Toure Roberts - Get Your Weight Up (01/14/2026)
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In this powerful message titled «Get Your Weight Up, ” the preacher declares that God is developing spiritual, emotional, and character „weight“ in His people through consistent battles and processes of becoming. Using David’s journey (1 Chronicles 11) and Psalm 37:23 as key texts, he teaches that destiny requires weight—authority, maturity, and unshakeable confidence born from overcoming opposition. Champions (1) embrace the battle instead of fleeing, (2) rise step-by-step rather than seeking shortcuts or elevators, and (3) hold their ground in the fruitful fields God leads them to, even when enemies are present. The ultimate goal: become so weighty that neither battles nor blessings easily move you, positioning you for divine promotion and dominion.
Opening Exhortation
So wonderful to be here. Let’s get right into this word. Keep standing, if you don’t mind. I want to preach from this message today: „Get Your Weight Up.“ Get your weight up! Do me a favor and just turn to somebody around you and say, „I’m gonna get my weight up today. I’m gonna get my weight up. I’m gonna get my weight up. I’m gonna get my weight up today.“
Hallelujah! It’s important; it’s everything! Come on, somebody. How many of us know destiny is not for weak, lightweight people? Destiny is for people that have some weight. Come on, somebody! Some people are trying to get money. It’s good to get money, but guess what? I want to get some weight! Come on, somebody! But oh, you didn’t catch it! You’re like, „No, I’m still after the money.“
Let me tell you something: you get weight, you get everything! That’s a sign of your life. The last thing you want to do is be rich with no weight. Hello, somebody! You get rich with no weight, then it can be taken from you. More importantly, you can be taken from you! God’s gonna move today. Just tell somebody you’re in the right place. You messed around and stumbled into the right place today. Weight! Some weight on you! Yeah, I feel like Holy Ghost silly today. Is that okay? Can I be Holy Ghost silly today? You’re like, „Can that be?“ Yes, it can be! Junk in the spirit!
Scripture Reading and Context (1 Chronicles 11:1–14)
1 Chronicles, chapter 11, verse 1 through 14. I’m going to read it quickly. I am not going to preach it; I’m just gonna read it. I’m gonna get all the way through it. I’m not gonna preach. I’m not gonna exhort. I’m not gonna give any additional meaning; I’m just gonna read it all the way through. Okay, you don’t believe me? Okay, that’s fine. Probably good not to believe me. Okay, here we go. It says, „Then all Israel came together to David at Hebron, saying, 'Indeed, we are your bone and your flesh. Also in time past, even when Saul was king, you, David, were the one who led Israel out and brought them in.'“
Alright, let me just at least give you some context. Let me give some context. So, David — you know David has been going through a lot. He’s been anointed king a long time ago, and he’s getting ready to step into another level, another dimension of his calling, of his identity. And the people of Israel are coming to him and saying, „Yo, even when Saul was king, even when you were not in position, we still watched how you flowed.“
And that’s important because I want you to know right now there are some people, and you’re not yet in position according to what God promised you, but there are still people-people who have watched you. You’re not forgotten; there are people who have watched you, they’ve paid attention to you. I feel the Holy Spirit, and they know you are next. I feel God! Sometimes you are the last person to know that you are next. Everything is aligning itself to manifest what God promised you.
And then our last passage is Psalm 37:23, and it reads, „The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.“
Opening Prayer
Let’s pray:
Jesus, You want to do something mighty in this house today. You want to do something mighty in the lives of all those who have gathered in LA and in Denver, Colorado, and all those who are watching via live stream from all around the world. God, this word is a prophetic insight; it is a prophetic exhortation that will minister to the depths that are inside of Your children. It will awaken them, it will quicken them, it will give them strength, it will give them life, it will give them understanding, and it will bring them into a place of alignment so that they may lay hold of everything for which You have laid hold upon them. I thank You for the spirit of wisdom and revelation. I thank You for the anointing that breaks the yoke. I thank You that yokes are going to break off of Your sons' and daughters' lives, that there is a boldness that is going to arise from the depths of who they are, and they are going to run their race with a sense of victory, power, and joy unlike ever before. Send Your fire. We didn’t come for a cute little sermon; we came to be activated by the power of God so that we might walk in everything that You have in store for us. I thank You that the very gates of hell themselves will not be able to prevail against this word and what You purpose to do in the lives of Your children who receive it. I decree these things, and even that which is exceedingly abundantly far above what we can ask or imagine, so in Jesus' name, Amen, Amen.
If you received that already, just take a minute and say, „Yellow, yellow, yeah!“ Lord, please be seated. Yellow, get your weight up! Get your weight up! Get your weight up! Get your weight up!
The Year of Becoming and the Process of Gaining Weight
I began this year off with what I believe was a word that God was speaking to us in the body of Christ, and I called it the Year of Becoming because I really felt like the year before was a year of alignment. The whole purpose of coming into alignment is so that you can become everything that God has called you to become, and we’re seeing this played out. What I didn’t know was how unfun becoming is. Hello, somebody!
I didn’t realize how awkward and uncomfortable and trying, how just crazy and sometimes even confusing becoming is because the reality of it is, we are strangers to who we are becoming. Not only are we strangers to who we are becoming, but we’re also strangers to the process of becoming. There is a person in us that we have never met before who can handle things that we can’t. Oh, hallelujah! I must say that again. There’s a person on the inside of each of us that we have never met before who can handle things that we cannot. So when God is getting ready to do something, He starts squeezing on who we are not so that who we are can come forth. Are you tracking with me? Oh, you’re not ready for that! The Bible says that we have a treasure in earthen vessels, right? We have something on the inside of us, and I would venture to say that what’s on the inside of us, the treasure that is on the inside of us, is the real us. The real us is packaged in the fading us or the lesser us.
In order for God to manifest the real us, He has to crush the false us, and that’s part of this becoming that I’m talking about, that I prophesied about but did not tell you quite frankly because I didn’t know how awkward the process is. Has anybody been through an awkward process this year? It is awkward! But somewhere deep down on the inside of you, you know it’s good. You ever been there? You ever had it hurt so good where it hurts on the outside but there’s something on the inside that says this is good for me? I don’t like it; it doesn’t feel good, but I can’t quit because I’m going through something. I’m going through this fire, and when I come out of this fire, my weight is gonna be up! My weight is gonna be up!
I believe that’s what God is doing; He’s trying to get you weighty. I believe that there is, for all of us in here right now, a prepared place awaiting us. Hallelujah! A prepared place for us, and I’m not even talking about geography necessarily or a house or whatever. I’m talking about a position—a place in the Spirit, a place in life that has your name on it. This is a position, and it’s a position in the Kingdom. It’s a position of strength, a position of valor, a position of honor, and from this position, we will govern, we will rule, we will dominate, we will create, and we will reproduce. Mmm, you gotta catch this. From this position that we are being developed and crushed into, we’re gaining weight for this position, and from this position, we’re going to govern, we’re going to rule, we’re going to dominate, we’re gonna create, and we’re going to reproduce.
From this place, it won’t happen from a lesser place; it can only happen from this place because in order to do those things, you have to have a level of authority. You’ve got to have some weight on you. You can’t be a lightweight. I feel the Holy Spirit! You can’t pay your way into it; you can’t bribe your way into it. It just has to happen, and I believe there’s a position that God is trying to set you in, and that’s why we cannot be so focused on achieving that we don’t recognize that it is necessary that we actually are becoming. So oftentimes, all of our energy and all of our effort is in achieving, but the real thing that you and I need to pursue is being. And I’ve learned that the right achieving is the byproduct of being. It’s the byproduct of becoming.
I believe we’re in a season right now, prophetically, where God is getting ready to bring forth His people’s honor and value. I feel it! And when God does it, it cannot be discredited or disqualified by man. The Bible says that promotion comes from the Lord. He sets up, and I believe that God is getting ready to set up His people unlike ever before. He’s going to do this by allowing us to go through processes that make us honorable and manifest our value. You don’t have to talk about it; you’re gonna be about it. You don’t have to say who you are; you’re just gonna walk in the glory. It’s gonna show up!
And I feel God! The glory is gonna show in rooms that you walk in. Jesus did not have to walk around talking about, „I’m the Son of God, “ and all this kind of stuff. He walked, and stuff moved because He walked. Are you tracking with me? And that’s what God is trying to develop in you! He wants it to be the case that when you walk in, the room starts shaking. He’s gonna keep you from being the one shaking in the room—the one who steps into the room, and all of a sudden, stuff starts shaking, stuff starts reorganizing itself, and reorders itself to fit you! I’m not here to fit into a room. I realize that I’m bigger than any room I walk into, and when I get my weight up, I’m gonna start shifting rooms. There’s rooms waiting for you to shift them. There are rooms that are out of order and out of alignment that God anointed you—that God placed you in this earth to shake up—but you can’t do it if you’re a lightweight!
David’s Battles and Leveling Up
So, what I believe God is doing is something that only He can do, and that is He’s getting your weight up. I’m thinking about David. David had a lot of battles. Before he was even anointed king, he had already had a battle with a lion and a bear—remember that? I’m thinking about David. As you look at David’s life, he was constantly leveling up through conquests, and thereby he was both becoming an increasing perpetual. He started off with the lion, then the bear. He was leveling up each time. The lion prepared him for the bear. The bear prepared him for Goliath. Goliath prepared him to fight a unique type of fight against Saul and his army because this was a crazy fight—a fight that he couldn’t even fight back.
Oh, I feel the Holy Spirit! Some fights—see, God wants to develop you and give you so much wisdom that you realize that some fights you don’t have to fight. Some fights are just wisdom. Sometimes you have to fight yourself to keep you from fighting back because the battle is not yours; it is God’s. It takes a maturity skill set to just navigate a situation because you recognize that your time is coming. And if your time is coming, there’s no man that can stand in the way. So you want to open your mouth and cut somebody up, but you say, „I can’t do that because I’m not gonna squander my future. If I just stand still, I will see the salvation of God.“
He had all types of fights. See, when you know you’re a king, you don’t have to fight the current king. When you know you’re next, your fight is a different type of fight. Your fight is a fight of wisdom; you fight your will, you fight your pride, you fight your ego. I feel the Spirit of God in here! So, we see David. If we look at his life, we see him leveling up fight after fight—the lion, the bear, Goliath, Saul, and his army. He had to fight himself. Remember, I talked about a few weeks ago that he was gonna throw it all away when he was having a rough moment. He had all these fights, and it went on and on but with each battle, he leveled up in his weight.
It’s funny; God will anoint you as a lightweight for a heavyweight destiny. Oh, I feel the Holy Spirit! And it’s confusing because I assume that if I’m anointed for a heavyweight future, that means I’m a heavyweight already. Nah, nah, I’m anointing you where you are, and you’re excited about getting anointed. You’re excited that somebody laid hands on you and you fell out. You’re excited about the prophecy, like, „Hallelujah!“ Not realizing that once those hands were laid on you—and they were the mighty hands of God—it will require weight training for you.
I’ll feel it! That’s where things get difficult. We hear a word about our future; we hear a word to say we’re going to change the game, and we’re excited! And guess what? Man, that’s a weighty word! „You’re gonna change the game! You’re gonna do it like it’s never been done before! You’re gonna do it to the glory of God! You’re gonna shake up a city, a state, you’re gonna shake up an industry, you’re gonna shake up a region.“ Man, that’s a weighty word! And so we receive a weighty word while we’re still getting our weight, and the process to getting our weight is consistent battles.
Oh boy, here we go! Yeah, it’s consistent battles! David, you know, I just spent—I feel sorry, man. I think I got to apologize a lot of times. You know we talk about the blessings of God, but we don’t talk about the battles required to get the blessings. We live in this world where we feel like our walk with God is all about God blessing us, but the reality of it is, if you’re truly gonna be a heavyweight in God, you gotta fight!
Do you know that life is a fight? Can I just keep it 100 with you? I know it’s all about positive, and it is positive here. It’s the positivity and the reality that life is a fight. That if God is for you, who can be against you? That’s the positivity! You can stay positive, but let me tell you something; if your life is not a fight, you are not going where God has called you to go because He did not call you to conform to this world; He called you to transform this world.
Are you tracking with me? That’s why Jesus came! If nothing needed to be changed in the world, Jesus would not have come. But things needed to be changed in the world! He needed to bring order in chaos, so you are not here to go with the flow; you are here to stir some things up! Your life is created to shake things up, and you cannot shake things up without a fight.
And that’s why we’re tracking together! That’s why Paul said, „You know, I fought a good fight.“ You’ve heard that? I’m fighting the good fight! Life is a fight! Life is about battles! It is about battles that in Christ you have already won, but you have to fight! And I need you to stop being so surprised when a fight comes. Shocked! „I am shocked! I cannot believe that I am back in the ring again!“
Do you know that life is a ring? But it can be a ring because you’re a conqueror. It can be a ring because you’re a champion. You were built to conquer, and the only way you’re gonna get your weight up to the point that it is commensurate with your destiny is through you having consistent battles. You’ve got to go from your lion to your bear; you’ve got to go from your bear to your Saul. You’ve got to go through all these consecutive battles, and you’re gonna level up! But the awesome thing is these battles take you step by step! You are leveling up, and it’s gonna be absolutely incredible!
David’s Conquest of Jerusalem and Instinct
I cannot wait to dig into this text, and I want to show you some stuff as it relates to fighting. Let’s go back to verse 4 in 1 Chronicles 11. I love this! The context is David. He’s been fighting. Mmm-hmm. He’s a pro now! He whooped that lion! Maybe the first time he got in the ring with the lion, he was like, „Oh, man!“ But something in his instincts kicked in and said, „It’s either me or you, and I don’t feel like it being me today.“ And he reached inside of himself, and he killed that lion.
Next, it was a bear, and so all the wild—guess what’s happening? He’s getting weight! See, I don’t think that there would have been a Goliath had there not been a lion and a bear. I don’t think that he would have—I feel God—I don’t think that he would have had the weight for Goliath had he not gained weight through conquering the lion and the bear. But obviously, he still wasn’t ready for the fullness of his destiny and the fullness of what he was anointed for because if that was the case, then the moment that he conquered Goliath, he would have been promoted and graduated instantaneously.
So the reality of it is, although he had weight, he did not have enough weight for his destiny! Which means that if you are in a battle right now, it is God’s commitment to you to make certain that you have enough weight for the real battle, which will determine whether or not you become everything that God has called you to become. Are you tracking with me? Mmm, it’s gonna be good today!
So David has this history of battles. He has this history of fighting. I love it! Now he is confident! He is not where he will ultimately be; he is not the King of Israel—not yet manifested. Although he has been anointed for it, there’s a difference between when you are anointed and when you are appointed. Those are two different things; one has to do with the timing of God; the other has to do with the promise of God. The anointing is the promise of God that says, „This is so.“
We mistake the promise of God for the timing of God. The timing of God has to do with preparation because when God puts you in position, He doesn’t want to put you in position as a lightweight. Because, as a lightweight, you will embarrass God, because a wind will come in and move you right out of position, and it’s an utter discouragement, and it’s an utter disappointment to yourself and to everybody around you.
So, there is this thing in God called timing, and timing has to do with when you are ready and when the world is ready for you. Are you tracking with me? There’s a difference between when I’m anointed and when I’m appointed, and the timing is in God’s hands. We have to understand that and appreciate that so that we aren’t discouraged unnecessarily.
I hear God saying to somebody, „The vision is for an appointed time. God is going to manifest it, but on His calendar, not your calendar.“ And He doesn’t want you to be weary in your well-doing because in due season you’re going to reap if you don’t give up. Do me a favor, turn to your neighbor and say, „Get your weight up! Get your weight up! First, get your weight up! Get your weight up!“
So, in verse 4, I love this! So David now is confident. He has embraced the identity of a fighter. He recognizes now, „Oh, wait a minute! I’ve been through a lot of fights!“ He used to complain about the battle, but now he realizes that there is one constant that has shown up in the midst of all these battles, and that one constant is, „I always win!“ It takes you a minute, it takes you a few battles, it takes you a few seasons, sometimes a few years, a few situations until it finally clicks in your head.
And what clicks is what David wrote about in the Psalms when he says, „Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but God delivers us out of them all.“ That is weight itself—that’s weight in and of itself! The thing that is driving you crazy and keeping you up at night, for the person who has weight, he sleeps like a baby. Same situation; different mentality!
I feel God, can I take my time and teach? The thing that you are stressing out about—well, you know what, I might even make it even more personal—the thing that you stressed out about yesterday, you sleep like a baby over today because you have experienced the hand of God to deliver and to bring you out and to bail you out, and you are no longer shaken!
Right? You shake when you have no weight but through the battle, and through you overcoming every battle and through you recognizing and understanding the pattern, „Oh yeah, this is a fight but I was in a fight back then. Yeah, yeah this is Goliath, but you know what? I had a bear yesterday, and I dealt with that bear. And you know there’s a bear, but I had a lion, and I killed the lion!“
Now, all of a sudden, something clicks in my head, and it no longer matters what battle that I’ve faced because I’ve got a faithful God who is on my side who will deliver me out of them all! So let’s roll; let’s roll! When I finally come to a place where I realize I cannot fail and I cannot lose, I am no longer shaken by the battle. Are you tracking with me?
Do I have some people in here right now and God’s track record in your life has been victory upon victory upon victory upon victory, and you’re no longer worried when trouble comes? When thunder roars, you’re roaring back! I feel God! That’s weight! That’s weight! That’s what I’m talking about! Stuff that yesterday would have had you on the brink of suicide, today you’re like, „Oh, and this too will pass!“
There’s something powerful that happens when you’ve been there before; it doesn’t matter whether or not it’s on another level, I’ve been there before. It doesn’t matter whether you’re swimming in water that is six feet or one hundred meters; if you can swim, you can swim! You’ve never been out of the ocean saying, „I wonder how deep this water is.“ Either you can swim or you can’t swim!
If you can swim in three feet, you can swim in six feet! If you can swim in six feet, you can swim in fifty feet! If you can swim in fifty feet, you can swim in a thousand feet! Once you learn how to swim, you are a swimmer! It’s the same principle! But think about the mentality! Think about if you didn’t know that—you’ve heard of people drowning who are six feet tall in three feet of water! Did you catch that? Somebody missed it! You’re six feet tall and you drown in three feet of water! What type of sense does that make?
That was simply the person that didn’t recognize who they were! All they had to do was, „Oh!“ and you would have three feet, half of your body out of the water! That’s what it’s like in God. With God, all things are possible! There is no giant, no weapon formed against you that can prosper! No battle that you will not overcome! Nothing can stop you when you’re in God! You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you! That’s weight! And that’s how you get your weight up!
And David understood that—trying to get through this, y’all keep bothering me, interrupting me! David understood this, and so I love this! In verse 4, we start reading. It says, „And David—this is interesting stuff here—it says, 'And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem.' Now you have to understand the timing of this. There is no temple in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is not to the Jewish people what it was for them later after Solomon builds the temple. It’s not that yet! In fact, Jerusalem is inhabited by this group called the Jebusites; it is not even called Jerusalem!
But somehow, David is instinctively drawn to the place of his destiny! This is good! Can I take my time? He is on this road of becoming, and he’s learned that his life is about battles, and he, out of instinct, finds himself in Jerusalem before it has even been announced to the Jews of what Jerusalem would be for them. It’s crazy! Instincts are a powerful thing when you’re in God! You’ve got to trust that! My pops wrote a book called „Instincts”—you’ve got to get it, but it’s a powerful thing in God!
He finds himself there! Right? It says, „And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land.“ It says, „But the inhabitants of Jeb said to David, ‘You shall not come in here! ’“ Now, if you do not have a fighter mentality, if you do not have a battle mentality, you will look at this opposition as a problem. You would start saying, „Oh, I’m sorry we didn’t mean to interrupt your peaceful habitation here. We’re gonna go down to the next city somewhere.“ But when you realize that opposition confirms that you are on the right road—come on, somebody!
When you realize that the Holy Spirit led you there and you’re fine with that, but opposition shows up there, you have a nevertheless in your spirit! It’s almost as if he ignores the fact that there are people standing in the way of good God’s promise! It says, „Nevertheless, ” he goes up, and he sees it! It’s powerful!
Three Keys for Champions
1. Champions Embrace the Battle
Here’s what I’m saying—I want to make it plain for you. Here’s what I’m saying. Because you’re walking in the Spirit and because you’re being led by God, there are places that you’re going to be just by instinct drawn to. No one told you about it! No one has ever been there before necessarily—no one that has the vision for it like you have. But you’re going to look up, and you’re gonna find yourself in streets and situations and families and all sorts of things. You’re gonna find yourself there, and that’s cool!
I want you to know that destiny works that way sometimes! But what I don’t want you to get confused by—here’s the opposition that shows when you get there. I want you to get to a place, family! Hear me! This is what weight teaches you! I want you to get to a place where when you feel opposition in the place that the Spirit is drawing you to, you don’t relent! You don’t shrink back! You allow that opposition to confirm that you are in the right place!
Oh, God, I feel it because you’re an overcomer! And you know what an overcomer needs to be an overcomer? Something to fight! I feel the Spirit of God! You need something to fight! God wouldn’t even bring the children of Israel into the Promised Land without first ensuring that there was something to fight there! And that’s why you’ve got to get your weight up! You’ve got to get your weight up so that when you walk into a situation and it confronts you and it says, „You cannot come in here!“ you say, „Nevertheless! I slayed the lion! I slayed the tiger! I slayed the bear! I am—I slayed Saul! I slayed that! And I slay myself!“
I’m not worried about you! I’m looking for a fight! Where are my people in God’s house? And you say, „What God has for me is so valuable that I am willing to fight for it! I don’t respect it if it doesn’t come without a fight! I don’t respect it if it doesn’t cost me something! I don’t respect it if it doesn’t challenge me to be better today than I was yesterday! I don’t respect it if it doesn’t cost belief that I’ve never had to invest before! I don’t respect it! You are a fighter!
And if I had three thoughts that will move us along in this message, the first one is this: Champions embrace the battle. They embrace it! I was praying last night, and in the middle of my prayer, I was thinking about how much respect I have for fighters, especially boxers. I’m praying last night, and one of my friends is a champion boxer, a professional boxer—not called him! And it’s funny because our schedules are so crazy, and we always miss each other. But he picks up the phone, and I’m like, „Man, I got some questions! Man, I just wanna understand your world because I’m talking about battling, and I’m talking about getting your weight up!“
And I asked him a question: „Is it normal or common for boxers to continuously level up in their weight division?“ I didn’t know the answer. I know that sometimes people do it once or whatever; they go up for fight or what; I didn’t know! And I wanted to ask a pro! So I asked him, and he said, „Yeah, not everybody does it, but yeah, absolutely!“ And he started naming off people who did it—Oscar De La Hoya went up; I think he went up several divisions—Pacquiao, Tommy Hearns, old-school Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr., all these champions!
Many of them aren’t boxing anymore, but they have a name. These champions—many boxers and many champions, but these particular champions stood out because they leveled up. They understood that they needed to continue to level up in order to be great, and I said, „Wow, I could get that!“ But he said, „You know the answer to your question is yes and no. Some do!“
He said, „But many don’t!“ And I said, „Well, how come?“ I could see. „Well, you know, how come they don’t? What would keep them from doing it?“ And he said something that was powerful. He said, „You know how the average fighter, many times, even though they’re successful, they become comfortable in the weight class where they have dominated for years?“ And I said, „Man, you’re preaching! You’re preaching!“
The ones that don’t get comfortable in a weight class that they’ve dominated for years end up becoming ultimately stagnant in that comfort zone! What’s wrong with that? I mean, if they were champs, that’s cool! I said, „What is the incentive, then, for those who do go up in their weight division to go up in their weight division?“ And he was like, „Oh, it’s a beautiful thing! It’s a personal challenge! Those individuals are committed to excelling; they’re not content! Right?“
They continue to move forward because they feel like there’s something on the inside of them. Sometimes they see a giant on the next level, and they begin to size that giant up and they look at themselves. There’s something on the inside that says, „I can take him! I know he’s in another weight; I know he’s in another division, but I can take him!“ Something in them! It was almost like David looking at Goliath!
And everybody else was afraid of Goliath, and Goliath was talking crazy, but David stopped and David started looking at Goliath, and he saw something that all the other average people didn’t see. The average people saw Goliath taking their head off; David looked and saw himself taking Goliath’s head off! Are you tracking with me? And guess what he did!
I said, „That’s awesome!“ I said, „What else?“ What are some of the other reasons why people go up in their weight division when they continue to level up? And he said, „Well, the bigger the opposition, the bigger the reward! The purse is bigger up there!“ And I said, „Ah, motivation!“ But even what I love about boxers is even boxers have that mentality! They have that level of mentality! What I love about boxers is their life is a fight!
See, for me, physical fights is for emergencies! Hello, somebody! That’s for emergencies, yes! That’s for emergencies! But then, it’s life for them, right? Everything is a fight! So they fight in the natural! They fight in the spiritual! I have a great, great deal of respect for them!
2. Champions Rise in Steps (Psalm 37:23)
The second thing I want to share with you is this: Champions rise in steps! This is so important! You’ve got to get this!
I’ve got a few minutes to give it to you! Champions rise in steps! So there’s a scripture that we all love, and it says, „The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.“ Ordered by the Lord! „The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; he delights in his way.“ That word that was translated good man—actually good was added! It really said, „The steps of a man.“
It’s not a normal man! I’m not talking about gender; this has nothing to do with gender! It’s not a normal man! That word, if you look up that word that was translated man, it literally means a valiant man, a man of valor, a man of honor! It says, „The steps of a valiant man are ordered by the Lord.“
And I thought about something! I thought about something—you know God didn’t take David straight to the top in an elevator! God took David to the top by steps! And I think what happens is a lot of times in our culture, in our world, sometimes even in our generation, we dishonor the steps! We’re looking for the Grand Slam!
And I realized that most of the people that I’ve seen that have won by Grand Slam fall as quickly as they rose! And my word to some in this room, as some are watching via livestream, my word to you is: Don’t underestimate or dishonor the steps! Destiny is built by steps!
We’re sitting, and we’re waiting on the Grand Slam because we are raised in a culture and an environment that is glamorous, sexy, explosive, beautiful, and is shining with lights and all that sort of stuff! So it promotes and sells the elevator, but the elevator is not as guaranteed as the steps! See, the elevator is sexy until you get stuck in it!
The elevator is beautiful until it breaks down! And then when the elevator breaks down, guess what? You’ve got to go back to Old Faithful—the steps! Hello, somebody! So I don’t build my life with the expectation of the elevator; I build my life upon the steps!
I get used to the steps! One of the things that I’ve learned is if you come up by steps, you have earned the right to use the elevator! Are you tracking with me? Because you didn’t build on the fast track; you built step by step! There are some in here, and I want to say this, and I’m gonna move on!
There’s somebody right now, and you have been forsaking the steps, and that’s why you are not where you want to be! There are certain things that you say, „These are beneath me, ” and you’re waiting for the Grand Slam, and you haven’t even taken first base! No, you don’t like it! That’s okay! I’m just talking to people who are watching via livestream! Right? That’s okay!
I hear God saying, „Look for the steps! The steps of a valiant man are ordered by the Lord!“ And that word order literally means those steps are erected or those steps are set up. Which means that they’re not just there like that! They will only be erected or they will only be set up when you take the first one!
So could it be—I’m sitting back here and I’m waiting for an elevator? I’m waiting for a private jet to take me? I’m waiting for some sort of train to take me? And God is saying, „You need to look for the step!“
Oh, I feel the Holy Spirit! Because God wants to build something lasting on you! And the steps are what gives you weight! The elevator does not give you weight! The steps are what give you weight! You’ve got to step! And that will give you weight! Your legs will become stronger, and then when you get up there, you can stand!
So that whether it’s elevator, which represents acceleration, or the hard way, you’re good! I know how to handle the steps; I know how to handle the elevator! I am good! Because I haven’t built myself with this lightweight mentality! I will go through whatever you tell me to go through!
3. Champions Hold Their Ground
The last thing is this: Champions hold their ground.
So let’s go back to verse 12. Let’s go to verse 12, and I’m gonna say this, and I’m done. So David is—oh wow, man, there’s so much here! Mmm, it’s so unorthodox! Guess who doesn’t care? I want to show you something quick! Go back to verse 4—go back to verse 4, roughly! Okay, okay! It says, „And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem.“
This is an important point! „And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land.“ But the inhabitants of Jeb had said to David, „You shall not come in here!“ Remember that? „You shall not come in here!“
David’s like, „Dude, come on! I was born for this!“ Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion; that is the City of David. Then it says, „Now David said, ‘Whoever attacks the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain! ’“ And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, went up first and became chief! Then David dwelt in the stronghold; therefore they called it the City of David.
Let me stop right there! So David, he has been walking with this band of men; they called them his mighty men. He has been walking with these guys, and many of them have been exposed to his victories. They’ve been exposed to his battles, and he’s walking with them—they’re walking with him! The Jebusites roll up on David! David’s like, „Get out of here!“ And he takes the land!
And then David stops and says, „Hey, whoever wipes them out, I’m gonna make them captain and chief.“ This guy named Joab steps up and he’s like, „I’ll do it!“ He wipes them out and he becomes David’s right hand! What is the lesson there?
I think that what David was doing was qualifying his team. He determined that they had failed the Holy Spirit. It is such an important lesson because David is on his way to destiny; he is on his way to the fullness of what God has for him. He has already learned that life is about battles, about standing up to challenges, about standing firm and not being afraid, and fighting whatever comes your way. But he wants to make sure that those in his circle have the same spirit as he does. He could have utterly annihilated them by himself, but he saves a little room to see if those who are with him truly share his spirit. In fact, he was testing everyone because he spoke to them, but only one stood up. I believe the lesson for you is to make sure you qualify the spirit, motives, and intentions of those you assign to your team on your way to destiny. Are you tracking with me? You must stop and say, „I know that we hung out together when I was doing crazy things, but are you and I of the same spirit now?“ You have to learn how to position people.
I was thinking about David. David had an army of a few hundred men, then he had what he called his mighty men, which consisted of about thirty, and then he had the three, which were about three. So David had a team of three, a team of thirty, and then a team of several hundred. Jesus had the same thing. Jesus had the multitudes, healing and touching multitudes. Then Jesus had the seventy—remember, he sent out seventy—and then Jesus had the twelve. Jesus also had the three: Peter, James, and John. Finally, Jesus had the one: John.
What I have learned about destiny will resonate with someone—get this lesson; it’s very important. What I learned about destiny is that it is like chess, and you have to know where to place people and when to place them there. Oftentimes, you do this through testing people. I’m here to tell you I’m a master at testing people because I need to know that when things get tough, when I’m in a battle, I can lean on you, and I’m not going to see your elbows and your back. I want to know that if I’m investing in you, you are of the same spirit. In this culture, there are chameleons, and you cannot be unequally yoked. I need someone who believes in the Spirit of God; I need someone who will call down on my behalf. We don’t have to be in the same industry, and we don’t have to have the same financial status, but I need to know you are tried and true. I need someone in my life—anybody need a Joe? I’m not going to lower my standards because I’m lonely. I’d rather be by myself than have someone who will not support me when it’s time to support.
Are you tracking with me? So, family, with destiny, you have to learn how to position people and reposition people. I don’t care how long you’ve been in that place; it doesn’t matter to me. My destiny is not sympathetic to history. Oh, you didn’t catch that! My destiny is not sympathetic to history. Are you checking what I’m saying? The only loyalty my destiny has is to destiny itself. Are you tracking with me? You might have been number three, but I may have to move you to the twelve. If you act crazy, you could go down to the seventy, and the next thing you know, you’ll be lost in the multitude. The space that I allow to be occupied by a counterfeit could be occupied by a Joab. Are you hearing what I’m saying? You have to move the pieces like chess. Destiny is too important, and you squander your destiny because of history.
Can I say one more thing before I move on? When you have to reposition the pieces, understand that you are the chess master. In other words, you don’t need anyone’s approval to reposition them on your chessboard. Are you tracking with me? You are the chess master! We often start feeling sympathetic and say, „Well, I don’t agree with that.“ You don’t have to; I agree with myself, like the Trinity—me, myself, and I. In Jesus’ name, I don’t need your permission; this is for my destiny. I love you; I’m not better than you, but I’m playing chess while you’re playing checkers.
Now, if we go back to verse 12, it says as David is talking about his mighty men, he mentions Eliazar, the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men. He says he was with David at Pas-Dammim, where the Philistines were gathered for battle, and there was a piece of ground full of barley. The people fled from the Philistines, but they stationed themselves in the middle of that field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.
Here’s what I’m saying, and we’re done. Imagine this picture: God leads you by instinct to this land. You get to this land, and you find it is full of barley—hallelujah! It’s a blessed land; it’s wonderful. You are standing in it; this is for somebody right now. You’re standing in it—it’s prosperous, it’s blessed, it’s full of opportunity. But there’s a caveat: the Philistines are there too. The Philistines represent those who have no covenant with God; they are in the land. Some people’s response was to flee, which I don’t understand. I’m an optimist; I’m the guy who sees the glass half-full.
Here’s what I mean by that: if you look at the three dynamics of this scenario, one dynamic is that the land is good; it is full of barley. That’s grain; it couldn’t get better than that! The second dynamic is that I’m there. I’m not waiting to get there; somehow, by the provision and providence of God, I am present. That makes two good points. The only negative thing is my enemy is there too. So the ones who fled discounted the two positives for one negative. But the one with a battle mentality—oh hallelujah—let me tell you something. I’m so excited because we’re in a moment ripe for the taking.
See, I’m not mad at average people getting out of the way—that means there’s more room for me! I’m not mad that some are fearful; I wish they weren’t, but you know what? To each his own, get out of the way, because my math says this: it is a fruitful one, and I am there. I am the majority in this situation. Because I have a battle mentality, I am not discouraged by the fact that there is an enemy there. In fact, I expect there to be an enemy in the place of my destiny.
What I love about it is the Bible says that they stationed themselves right there, and I believe that this is for someone in here right now. You are in a wealthy place, but you haven’t become wealthy. You are in a place of opportunities, but you haven’t found your opportunity yet. I hear God saying, „Don’t you run away; don’t you go to Plan B! You plant yourself right there in that environment!“ I feel the Spirit of God saying, „You fight for it; you defend it; you overcome it, and one day you are going to drive out every obstacle that stood in your way.“
Look at the word choice that’s used. It says that the people fled, but they stationed themselves in the middle of that field. Some of you have been on the outskirts of that which God is calling you to stand flat-footed right in the middle of, but it gets better. It says they went into the middle, stationed themselves in the middle, and said, „This is mine.“ Then the word choice says they defended the field. Did you catch that? You don’t defend something that does not belong to you. You don’t defend something that doesn’t belong to you; you defend what you know is yours.
If God has led me to this field, and He has put me in it, it belongs to me. What field has God placed you in? What field has God placed you in that there’s a part of you that wants to flee because of the Philistines, not realizing you’re standing in the field? God told Joshua, „Every place that the sole of your feet shall tread upon, I have given to you.“
Prophetic Declaration and Closing Prayer
I want you to hear me clearly; I’m done. God is opening doors for weighty people. He is opening doors. You have to remember, promotion comes from the Lord. He’s not going to open a door for lightweight people.
Holy Spirit speaking here: I want you to stand up and receive what I’m about to say. I’m telling you what I know; I’m seeing it. God wants to put weight on you because when you have weight, you’re not easily moved. God trusts people who are not easily moved. Check this out; He’s going to put weight on you, and that weight not only keeps you from being easily moved by battles but also keeps you from being easily moved by blessings. That’s where God wants to get you. He wants to bring you to a place where you’re not moved immediately by the check. Can I talk to some real people in here right now? I don’t care how big it is—my boss wants to write you a check for seventy; you’re like, „I need to pray about it!“ Not like, „Oh for sure; this is Jesus.“ That’s not weight; that’s lightweight stuff.
That means I have a price. Weighty people don’t have a price; they realize that they are priceless. Sometimes, the battle in your life is to destroy your price. I’m talking to some real people. What God is doing is real; it’s powerful. You’re not moved because you say, „If God doesn’t come with that, I don’t want it.“ Come on, somebody; you say, „The one thing that I desire—what will I seek after—is that I might dwell in His house all the days of my life.“ That’s the type of weight I’m talking about—weight that will turn down money!
Like we used to say in dominoes, come on, y’all pretend like I don’t play dominoes. Not all money is good money! I want good money; I want good friends; I want a good career; I want a good destiny; I want a good future. The Bible says that if you follow me in Joshua 1, you will have good success. There’s a difference between success and good success, but only weighty people understand that. Proverbs 10:22 says, „The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.“
So here’s what I’m saying prophetically, and this will be confirmed in your life. Denver, hear me clearly; it’s going to be confirmed in your life. God is getting ready to promote people who have weight. He’s going to place them in very high and strategic positions; He’s going to move them straight to the center of the field of fruitfulness, weighty people. There will be battles, and things will come against you; I’m not going to sugarcoat it. But remember, you were born for it!
You, blessed, will always be the majority. Are you tracking with me? Some of you have had things stripped from you; it’s your price. You can’t have a price because you were bought with a price. You were bought by the priceless and precious blood of Jesus Christ, who loves you, who died for you, and who rose again that you might have victory in this life and never die. You’re already bought with a price; you can’t sell yourself; you’ve already been bought.
Weight—weight; that’s what God is doing in this season. He’s handing out weight, and what does that weight look like? Fights! But when you realize you were born for the fight and that in Christ, you can’t lose this battle, you roll up your sleeves and say, „Let’s rock!“ Because obviously, you are standing in the way of my next. So, therefore, let’s get this over with.
Are you tracking with me? No compromise! You’re going to have weight; you praise God for blessings, but you’re not going to be moved by blessings. It’s not going to keep you up at night; I’m serious; it’s not going to happen. You’re going to sleep, nor will difficulties or battles keep you up at night—nor blessings! Because you realize you’re bought with a price; you’re on a mission. You don’t have to kiss up to anyone; just be real, just be weighty!
I want to pray for you. If you feel like the Holy Spirit is speaking to you specifically, I just want you to lift your hand. I want to come into agreement with you. Bless you! I see you, Denver, and you lift your hand as well; I see you.
Father, we didn’t come to have our ears tickled; we came to have our hearts stirred. We came to be activated by the power of who You are. Father, You’ve spoken some things—many things—over Your sons and daughters, and it has reached them in ways only You can. So, Father, I pray that You would affirm and confirm this word in their hearts and minds. Father, I thank You that You’re giving context to some of the trials they’re facing; it’s not unto death; it’s unto weight.
And I thank You, God, that You’re giving a greater weight of glory that Your sons and daughters might walk in, that they might be worthy of what You have called them to. I thank You, God, that You seal this word in their hearts and minds. I want you to repeat after me: Heavenly Father, I thank You for this word. I receive it, Lord. I appreciate the process to weight. God, I thank You for Your love, and I thank You for Jesus.
Thank You for making Him who had no sin, no limitations, no weakness. Thank You for making Him all of my limitations and all of my weaknesses and taking those things, putting them in His body, and nailing them to the cross, putting them to death once and for all. And just like He was raised up with power and victory, because I’m in Him, I’m raised up too with power and victory. I can therefore do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
There is not a battle greater than me, so today, I choose to stand flat-footed, regardless of circumstance, because I will become weighty and become qualified for Your great destiny. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen.