John Gray - Gimme Five
Go ahead. Over in the far left, go ahead. Did you hear what I said? God is about to hand you some things, some things that other people have tried to work for, manipulate, connive, sneak, steal, lie, cheat to get. God is going to be nope, not you, not you, not you. I'm going to hand it to you. Can I get some worshippers in here for a second that will give God a praise? We bless you God. We thank you tonight. God's about to hand it over to you. I love what Jesus said. He said Father, he said this as he was getting ready to go to the cross. He said, everybody you've given me I've kept. I've not let one of them be taken out of my hands. Nobody. Nobody slipped out. I got them all.
I want you to know you're in the palm of his hand. It might feel like you're on a terrible roller coaster ride, depression, shame, guilt, doubt, bad decisions. You're in the middle of a situation in life and you're not sure which way to go and you feel like, you know, God's forgotten about you. It only feels that way. What you feel is the protective covering of God. You think that's the attack. No, you haven't felt the attack. His hand has covered you from the attack. What you feel is the protection of God. That's how you can sleep at night. That's why the car tire didn't blow out. That's why nobody broke in. That's why you're still alive, because of the hand of God.
Hey! And if you won't give nobody else a high five, give him a couple high fives. Give me five. David, ha ha! David was sitting here looking at the enemy that no grown man wanted to face. But a little teenage boy wasn't scared. Saul said listen, if you're going to go attack him, at least put on my armor. He tried it on, says this don't fit me. If I'm going to go to war, I gotta go to war my way. I want you to know that David said listen, you're fighting with manmade things, but let me tell you where I come from. Before I delivered cheese to my brothers, I was watching some sheep. I was a shepherd boy on the backside of the desert, the 8th son of no one.
Read 1 Samuel 16. The prophet came to my town to anoint a new king, and my dad brought in all my brothers while I stayed outside, and even the prophet thought that my oldest brother was the one until God said stop looking at the outside. It's man that looks at the outside, but I'm looking at the heart. Even my own father didn't know what I carried. He so didn't know what I carried and underestimated me, he didn't even invite me in. I'm talking to the forgotten one in here.
I'm talking to the one that's been overlooked. Your family says you're crazy. You dream too big. You talk too loud. You're too crazy. You're over zealous. You're overreaching. Why don't you calm down, scale back? Why don't you just take it step by step? Why don't you refit your life? You know you're not really ready for that. You didn't go to school for that. You don't really have those skill sets. You don't know what I carry. You don't know what God's been doing with me in the secret place in the silent moments, in the quiet hours. You don't know my tears. You don't know my prayers. You don't know my process.
I'm talking to some people who have been underestimated, overlooked, marginalized. Hey, thanks, Bob. That's a good idea. We may take that up in the next meeting. Keep on. Next time you see me I'm going to be owning this whole thing. Am I talking to anybody that believes God? David said hey, I can't use your process. I can't use your armor. I want you to know that if you tried to be somebody else in this next season, it wouldn't even fit you. I know you've been looking at other people that look like they're ahead of the game. They've achieved. Look at Saul. He's the king, but you don't see that he's scared, that he's insecure, he don't have anybody around him willing to fight. David says, hey, I know you're the king but even your anointing doesn't fit me.
Stop comparing yourself to other people hoping that one day you'll be where they are or have what they have. You are uniquely you. They had their chance. It's your chance now. They had their moment. It's your moment now. And it's not ha ha ha ha ha! This is not what you did. It's God's doing. David said I can't fight the enemy with your testimony. I want you to know that your testimony, your process, what you've walked through has uniquely empowered you to reach people that other people could never reach. Everybody's not called to reach everybody, but everybody can reach somebody, so if you're faithful to share from your authentic, organic experience, you're going to be able to break the back of the enemy on somebody else's life.
You don't need to be trying to figure out how to be the next big thing or I wish I could talk like Joyce Meyer or pastor Joel or pastor Lisa or doctor Paul. I wish I could prophecy and have the faith like mama Dodie. You're not there yet. She's been walking with the Lord for years and years. You're just 20 something, 30 something years old. Why don't you relax? God is going to develop something in you. Don't be sad or ashamed or feel like you can't make it. Who you are is enough for the moment that God has brought you to. I don't care if everybody else looks like they're qualified. They might look like they're qualified, but God has put his hand on you. Give God a hand.
The Bible says David took off Saul's armor, got his staff, got his little shepherd's bag. He went to the brook, and he picked up five smooth stones. Five is the number of grace. He picked grace. He picked up grace. Five smooth stones. The word stone here means precious or, let me get this. This is going to bless you. This blows my mind. Precious stones or stones of fire. He picked up stones that had been tested through fire. He picked up stones that had gone through the process. So anything that wasn't necessary was burned off. He didn't pick up boulders because you can't be precise with a boulder. Guard your belligerent words in this season. Guard your angry words. Those are boulders. Use wise words. Be precise with your prayers. Be precise with your praise. You're believing God for a breakthrough.
God, I thank you that my husband is delivered. I thank you that my wife is set free. Thank you that my children are saved in three weeks from right now. I want you to be precise with God. Don't be giving no general prayer. A lot of us try to get away with general prayers to mask the fact that we don't have faith enough to believe. Why don't you step your faith game up and say God, I thank you that I'll never be the same after this very night? God, I thank you my body is healed because of what Jesus did, not because of what I did. I don't deserve it, but you made me worthy. Get precise. Don't pick up boulders. Get the stones tried by fire. Get the precious stones.
The precious stones are your testimony, the things that are precious to you. Share those things in your life that cost you something. There are people that need to get set free. They're not going to get set free by some general testimony. You be encouraged. God's going to take care of it. That's nice, but I need you to tell me how. I'm gonna tell you how he's gonna take care of it. He's gonna take care of yours like he took care of mine. I was at the end of my rope. I had nowhere to go. I was a single mom. I was lost and alone and didn't know how God was going to do it, but by the power of God he sent a miracle and now me and my children we are blessed. We are saved. I got a job. My kids are in school. They love God. They're up in children's church. God didn't...
Let me show you. As a matter of fact, I'm going to sow a seed into you just to let you know where you're going. You're looking at where you're about to go. That's a precious stone when you can speak words of life in the direction of somebody the enemy thought he had control over. When you can speak words of encouragement into the face of the enemy's camp, and when you can break the back off of depression, fear, shame, guilt, and doubt. When you can throw your stone in a precise pattern, that is skill. He picked up five smooth stones.
Now, you all know what happened. You know what happened, don't you? Dang, I got a lot of this. I'm not going to be able to get through all this. No, no. We ain't going to be able to get through all this. This is going to have to be a part 2. There's gonna be a part 2. Give me five. So watch this, he chose five smooth stones.
1 Samuel 17:41-42, "So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him: for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking".
He said, y'all sending me this little boy? Are you serious? I've been coming out here for 40 days and after 40 days the best your whole nation can do is this? I want you to know that the devil has severely underestimated you. I don't know who I'm talking to, but the devil thinks he's got you sized up. I know what you used to do. I know what you used to be. I know how you used to turn it up in the club. I know you used to make it rain. I know all that. But guess what? But you don't know I'm already a wife. I'm already a mother. I'm already a father. I'm already, this thing that I'm in right now is not the end of who I am. I'm going to be more than this.
God's already got this part finished. He's the author and finisher of my faith. You can't size me up based on my appearance because you don't know what the Father has invested in me. Watch this. The Bible says as Goliath walked towards him, David ran towards him. He said, I ain't scared of you. Let's get it going. Let's get it going. Let's do this! Let's get it cracking. You mow what I mean? He was going crazy. Aahhh! Let's do it. The giant is walking, and David is running. The giant has a sword. David has a rock, not even a big rock, a stone. Until I read Psalm 118 and realize what he really picked up because the Bible says in Psalm 118: 22 the stone which the builder rejected has become the chief cornerstone. The same word for stone there which was representing Jesus is the same word in 1 Samuel that he picked up. Hey! Goliath didn't know David picked up Jesus out of the brook. Jesus in the form of five rocks, in the form of grace.
2 Corinthians 12, my grace is sufficient for you. Stop worrying about everybody else. Just pick me up. Pick up my word. Throw me in the direction of the enemy. Declare me over the devil. The name of Jesus, hey! Hey! Just speak my name. Throw my name. Yeaw! Somebody give God a hand. Whew. David picked up a pre incarnate piece of grace and threw it, went right into his forehead. He fell straight down. Here's what's crazy. David had so much faith he didn't even have a sword. He got there and was like, what I do now? He had to get his enemy's sword and cut off his head.
I want you to know that the weapon that was fashioned to take you out was actually fashioned for you to finish the job on your enemy. You come at me with your words? Your words are going to ensnare you. You setting up a trap. You gonna fall into your own trap. That's what proverbs says. Try me if you want. Everything you try is gonna flip in my favor because I've got the winning hand. Can I get a high five please? Come on. Give me a high five. Find three people. Just high five them.
It's about to be a problem. Juan, it's about to be a problem in here because somebody realizes the power they have in their hands and in your mouth because David was symbolic, pastor Paul, of the five fold gifting. He picked up five smooth stones symbolic of the grace giftings, apostle, prophet, pastor, preacher, teacher. David was all of those, but nobody saw it. Nobody knew it because his process was hidden. I'm talking to some hidden gems in here. I'm talking to some hidden gems on line. People don't know that you carry in you the anointing to break chains. You got so much authority in your shadow that if you walk past the cancer ward they gonna get healed. You don't even have to walk in. Just your shadow... I'm talking to some people with some authority in this church tonight.
Hey! Five smooth stones. Nobody knew who David was, but God picked him because he loved his worship. The difference between David and those so-called soldiers is the difference between presence and proximity. See, the soldiers, pastor Johnny, were present on the battlefield, but just because you present don't mean you have proximity.
See, David had proximity to the commander in the field where he was worshipping writing songs that he never knew anyone would hear, but here thousands of years later we still say yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. He was on the backside of a mountain worshipping God by himself. These soldiers were present on the battlefield but didn't have proximity to the king. David had proximity. He had relationship. There are people who come to church. You're in the presence of the building, but God wants you in the proximity of his glory. God says get a little closer. Come see me. Come speak with me. This is the power of give me five.
He picked up five smooth stones symbolic of grace. He had enough grace in his hand to handle the enemy. He had five stones, pastor Craig, but he only used one which... And that was the biggest enemy that Israel had. So if I do the math, that means I only need 20% of my anointing to take out the biggest enemy I'll ever face. So the rest of my anointing can go towards kingdom building, building people, healing the relationships in my family, getting free and delivered on my... I'm not even gonna use all my anointing on the enemy. I'm gonna stop giving the enemy a whole lot of space in my life. I'm going to just use 20%. Give me one of my other stones. I'm gonna save the other 4.
Check this out. Many theologians, and I heard this from pastor Kent Munsey who is just a brilliant man of God out of Chicago. Pastor Steve Munsey's son. He's got an amazing church. And he said as he was studying this thing about the five smooth stones he said theologians now believe that David didn't pick up five stones because he was afraid he was gonna miss. He picked them up just in case Goliath had brothers. I want you to know the enemy ain't gonna stop on one, but you still got four more. You're supposed to shout right there. Now watch this. David was so prophetic that he picked up five stones. He only needed one. People say well, dang. He sure did waste 4 stones. You haven't read 2 Samuel 21.
2 Samuel 21:15 "When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines: and David grew faint. Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, 'You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel'".
That's number 2. Again there was a war at gob where elhanan the son of jair overcame the Bethlehemite, killed the brother of Goliath the gittite.
That's number 3. Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number: and he also was born to the giant. So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him. These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
One plus four is five. David picked up enough stones to whoop up on the enemy for a year. I want you to know as you're standing up and we're about to go that as you move in the direction of destiny, you have everything you need to put the devil on his back. Give me five.