John Gray - Let There Be... - Part 4 (It Is In You)
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On the third day of creation in Genesis 1:9-13, continuing the «Let There Be» series during the fast, the preacher declares that God gathered the waters to reveal dry land and caused the earth to bring forth vegetation with seed in itself, emphasizing that the potential for fruitfulness, multiplication, legacy, and generational breakthrough is already within believers—"it’s in you"—concluding that 2025 is the year to activate the seed through discipline, separation, and faith for perpetual harvest and destiny.
Welcome and Standing for the Word
All right, once again, to all of our visitors, first, second, and third-time guests, I want to say I am grateful that you’re here. We’re getting ready to get into the word of the Lord. If you will do me a favor, and even if you are not familiar with certain customs, Brian, I don’t know if you’ve got one of those things, but if you could clean these for me real quick, thank you.
If you all will stand for the reading of the word, do me a favor and stand for the reading of the word. After that, you don’t have to stand again if you don’t want to until the very end.
Our church is growing, it is changing, it is thriving in a new way. There is something that God is doing, and I think if I could get three people to agree with me that what the Lord has been releasing in the word has been profoundly impactful. If you believe that, then I’m going to need you to get ready for what the Lord is getting ready to release in the next few moments of our time together.
I believe that the word of God, properly received and interpreted, will change your life. Amen. The word of God changes things. Today, I believe that there is a word from God that will fundamentally change things in your life.
The Power of the Physical Bible
I cannot remember the last time that God spoke to me about how to present the word and where to read the word from. You all know me; normally the entirety of my notes are on my phone, but He said today, «I need you to get a physical Bible in your hand, and I need you to read from the word.»
There is something that I want you to understand about this book: I didn’t write this book, but inside of this book is my story. Isn’t it strange that a book that was written over 1,500 years by 40 different writers can speak directly to you? No Americans wrote this. That’s right, no Mexicans, no Panamanians, no Scandinavians, no black or white folk from America. No black folk from America wrote this book.
This is an ancient text that speaks to you, whether you’re from your country, family, your bougie family, your hoodrat family, your rich family, your middle-class family, or your family that is not yet able to pay all bills on time because you’re not broke. Stop saying that you’re broke; the system over your family is broken, but you’re not broke. That curse is about to lift today. You’re not struggling to make ends meet; you’re waiting on God to provide.
Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:9-13
I want you to go to Genesis chapter 1. We’re at the ninth verse. I’m reading from the New King James Version. New King James Version, I’m at the ninth verse. Everybody shout, «Third Day!» Third Day! Do me one more favor, say it again. Say it like you mean it: Third Day! Third Day!
We’re in Genesis chapter 1:9. Here’s what it says: «Then God said.» You could just preach that right there, Pastor John. If He said it, it has to happen. If He said it, it has to happen. Your name is not your name; that’s the name God gave you. You’re only here because He said your name.
You might say, «But He didn’t sign my birth certificate.» Uh, hush! You’re not human first; you’re a spirit first. All souls belong to God. You had to come from Him just to get here. That’s why you don’t fit here, and every time you try to fit in, you don’t, because you’re not from here. You’re eternal by nature.
That’s why some of your appetites are changing, because what used to feed you doesn’t feed you anymore. Your carnal nature is withering away because during this fast, God is actually causing the hunger of your spirit to be stronger than the hunger of your flesh.
Then God said, «Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.» And it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called seas. And God saw that it was good.
Everything that God said was good; everything that God did was good. Then God said, «Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, whose seed is in itself, whose seed is in itself.»
I only want you to find one person that will really receive what you’re about to say. Look at them and say, «It’s in you.» I’m going to trust Pastor Charles; he told me if they don’t respond, it’s because they’re receiving. Do me a favor; find one more person and tell them, point at them, «It’s in you.»
All y’all are looking for something from the outside to show up. God says nothing’s coming from the outside; I’m waiting for what you speak from the inside. It’s in you. Y’all missed it.
He said, «The fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself on the earth.» And it was so, and the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed—there it is again—is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And so the evening and the morning were the third day.
Sermon Title: Let There Be Because It’s In You
Today, I just want to talk from the subject heading «Let There Be Because It’s In You.» Father, in the name of Jesus, speak to us through Your word. Make it abundantly clear that it was You that gave me these words to speak to Your people. My assignment is to the people and the sheep that are assigned to my life.
So may there be fruit for the people that are assigned to my life, and get the glory in this moment. Knit our hearts, not by culture, but by the word. In Jesus' name, amen, amen, and amen.
You can be seated. I am really, super grateful for you today, one more time. This time, encourage yourself and say, «It’s in me, it’s in me, it’s in me.»
Seeing the Greater Version of Yourself
Let me ask a question. I really, really do want to ask a question: Have you ever seen a glimpse of you different from the you that you are right now? I’ve been seeing this recurring dream. It’s a vision I got in a cream suit. I’m sitting at a table; I’m drinking tea and reading a book. Wherever I am is surrounded by wealth. There are mansions all over, which means it’s either my neighborhood or I can be there very comfortably.
I’m sitting there, and I’m reading, and I don’t see anybody else, but I see me. I see me healthy, and I see me very clear-eyed. I keep seeing this same thing, and I’m like, «God, what is this that I keep seeing?» Has anybody else ever seen a version of you that doesn’t look like the you that you are right now?
What do you see when you see that glimpse? I bet you don’t see yourself broke. I bet you don’t see yourself unhappy in your relationship. I bet you don’t see yourself lying to yourself. I bet you don’t see people whispering and hating on you. What you see is something that is a free version of you, a whole version of you, a delivered version of you—the picture you see of yourself in your head.
Here’s my thing: If you don’t yet see something more than what you are, and if the baby’s crying, you don’t have to leave. Let the baby cry right there! I’m so tired of churches trying to push mothers out. If the baby’s crying, let the baby cry right there! You need this word.
Does anybody see more than what you are right now? Have you ever caught a glimpse of more? I’m here to tell you that the picture you see of yourself in your head, it’s in you. That’s the new you calling to your current self, to say goodbye to the old you in favor of the greater you.
I’m going to say it again for the people in the back: that picture you see of yourself is the new you calling to the current you to tell you to say goodbye to the old you in favor of the greater you that you’re called to be, and the distance between the picture you see and the person you are is the discipline you undertake to become something more than what you’ve been.
Review of Previous Days
So, we’re on day three. Somebody shout, «Day three! Day three!» We are systematically going through creation because, for those who are guests, we’ve been talking about what 2025 is—it’s the year of order.
What we’ve learned about God in His creative genius is that the first two days of creation, all God did was separate. He separated light from darkness. It’s the only thing He did on day one: separate light from darkness. This is interesting because there were no natural lights. The sun and moon had not been made yet; stars had not been created yet. So, where was the light coming from?
It’s clear, if you study Hebrew, the «alef» is the actual representation of a pre-incarnate Jesus in the midst of the beginning of creation. You see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit because the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. It was God who created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, was over the face of the waters.
Then God said, «Let there be light.» We know Jesus is the light of the world, and so in the first verses, you see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Wake up, Church!
On the second day, He divided the waters from the waters. There was water above your head, and there was water below. Water is always symbolic of the Word, which means there’s a Word above you and there’s a Word beneath you. That’s why the devil can’t get to you. God’s Word is covering you!
The Third Day: Land and Vegetation
But now we get into the nitty-gritty because God said, «All right, all right, all right, all right, all right.» He said, «Let the waters recede, like so many of our hairlines, ” and He said, „And let the dry land appear.“ And it was so, and the dry land He called Earth. It says, „And He saw that it was good.“
Then He says, „Now I’m going to need some herb that yields seed.“ Is that what the Bible says, Elder? Why didn’t it say „the herb that yields fruit?“ The word there, the word „yield, ” is „zera.“ „Zera“ literally means to be impregnated. It means that there’s something in the seed that is essential for creation.
Then it says, „The fruit tree that bears fruit according to its kind.“ That word is „zahar.“ They’re very close, but they’re not the same. One means „pregnant, ” the other means „semen.“
Here’s what’s crazy: this is why you can’t disrespect your parents, even if they weren’t good to you, because if you’ve achieved anything beyond, „My father wasn’t no good, and I had to work, and now I got a job, and I got a family; he was never there for me, well, I’m there for my kids.“ You can’t disrespect the seed because you came from him.
That’s why it says, „Honor your father and mother, ” not if they’re good, not if they were there, not if they did what they needed to do, but you honor them because it was through them that I chose to get you here.
Some of y’all still have bitterness and unforgiveness for a parent that wasn’t there, didn’t speak into you, but now it’s an excuse because they could never make up for what they did not know they had. You’re the thing they had in them that they never manifested. You’re the thing that makes it clear that there was something great in them, and they couldn’t produce out of their own life, but they had enough seed to get you here. I’m talking good right now!
So, you need to give grace for the parent that wasn’t there. You need to give grace for the mother that didn’t speak into you, and watch this: if you’re a parent and you know you haven’t done everything you need to do, give grace to yourself.
Personal Testimony About Father
My father’s been dead since December 7th, 2000, and I had to deconstruct his life after he died in order to understand how he got to where he got and why he wasn’t there. The more I looked at his life, I realized that the one good decision he made was marrying my mother.
He knew that there was darkness in him, but he fought to go get somebody that was so much not like him. But because he didn’t have the Earth Jesus as his foundation, he did not have the Word as his foundation, he could choose a good thing but couldn’t keep a good thing.
But even broken people can make a good decision. I need somebody to give thanks to God that through hell and high water, God still had a plan for your life, for your family, for your mother, for your father, for your upbringing.
I’m the best thing my father ever made. From jail, he told my mother his name is John because she was going to name me Brian. It’s a nice name, a good name, but I’m John Gray. I believe he wanted that name to keep going because even though he couldn’t understand it, he just knew there was something better in him than what he had manifested.
So, if I can’t do it, maybe my name can still carry on. Maybe my son will be better than me. Even if I’m not there, I know his mama has this thing called Jesus, and even though I don’t have it, she has it.
I believe my father didn’t feel worthy to be around me. He would only call me when he was drunk. He would tell me how much he loved me. He’d always call collect from a bar, which means while he was drinking, looking over the bad decisions of his life, he’d be like, „But I got one thing I did right: I got some seed in the earth.“
I need everybody in here to stop for a second and look at your life and understand the reason why hell hates you is that hell knows you are the generational curse that every other part of your family could not get free from.
I need you to open your mouth in here and shout if you believe that God allowed you to be the generational anomaly that breaks the back of every devil that has ever held your entire family line hostage!
This is why you can’t keep living nasty. You can’t sleep with everything. You can’t cheat on your wife. You can’t cheat on your husband. You can’t come around here whoring and tricking and doing all of this foolishness. You can’t stay drunk; you can’t stay doing drugs all the time. You’ve got to make some new decisions.
You’ve got to say, „I’m not going to be that anymore. I won’t do that anymore. If this Bible is really real, then God change me!“
No More Excuses
I need a ten-second praise break in here! Everybody with a mouth ought to open it and give God a shout! Find seven people, high-five them, tell them, „No more excuses! No more excuses! No more excuses!“
I don’t want to hear another thing about who wasn’t there. I don’t want to hear another thing about your abuse. I know it; I had it too, but now it’s in you. If it wasn’t in you, you would have already died.
I need you to say, „No more excuses!“ I need you to declare, „I don’t care what I came out of, I don’t care what I’ve been addicted to, no more excuses! Whom the Son sets free is free indeed! No more excuses!“
There’s a seed in my body, there’s a seed in my life, there’s a word that’s been spoken over me, and I don’t have to be what I came from; I don’t have to be what I saw. I don’t have to be my past; I can be a new creature in Christ Jesus!
Encourage yourself! Punch yourself in the chest! Say, „It’s in me! It’s in me! It’s in me!“ Say it till you mean it! Say it till you believe it! Say it till you know it’s true! It’s in me!
Start looking at yourself differently! Thank you, Jesus! I need a couple of people to go ahead and worship. I don’t even know what’s going on right now. Hey, praise God! Yes! Glory to God! Praise God!
But, Pastor, you don’t know what I’ve been through. I know what Jesus went through to free you! Somebody shout, „It’s in you! It’s in you! It’s in you!“
Multiplicity and Future Vision
One day, I’ll see my grandmother again, but not today. It ain’t time to die. I don’t have a dying grace; I got a living grace. I got seed that I got in the ground, and I got more seed to sow!
2025, I’m doing everything! You’re not just going to see me on Sunday morning; you’re going to see me on Netflix. You’re going to see me on HBO. You’re going to see me all over the place. You know why? Because that’s who I was before I got here! Somehow I forgot who I was.
I’m so glad that Day 3 lets me know that I don’t have to be just one thing. It’s multiple trees, multiple fruits, multiple streams of income, multiple open doors, multiple opportunities.
Don’t try to relegate me to what you need me to be; I’m going to be who God made me to be! This week, I’ll be this; next week, I’ll do a stand-up show. I might drop an album; I may do a movie; I don’t know, I’ll write another book. You never know!
I need thirty people in here to lift up a sound like you know that you are more than one thing! Don’t let it go yet; act a fool! Let’s go!
I’m not letting anybody be around me that treats my anointing common! If you want to treat me common, you’ll have to treat me common from a distance. My oil is too valuable; I’ve cried too much; I almost died for this!
Seven Core Principles from the Third Day
All right, come on, write this down. We’re not just going to shout; I feel the literal presence of the Living God. I want to give you seven—where your son at? Where’s the boy? I know! I see that boy is going to win an Oscar. You understand? Yes!
I met with him this week! We got this boy who did a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl where Rihanna did the halftime show. He goes to this church, and the boy does green screen and all this filming with drones and all this stuff. You don’t know who you’re next to!
You need to go ahead and pop your collar and look at somebody next to you. Tell them, „You don’t—you really don’t know who you’re sitting next to. I’m kind of amazing.“
Go ahead, throw your hands through your wig, do whatever you need to do! I need to give you seven core principles from the third day of creation. Write these down, Pastor Andrea; this is going to change some things.
1. The Power of Establishment
Number one: The power of establishment because God is establishing some things in 2025. Don’t forget what the word of the Lord was, which is: What you start in 2025 will follow you for the rest of your life!
Now, I’m adding this—for the next three generations! What you do in this year is going to follow you for the next three generations! What you sow in this year, what you seed in this year, what you believe God for this year, what you start working on this year is going to bless your kids, their kids, and their kids!
The emergence of dry ground represents the establishment of a solid foundation. The emergence of dry ground is God saying, „I’m going to need you to stand on something!“
Creating stability and a strong foundation is essential before growth can occur.
2. The Power of Separation and Clarity
Number two: Another core principle that I found in this third day of creation is the power of separation and clarity. Some stuff and some people you’re going to have to separate from.
The gathering of the waters and the appearance of dry land symbolize the importance of separation and clarity in purpose. Clear boundaries and focused intentions help distinguish what is essential from what is not!
3. The Power of the Seed
Number three, the power of the seed! The power of the seed! Everybody say, „The power of the seed!“
The creation of plants with seeds according to their kind highlights the self-sustaining nature of creation. Seeds hold the potential—catch these two words: multiplication and legacy!
4. The Principle of Perpetuity
Number four, the principle of perpetuity! The idea that seeds carry within them the ability to reproduce shows the system of perpetuity—a design for sustainability and continuity!
Invest in systems, habits, relationships that are sustainable and can thrive even in your absence!
5. Diversity and Uniqueness
Number five: Diversity and uniqueness! Each plant and tree is created to reproduce according to its kind—emphasizing the diversity and the unique role of each creation!
Embrace your uniqueness! Your vibe is going to attract your tribe!
6. The Goodness of God in Creation
Number six, the goodness of God in creation. God saw that it was good! He created you; you’re good! Stop telling yourself you’re not good!
This teaches the importance of appreciating and affirming progress and results! Celebrate your milestones and acknowledge the goodness in what you and other people create!
7. The Rhythm of Creation
Final point—the rhythm of creation! The reference to evening and morning reminds us of the natural rhythm and balance of creation! Work and rest! Beginnings and completions!
Embracing the importance and understanding the importance of both diligence and rest in achieving your purpose.
Closing Prayer and Altar Call
Hands lifted! Everything I need to achieve and accomplish the thing God has given me is in me! Somebody say, „It’s in me!“
God seal this word now! Give me a heart for legacy! For destiny! And perpetuity! Let me start living and start three generations ahead! In Jesus' name! Amen! Amen!
Give the Lord a praise if you were blessed today! There are some people who need to join today! You need to make a decision to join this church! Do me a favor: some of you are leaving, but some of you need to make your way down front!
If you want to be a part of Love Story Church, come down to the front right now! Welcome home!
Everybody here, on behalf of me, my wife, this staff, the pastors and elders behind you, welcome home! Welcome to the greatest chapter of your story; welcome to Love Story!
Now, everybody here, I need you to pray this prayer and those who remain are going to pray it with you! Lord Jesus! It’s me! I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that Jesus is Lord!
Thank you for the blood that was shed for me! I receive the free gift of salvation, not through my works, but the finished work of the cross! The blood is enough to pay for all my sins!
Now, Holy Spirit, come live inside and teach me how to be more like Jesus each and every day! You are my Savior and my Lord! In Jesus' name! Amen! Amen!