but look at somebody with a lot of faith and tell him I'm rich already come on I want you to say like give me open your mouth come on tell him I'm rich already come on open your mouth tell him I'm rich already and I'm not talking about tax return rich I'm not talking about insurance policy rich I'm telling you that the most important thing you got is your name look at somebody say I'm rich already or if God could get you to act right with your name then the money is the easiest one look at somebody say I'm a rich already now many of you are waiting for a wealth that is already in you the greatest wealth is not coming from the currency exchange and the greatest wealth is not coming from your mama or your daddy or your greasy grandma the greatest wealth is coming from the integrity in your name and God's gonna allow your name to do what money could never do let your hands it's hammer it's already oh yes Zacchaeus was a little man who was rich I said he was a little man who was rich he was a little man who knew who he was even though you're small the advantage that God's about to give you his knowledge of who you are whether it's right or wrong because in the Bible tax collectors were considered evil but the scripture highlights that this man had assess where he was I am a tax collector and my name is aquellas let me tell you the power of accurate assessment you need to be made wealthy by what's good and bad with you don't let the devil use your weakness to make you afraid of be who you are even that's gonna be a part of what God does to you now you've been used to showing your strengths off but God is about to do something so strong that even your weakness is gonna be a part of what God does with you there's coming wonder to your weakness why won't you help me God's gonna use what you ain't powder to get glory he's gonna use the details that made you have a disadvantage in the last he said to bring deliverance and the next season shout I'm rich already [Applause] the way the way God moves and the way God deals with people as he does not just get glory off of what's right with people oh I feel like preaching now si si si you used to people bragging on you when you do things right and publicizing you when you got strength but God is so gone that he will use the foolish things of the world to confound me he's a type of God that finds treasure in trashy places he started this whole thing we're playing with dirt I'm here to tell you get ready to find your weaknesses my god from you've been looking for your strength but I dated a sputter your weaknesses too Paul said I'm not glory in my space I'm glorying in my weakness because when I'm weak you don't either go with me or stater when I'm weak I made strong and the weakness is there watch me John oh so they're the excellency of the power may be of God is sick of the church making people hide their weakness he's tired of preachers that teach people to be embarrassed about their weakness now because your strength is not your reason your weakness is your reason your straight don't qualify your weakness is what qualifies you is getting ready to pour some power in what's wrong with you they don't want to help me this month I said he's gonna call power and what's wrong with you Zacchaeus Zacchaeus had something that many people did not have and it wasn't just money or a career it was resolve about Who I am he knew he was little and he knew he was on the social outskirts of his society he knew he was perceived as a criminal and a corrupt thief and that the odds were against him but listen to me everything changes for the little man when the Savior shows up you see you don't have to see your smallness as a disadvantage when God shows up you see without a divine Christ interruption you will live little forever but when Jesus comes to town he changes the little and gives the little the leverage I want you to go with me said when Jesus comes into town he changes the little and gives the little the leverage it's aquellas Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was about to walk through and there was an interference here now you got to pay attention Zacchaeus his enemy at this point was not his size and it was not as disadvantaged and it was not his reputation do you know what his enemy was the crowd have you ever turned me a trial struggle to see Jesus I couldn't see him because of the trial or you don't want to have Church with me y'all just came off of a whole face book riots about judgment because you were never really looking for Jesus you were looking for the crowd we are in a generation that's so crowd addicted that they see the Christ that needs the clap my problem is whether you've been heard in the church or heard in the clinic we both need the same Christ and if you go to church and talk about the church who needs the same blood you do I'm talking about people that's intoxicated by the trial people that's been struggling to get healing but the crowd was in the way people that's been struggling to get deliverance but the crowd was in the way and what this shows us is when you are little the thing that is most dangerous is the wrong crowd okay when you are small and when you are not the size you're going to be but the devil is going to do is try to make you rehearse who they are and what they say and how they did it and how they got it how about if I could get your eyes off the crap I'll give it to ten thirty if you don't want this meet I said if God can't deliver you from the addiction of the attention of the crowd then you could see the Christ behind the cloud look at somebody say it's not in the cry you're looking for healing for deliverance for a change in your life you need to leave the trial and find the Trice the Bible says that he was conflicted good God because I have a goal to get to Jesus because if anybody can make me feel better about my size it's going to be him I heard about him healing adultery certainly he can help a little man heard about him delivering schizophrenic certainly he can help my size supernaturally I've got to get to G come on elbow some ice I've got to get to Jesus I got to get to G now you're an amazing person uh but you really don't have what I need and even if you do is because he gave it to you to be the instrumentation of my life but I've got to get to G I don't got time to be offended with you Negros I've got to get to G I'm not trying to retaliate I'm not trying to compete the little man was disciplined trill y'all can sit here and watch him and y'all can sit here and talk about it I'm going to use my size I'm getting there to get to him I'm going to get to the man and so here is where we go because now he has an opportunity to be intimidated but what he does is he looks around him to find an obstacle come on and go with me that he could climb that would give him the opportunity to show Jesus that I'm willing to climb it I said he looked around his life to find something bigger than him and instead of putting the tree down because I've got a little stripe maybe he will see me come up don't miss your moment don't miss your moment don't miss your moment [Music] I feel like preaching today God is looking for people that's willing to put the work in he's looking for the answers he's looking for people willing to be the revelation what is around you what is in your life sit down y'all making me preach please what is around you immediately that you see as a hindrance that you should be climbing but what looks like it's stopping you that's there you're going to either be intimidated by the crowd or encouraged to climb yeah yeah yeah there's a chaos saw that tree and he could have seen it as an additional problem but the Bible said look at verse 4 Zacchaeus you when you you don't know the power of this until you babysit or two you have toddlers I'm not to preach in here my children are quite big now so I can catch them but there was a day when they were three and four and they didn't have as much height we get they were running from me even with being fit and athletic I could not catch them in my home I had a little chamber in my kitchen for storage and when I would call out to my boy and say I'm going to beat you he would take advantage of the time it took me to prepare and he would run to this little room lock himself in the room and wait till I passed and was too tired to find him the advantage that you have at this size is that you can run ahead when things get bigger you not don't be able to move as quick wobble to help me but when you're small you got the advantage of speed God wants you to go someplace as now because when it gets bigger than this you not don't be able to do it do it now look at somebody else say do it right now but the advantage that you have as a small person is that you can make quick moves right now come on how to communicate your decisions to several people but right now he says you into other people that's a move I believe God is about to give you a set of instructions concerning you he wants you to have a quick response and a quick reply don't take your time when you're small snappy people say busts a move muscle move busts a move muscle move person move when you get successful you ain't gonna be as flexible busts a move when you have more employees you not gonna be able to shift the culture busts a move when you're making more money you're not gonna be able to quickly invest it everywhere come on somebody's a possum or whatever you've been hesitating on whatever you've been delaying on whatever you bid in procrastination about header proclaim tell my people what's a move I want you to do it quick in this season because I'm getting ready to release you up to a realm of influence you've never dreamed of quickly [Applause] raises powerful name there's some things you can do single that you can't do married possible for your children you can do that you can't do in your working when it's big it takes more effort when it's large it tires out faster but with its small clove it's agasa when it's small it can move real quickly see because this thing is not the size it's going to be I like to make quick moves because one day we're gonna be turning a Titanic so right now I'm just put new English ship this size intimidates you up you ain't seen nothing yet you say he ran ahead verse for say he's ran ahead he ran ahead and the Bible say he climbed the tree because Jesus was coming that way now look at verse five it says that when Jesus reached the spot because every life has a sweet spot and when you've been through hell and trauma and drama in the ghetto you don't understand that there is a sweetness that's coming from life I wish I had the time but the Bible says that when Samson started fighting the light tonight then when he went to battle the lion the Bible said that his family is my you Samson you shouldn't be out there fighting on your way he walked up upon a lion but sweet look at somebody say it's about to get real sweet Jesus Sylvia reaches now there is a crowd still here I imagine if I was a part of the crowd and I saw a running up the tree I would laugh and you probably would do ooh look at the man go ho ho but the Bible said that he Jesus got there and he saw the effort of the man he saw the work of the man he saw the diligence of the man and he was impressed by how he was working hard in his limitation and how he was being disciplined even though he was not the size of those other companies and the size of those are the churches and the size of those other brands he looked up and said listen Zacchaeus come down to me you got up the tree by yourself but this next season you're gonna have to come to me I hear him saying come unto me all you are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you [Laughter] he went to Jesus and here's what happened here Jesus said come on down little man because I need somewhere to stay sometimes when things get large they're not as welcoming to Jesus as they should be there are churches that used to love the Holy Ghost when they were small and they got some numbers and decided he was not welcome here there were some people who really needed Jesus when they were broke but they got a little money and stop fasting stop praying stop seeking deliverance ha but God knew Jesus looked at him and said listen the foxes have holes and the birds [Applause] [Laughter] see what God sees you working he goes to your house that's what you need to be little to begin with he goes oh who made you that way this is God's plan for the little man if you will climb this tree and if you will wait until God comes he's gonna make you there's a season where you're gonna come to him and when you come to him he's going to your house because he's going to reverse all of the things that disqualify him he's going to judge all of the things that intimidate you he's gonna break the power of everything that's reminding you of who you are and who you ain't and why you can and why you can't he's going to your house oh god somebody's had a prophesy that he's going to your house to your house to your house he does not visit your house you can't have your future so God has to heal the history so that the future can be many people want the future but they want to act like history didn't happen but nothing can compromise tomorrow like what happened to you yesterday so it makes sense that before God does anything next he wants to deal with the basis of your inadequacy went to his house and I would said the chi has welcomed him gladly the people started to mutter why is Jesus going to stay with a little man he's a sinner and here's why it's a chaos stood up and answered their accusation by saying this even though I'm little I learned in my little what y'all ain't learned in your large repeat out to me say little people learn faster it's much harder to teach adults than it is to teach preschoolers sometimes when you are large you're teach ability is impacted when you've got the money you want the opportunities you want the grandeur you've dreamed of you're not as eager for information and secure said although y'all are large while you were spending time getting big I was spending time learning and I learned it because at this level I could pay attention quicker so he said listen to what I'm about to do I am giving half of my possessions to the poor and if I've wronged anybody Oh y'all don't like this y'all don't like this this is why even when you get large there's still got to be a little miss in you because when you get large and don't care who you hurt why won't you help me oh who you break or who you mistreat you get to Lars and God can't trust you with the next but in every large thing there's got to be a little self in there Jesus said if anybody wants me they've got to posture themselves like a child in your largeness I want you to still remember that you're small I've wronged anybody I'm going to repay them four times now that's not the typical conversation of a fortune 500 anything what's motivating the big is getting bigger but what's motivating the little is what they're learning you see when you're small you have advantages perfect the thing at this size build the team at this size perfect your emotions at this size because there's going to be a day where your size is going to work against you if you're building something and there's only three of you perfected in the infrastructure because once people are looking ding you're too big to shift easier to turn a small fishing boat than it is to turn the Titanic if God is prodding you to make changes use the leverage of your current self so there is an advantage yeah you're small now you ain't as six figures but you learn large while you're little you should not be learning large large when you get there you should have mastered what it likes to be there you need the behavior of the next stage you need the skills of the next level you need the tolerances of the next realm of responsibility which is why when you're little you should be learning when you're little you should be running you should be climbing you should not be mad about the fact that you're little and you shouldn't be envious of those who ain't little no more take advantage of the little season I feel glory coming in here I'm trying to suppress it I'm trying to suppress it but after the strange fog coming in here God is lending his ear to the man that feels little and he's putting his hand on the family that feels to not be angry about the fact that you not like them yet take advantage take advantage that is going to be another size and only gets larger from here but run run you like what does it look like study challenge yourself why do you wait for other people to challenge you women's alas how you gave yourself a challenge when was the last time you made a decision to do something hard see we are a culture that takes our cues from the majority so if you're on a weight kick where if you on the business kick or if you want a forgiveness kick that I'll do it by his narration but there are some things you got to do by personal decision because the truth is you not gonna always be inspired you're not gonna always be motivate and I don't always feel creative challenge yourself sit in front of a text that intimidates you and read it go to a seminar that makes you feel small and sit there and pretend like you know what they talking about lying go to a stocks conference put you some fake glasses on get you a suitcase and rub some shoulders and sit there and shake your head and Google every word they use but you are a con the tree this is the season you or we feel small right now especially compared to what you're saying [Music] especially compared to what you've promised especially compared to what we treat we just don't feel like we're enough and we're not ashamed of that right now come on lift that up to the Lord we we confess that to you we surrender that to you that we don't have it in us to be what you're calling us to excel at this or to succeed in this or to progress in this but Lord you are the god of the big and the small alike and in your word you said that as long as the earth remains there would be seed time and there would be harvest sea time is small time now father reign upon us that we were no longer live in regret or envy or anger or frustration concerning what we do not have but help us to become more agile I just released to you the agility of your destiny the the speed of your destiny that the things that the Spirit of God is showing you and revealing to you that you're not going to hesitate but you're gonna learn it while you're little you're gonna learn to be a king while you're still a separate board and you're going to learn to be a deliverer while you're still a slave you're going to learn that next level this is the final season that we speak we say that you are [Music]

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Length: 41min 51sec (2511 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 16 2018