Samuel Rodriguez - God Will Give You Something You Never Had In The First Place
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. This man was not losing his sight, he did not lose his sight, he never had it in the first place. He was born blind. This circumstance facilitates the environment for Christ to reveal a functional, an ontological extension of the creative nature of providence. In other words, with the woman that had the issue of blood, he gave her back her health. With the invalid man at the Bethesda, he gave him back his walk. With Lazarus, Jesus gave him back his life. But with this man in John 9, Jesus did not give him something he lost, Jesus gave him something he never had in the first place.
There is a difference between God restoring something you had and God giving you something you never had in the first place. Our God is not just a God that restores, he is the God that gives us what we never had before. He is the Lord of the new thing. Somebody shout, "The Lord of the new thing". Isaiah 43:19, "Behold I do a new thing: do you not see it"? God is not interested in renovating your past, he is interested in releasing your future. So, listen, we have to ask ourselves in our families, in our faith, in our generation, in America today, are we truly ready to see what we have never seen before?
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and other terms I cannot use in California, listen carefully, in the past three years in America and around the world, we have seen what we have arguably not seen before in our generation. We saw the effects of a global pandemic that killed millions. We saw the ruins of racial and social unrest destroying property, families, dividing communities and fragmenting the church. We saw the damage of political discord, where the donkey and the elephant temporarily succeeded in dividing what belongs to the lamb. We witnessed and continue, help me Lord, to bear witness to a cancel woke culture that insists in silencing everyone and everything that refuses to toe the line of a morally relativistic ideological worldview that runs counter to the spirit and the Word of God.
We saw and continue to see a generation, and I see this first hand, I live in California, we continue to see a generation targeted, children targeted by the architects of darkness with the message that there is no such thing as truth, gender, holiness, and personal responsibility. And mind you, please forgive me, but with righteous indignation, we do need, we need to see a church rise up with holy authority, with a powerful anointing, not a kumbaya church, not a comfortable church, but we need a powerful church to rise up with the power of God and look at every devil, demon, legion, principality and power of darkness, and declare the following, "Get your hands off our children in the mighty... Get your hands off our children. Get your hands off our children and our children's children".
We saw the ruins and we continue to see the ruins, and if you turn on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, and we don't discriminate here, Telemundo, you will see the fact that there are ruins. But here comes the word, what if I tell you that in your family, in your faith, in your generation, in America, in the name of Jesus, we are about to see the mess become a miracle? I'm gonna repeat that for the hearing impaired. East coast conference, how many here come in agreement with me that the mess is about to become a miracle? Sixty five percent of your believe it, the mess is about to become a miracle. I'mma say it one more time, the mess is about to become a miracle. I'mma do it one more time, I know we're streaming, the mess is about to become a miracle. If you believe it, shout like you actually believe.
"Didn't I tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God"? John 11:40. "As it is written, what no eye has seen, no ear heard, nor the heart of man imagine as what has prepared for those who love him," 1 Corinthians 2:9. We're about to see what we've never seen before. Is that hype? Is that wishful thinking? Is that prophetic spaghetti on the proverbial wall? Something's happening. And ironically enough, bishop Sterns, this year it started in this city. Let me prove it. Let me substantiate this. We kicked off this year with Monday night football in this fair region of the country where a young man dies of a heart attack on a football field. The two teams come together, and they pray. And the young man, who himself gave God credit, so it's not anecdotal extrapolation, this man said, "And why are you back to life"? "God brought me back, he resurrected me".
Damar Hamlin. Right after that, the very next day on ESPN, a broadcaster live on national television for the first time in the history of America, he's live. The broadcaster, his usual gig, he's live on the camera, and he starts talking about, "Can you believe what happened yesterday? Yeah, he was really dead. Yeah, medically dead. He was dead". And the guy says, "Yeah, and both teams prayed, and people all over America began to pray. Yeah, and can you believe it? They prayed and he came back". The guy looks in the camera, ESPN, he goes, "Yeah, and they prayed and he came back. I think we should pray". He said, "I think we should pray. What do you think? This may be wrong, but let's pray". And that guy begins to pray on ESPN the very next day. And in his prayer he says, "We serve the God that has the power to heal. We serve the God that has the power..."
Right after that, coincident, little coinkidink, right after that there is a demographic that different polling companies including Gallup and others, they came to the inevitable conclusion there is a generation in America that is the most non-Christian generation, and the least likely to be Christian, generation z. So, right after that Damar Hamlin, right after ESPN, it seems that God never got the memo. No one text God.
So, God says, "Okay, I'm sorry, what"? "Hey God, you didn't get the memo"? "What memo"? "There's a generation that's not gonna seek you". "Huh"? "Yeah, there's a generation that's not even connected to you". Really? Let's pick a random spot here, Asbury, Kentucky. A bunch of 18, 19, 20, 21 year olds in a remote city called Asbury in the middle of Kentucky, they start praying and worshipping and reading God's word, and they couldn't stop. The Holy Spirit said, "I am here". I'm here to tell you, you don't need to worry about your children, or your children's children, or your children's children's children's children. They will hear the gospel of Jesus. They will have an encounter. Right after that a good friend of mine, Greg Laurie, a pastor from California.
If you believe God is up to something, raise your hand. Luke 1:37, "The Word of God never fails". Hebrews 10:23, "God can be trusted to keep his promise". And with all the pushback, don't ye dare come to me and tell me, "Pastor Sam, I get your optimism, your Pollyannaish sort of inclination, that's pretty good. That cup is half filled. Well, but you're negating the fact that we're living in the last days. Aren't you denying the fact that things are gon' get..." I'm very privy and cognizant of the very exhaustive list the apostle Paul provided to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3, and likewise, what Jesus laid out in Matthew 24. I know it well. "In the last days, men and women will become lovers of themselves". We call that narcissism, and half the accounts on Instagram. Are you with me right now?
"In the last days, men and women will leave their natural desires," the state of California. So, there are things that are happening. Yeah, but there is a last day promise that prompted me to get on a flight from California all the way to New York today. And I'm aware of these things, I don't deny them. But what drove me to get on a flight this morning, to be here in this conference wasn't that. It was one more last day promise. The one that drove me here was the one from Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17. "In the last days, in the last days, God says," not, "I might," not, "I might," not, "I may," not, "I hope to". He said, "I will pour out," pour out my what? "Pour out my spirit upon," some flesh, half the flesh. Somebody praise like we are about to see an outpouring of the Spirit of God. Somebody shout, "Pour it out". Pour it out. Pour it out.
Oh, we're about to see an outpouring. Ah, wooh. The next thing to fill America, the next thing to fill the nations will not be COVID 2021 or 22, it will be the glory of the risen Christ. So, permit me to prophetically declare in the context of this, your family mess is about to become God's miracle. Your mental mess is about to become God's miracle. Your financial mess is about to become God's miracle. I feel an anointing, your health mess is about to become God's miracle. Your generational mess is about to become God's miracle. And get ready, America's mess is about to become God's miracle. Which means, we're about to step into a season of instead of.
Instead of riots, revival. Instead of lockdowns, open heavens. Instead of hatred, love. Instead of relativism, truth. Instead of destroying property, building altars. Instead of confrontations, conversations. Instead of political affiliation, prophetic designation. And instead of storming the capitol, we're about to storm the gates of hell and take everything that was taken from us. Oh, I gotta calm down here. Raise your right hand and repeat after me, "I'm about to see what I've never seen before". Say it like you believe it. "In my family, in my faith, in my finances, in my relationships, in my church, in my community, in my thinking, in my actions, in my words, in my health, in my surroundings, in my nation, in my generation, I'm about to see the glory and the grace of Jesus like I have never ever seen it before". If you believe it, praise like you believe it. Somebody shout like you believe it and clap like you believe it. Worship like you believe it. Rejoice like you believe it.
Real quick, number two, we're gonna illustrate this here. Thank you for volunteering. Sure, you did. Number two, forceful coercive volunteering, yes, my friend. Open... number one is open your eyes to what you've never seen before. Number two is open your eyes to God's spirit, here it is. Now he spit on the ground. This is totally unorthodox. Made mud with the saliva and spread, y'all know Jesus didn't need to do this. Y'all know that right? 'cause our Jesus, "Jesus there's a man over there he was born blind". All Jesus could have done is this. Right, like Jesus was swaged. It's like Jesus, and Jesus would wanna like, this like, but no, even if like worst case scenario, Jesus, like, he could have done like. But no, he gets into this whole process of taking his saliva, who does that? Like, who does that? Oh, I gonna heal you...
Boom, boom, boom, let's do it, George, let's close your eyes, from now on, you don't wanna open up your eyes. "I can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. It's gonna be a bright, bright and shiny day". He looks like nightwing, doesn't he? This is it, it's like dc comics here. Alright, don't open up your eyes and don't lick the mud. Messy, 'cause sometimes the process is messy. Sometimes we make no sense of the process. The God of the outcome is the same God of the process. The process is temporary, but the promise is permanent. Do not mistake and do not conflict, do not make the temporary permanent. Do not confuse the process with the promise. Do not confuse what you're going through with where you're going to. And let me remind you if you're going through what you've never been through before it's only because you are about to occupy promises you've never occupied before.
Now, I need to ask you a question. Jesus comes along and he spits, he phew. What's in your spit? Sounds like what's in your wallet. But as if it... What's in your spit? I heard you. I heard you mAdam negativity. Back there she said germs. There's always that person. "Germs"! What did you say? "Germs! I said there's germs, viruses, and bacteria". All the optimist, "Oh, it's DNA". Yes. That's it. That's the story. This is not like rhema word, it's science. It's human physiology. It's just pure data. It's no joke Jesus took his DNA, the DNA of the Messiah, of the conqueror, the Son of Man and the Son of God. The DNA of the resurrection and the light. The DNA of God in the flesh, he took his DNA and he placed it on a man who was born blind.
In other words, "Hey sunshine, with your DNA you can't see anything, with my DNA you're about to see my glory". With your DNA, what are you? You're a victim. With my DNA you're more than a conqueror. With your DNA you walk around with permanent trauma, with my DNA you have a powerful testimony. Are you with me right now? With your DNA you are limited with what you can do. With my DNA you can do all things through Christ who gives you. I'm here to tell you I traveled from California to Buffalo to tell you, I have news for you. Jesus dies, he resurrected, ascended, sent the Holy Spirit not to give you a spittle, you have something much more powerful than the spittle of Jesus. He gave us something much more powerful than his spit. We have the same spirit that raise Jesus from the dead.
Romans 8:11, not the kindred, not a derivative, not a similar the same identical spirit that raise Jesus from the dead lives inside of you. And I want to remind Buffalo right now and I know we're streaming so I love this. The most powerful spirit on the planet today is not the spirit of pedophilia, or heathenism, or relativism, or deconstructionism. The most powerful spirit on the planet today is not Jezebel, it's not Ahab, it's not Baal, it's not Goliath, it's not Herod, it's not Nebuchadnezzar. The most powerful spirit in 2023, I don't care what you see on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, the most powerful spirit is still the Holy Spirit.
Somebody praise like you have that Spirit. Somebody worship like you have spirit. Somebody pray like you have that Spirit. Prophecy like you have that Spirit. Live, give, forgive like you have that Spirit for it is not by mind nor by power by my... Zachariah 4:6, "Where that Spirit is present, there is power". I said power, not potential but power. Acts 1:8, "Where that Spirit is present there is freedom". 2 Corinthians 3:17, "There is holiness". Galatians 5:16, "There is anointing". 1 John 2:27, "We are temples of that Spirit". 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:9, "We are to be filled with that Spirit". Ephesians 5:18, "We are Spirit empowered people".
We are people of the Spirit. For crying out loud, it's time for that Spirit empowered church to rise up. We really need to rise up with spiritual authority. We need to stand with that, I'm gonna get in trouble here. Let me just okay, what had happened was this. Reece, did I tell you about this? I didn't, I saw you Asheville day of prayer. Did I reference what happened, okay, so in California... were streaming? Okay, so, in California, right about, right before Christmas, I get a call, not mentioning any names, somewhere in California from San Diego all the way to the Oregon board. Pretty prominent. We got a call from a prominent ministry in California that lost people during COVID, never recovered.
And for various reasons, and an incredible amount of debt. But incredible property, it's 70 plus acres worth 80 million bucks. Three auditoriums and we get a call, "Pastor Sam, this is not gonna survive, we're lo... Would you... Well, you're the first call we're making. Would you be interested in merging your ministry with ours and taking over the property"? And you know, "Etcetera, etcetera". So we were like, "Woah," so I looked back to this, we're in need in California, by the grace of God, he gave us a multi-venue church. Our church, it looked like a kingdom, were 40% white, which means Caucasian for you in New York. Is that too much? We could come back a little bit, pull it back. Is that too much?
40% African American which means black in California and 20% Latino, native American, and Asians, seriously it looks like heaven. It's heaven, it's looks like heaven and it's 68% millennial, very young church and God blew it up so we're in desperate need. With three services, we're gonna start a fourth one God's really blowing up I need a place bad. So, we thought this is an answered prayer. So they, "Can we call you into a meeting"? First meeting we walk in, first meeting. I walked in with four of my board members, five of us total, they have their board members and I'm thinking first question is gonna be on, "Pastor Sam, talk to us about integrations of systems, the judiciary governments, what's your policy, what's your ethos, what's your creed, your credo". All of that, right?
You know, "Talk to us about the anointing and artificial intelligence". No, I'm kidding about that one, not that, not that. Which is a conversation we should have, anyway, not right now. So, first meeting we walked in, his wife was there, who's our board secretary. I sat down here. I'm thinking, "Alright, give me the questions". Right? First question, "Pastor Sam, thank you for coming to the meeting. Here's our first question. Pastor Sam, our church leans left. Where do you lean"?
Now, you gotta put this in perspective, I'm a part time comedian. That's not what I wanted to say. The thoughts going through my mind. But I'm looking. I was like silent which is sign and a wonder. I couldn't say anything. Nothing would come out and my team looked at me like, "Pastor". All of a sudden, the Holy Spirit filled me and said, "Go ahead, say it". And I'm fighting with the Lord because if I say it. I'm gonna lose this chance and God said, "Say it". And I'm going like this. Like, if I lack fiber, I'm going like, "No". "Say it".
So I had no choice. I looked and I went, "Sir, interesting question, with great due deference we don't lean". We don't lean. In our church we never lean, we stand. We stand on God's promise, we stand on God's word, we stand on everything the Bible says, everything the Bible call sin, we call sin. Everything the Bible calls holy we call holy, we stand on righteousness and justice.