From blind Bartimaeus' disruptive cry arresting Jesus amid the crowd, to the father's relentless watch and run toward his returning prodigal, the preacher reveals God's fierce urgency and waiting love—He hears our desperate voice, [...]

Ancient Israel's seven feasts were elaborate, multi-day celebrations of God's provision and historical acts, fostering deep gratitude born from drought and dependence. Linking to Jesus' first miracle at a wedding feast—turning water [...]

Gideon, found threshing wheat in a winepress to hide from enemies, foreshadows God's crushing process—stripping glory to incarnate as man, experiencing human limits to redeem us. Like grapes disrobing in the press to become wine, we surrender [...]

Ancient Israel's harvest feasts were prolonged, joyous celebrations born from drought-experienced gratitude, recognizing every provision depends on God's mercy. Jesus' first miracle—turning water to superior wine at a wedding—reveals [...]

Endurance through crushing—whether personal illness, betrayal, or crucifixion—requires recognizing recovery's pain as purposeful, trusting God's timing beyond our control. Like the cross transformed from Roman execution to sacred offering [...]

God's ongoing call demands eternal "yes" for continual progress—He leads through crushing middles toward promised ends, equipping presence over solutions. Like Jesus sleeping calmly amid satanic storm to reach demoniac, disruptions [...]

Chosen for this crushing generation amid global pandemic, racial unrest, and overwhelming stress, we endure not to reclaim old "normal" (grape) but embrace disruption's opportunity for new wine—progressing through God's ordered [...]

Negative inner voices—predicting failure, loss, unworthiness—stem from past traumas and fears, undermining enjoyment of blessings and fueling anxiety even in good times. Counter them with faith-filled self-talk rooted in God's promises, [...]

God's call is persistent and personal—He chooses imperfect vessels for His purpose, as seen in Jeremiah's prenatal ordination mirrored in the preacher's veiled birth and dream. Like tabernacle shadowing Christ's incarnation, [...]

Crushing demands endurance—trusting God's silence and purpose amid unexplained pain, prioritizing family over crowds, recognizing recovery hurts as much as injury. Like staying aboard Paul's storm-tossed ship clinging to broken pieces for [...]

God's persistent call demands surrender despite inadequacy—He chooses broken brushes for His masterpiece, as seen in the preacher's veiled birth, dream, and reluctant obedience. Like tabernacle foreshadowing Christ's incarnation for [...]

Crushing is impartial—striking rich/poor, young/old, faithful/unfaithful alike—not punishment but purposeful development, forging wisdom, endurance, and anointing. Like Jesus' incarnation and cross, suffering refines us for destiny; trust the [...]

Crushing strikes everyone impartially—rich/poor, faithful/unfaithful—not as punishment but purposeful pruning for greater fruitfulness. Like the preacher's simultaneous church growth and mother's Alzheimer's decline, or [...]

Freedom is a bloody business—from American independence and civil rights to women's suffrage and personal redemption through Christ's cross. Crushing, though painful and impartial, is God's purposeful pruning for fruitfulness; like [...]

God humbled Himself by becoming man, stripping away His divine glory and power in the incarnation—a crushing that began long before the cross—so that through His vulnerability and suffering, we might find redemption, purpose, and ultimate [...]

Just as ancient Israel threw massive, days-long harvest feasts to celebrate God's provision after droughts, God the Master Vintner celebrates us when we emerge from crushing as His fine wine, inviting us into eternal joy and intimate [...]

Through personal experiences in Jerusalem and reflections on biblical history, the preacher emphasizes that faith is deep layers of God's ongoing work, requiring patient submission to a lengthy crushing and fermentation process—like fine [...]

Drawing from personal pain and the crucifixion story, the preacher shows that crushing involves enduring agony in recovery as much as in injury, yet perspective transforms suffering into sacred offering, leading from execution-like shame to [...]

God's ongoing call demands continual progress through life's crushings, where storms and chaos test faith, but His peaceful presence ensures we reach the other side, transforming crushing into divine transportation. The Ongoing Call of [...]

In this unprecedented time of global crushing through pandemic, racial tension, and massive stress, God has chosen this generation because we have what it takes; He sends disruption in answer to prayers for change, and our task is to see [...]

Amid success and blessing, negative inner voices haunt us with fear of loss; we must combat them with faith-filled self-talk, remember God's past faithfulness as our foundation, and push for excellence without regrets to turn crushing into [...]

From a teenage dream revealing Jeremiah's call to reflections on the tabernacle and Last Supper, God chooses inadequate people, breaks them through crushing, and multiplies them as His dwelling among us—turning broken brushes into masterpieces [...]

Celebrating America's liberty while acknowledging the delayed freedom for African-Americans, Bishop T.D. Jakes reflects that true freedom is always a "bloody business" requiring sacrifice—from civil rights to personal redemption [...]

So I was building my church, the church of my dreams, the church beyond my dreams, the church that I never thought I would ever get to build, the church that was valued out at millions and millions of dollars that I didn't have, but I had the [...]

It is a misnomer to think that if you walk with God, and serve God, and do his will and work, that you won't have any trouble. The reality is: they that live godly shall suffer persecution. And you don't get to pick when or how or what the [...]

You know the funniest thing to me is that poor people think that rich people don't get crushed. They think that if they had money, they'd have everything. But crushing is the one thing in the world that you can count on to be totally [...]

And so I had sat on a plane for about 12 hours, left the beautiful city of Dallas, flew to London, got out in Heathrow, walked the corridors, made the change, and then flew another 9 or 10 hours to Lagos, Nigeria, and then, by car, I traveled out [...]