Finding Your Root | Woman's Conference 2025

Have you ever noticed that nobody is born angry, bitter, or broken? Something happens along the way—a disconnection from the source of life. In this powerful message, we explore the transformative truth from Romans 11:16: "If the roots of a tree are holy and set apart for God, so too will be the branches."

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let me just open with prayer, father, just so
thankful for every heart that'sin this room.
Father, I just thank you thatyou're present, holy Spirit.
You are present to be the trueteacher tonight, to open the
eyes of our understanding, tohelp us to see and receive.
I just thank you, lord, thatyou will rest on every heart,
minister to every heart.
We will not leave the same waywe came in.

(00:21):
We always grow in your presenceand you impart things to us,
and I'm specifically andespecially been praying that
there would be impartations thisweekend that would be lifetime,
lifelong Father, justphenomenal things that maybe
they'll know tonight, butthey'll definitely know in the
days, weeks and months ahead.
The Lord did something, and soI just thank you, father, for

(00:44):
ministering to every heart inJesus' name, amen, amen.
So I was thinking about acouple of things that I wanted
to share with you, because howmany of you know, like every
parent you know wants the bestfor their child.
I would say I don't thinkthere's a parent that doesn't
want the best for their child.

(01:05):
I would hope not anyway, but Iwas thinking about this, and
there's a lot of broken peoplein the world.
So if parents really want thebest for their child.
How come we have so muchbrokenness, right?
And so I was thinking aboutthis If you encounter a broken,
a hard, a grumpy, an angry or amean person, then we should
pause and ask ourselves whathappened.

(01:26):
Because they were not put intheir mother's arms that way.
That's not how they came intothe world, right?
So what happened from thenuntil now?
It's a good question to ask.
Something happened, and it'llbirth some compassion in us
actually, instead of gettingangry or frustrated or offended.
Well, actually, there's a placein us that'll be pulled toward

(01:48):
them for their deliverance, fortheir healing.
And so, as I was reading Romans, chapter 11, we're not going to
spend a lot of time there, I'mjust going to read one verse to
you from there.
We're going to look at someother things but as I was
reading through Romans chapter11, it's really Paul talking
about Israel and how they werecut off and how, you know,
gentiles were grafted in, and so, just you know, he was

(02:10):
encouraging them about that andabout the grace that was upon us
to be grafted in, and hisprayer was that they would
return.
And so, but I came across thisverse in Romans 11, 16.
I like the Passion Translationverse in Romans 11, 16.
I like the passion translation,and it says if the roots of a
tree are holy and set apart forGod, so too will be the branches

(02:31):
.
Okay, if the roots of a treeare holy and set apart for God,
so too will be the branches.
And so that's not a hard visualfor us to imagine.
But can we just say this, thatthe old saying might be true
that you're the product of yourraisin?
Right, we're the product.
That's what this verse issaying, if we want to put it in
layman's terms or Texan terms orwhatever you want to say.

(02:52):
But whatever we're attached to,we're the product of that,
we're the product of that.
And so that's why I think whenwe see broken people, there was
something else broken.
It was broken down the line.
Because if we're attached towhat is holy, if we're attached
to the vine, then that's goingto flow through us.

(03:13):
I remember EW Kenyon in his bookTwo Kinds of Righteousness.
He said no branch is any closerto the vine than another branch
.
So isn't that wonderful, Likewe all get to partake, another
branch so.
So isn't that wonderful, likewe all get to partake.
I don't get more of the vinethan you get, or you get more
than me.
If I want to partake of thevine, I can, but the but the
same is true that if I detachmyself, or I pull away from the

(03:35):
vine, or I don't spend time withthe vine, then guess what?
Then?
Then I'm not receiving what Godhas for me, but that also means
I'm not passing it down either.
Okay, and so do y'all remember.
It's an old song.
It's called when I Think Aboutthe Lord.
Do y'all know that song?
I'm not a singer so I'm notgoing to sing it to you, but it

(03:56):
went like this when I thinkabout the Lord, how he saved me,
how he raised me, how he filledme with the Holy Ghost you
remember this song.
How he healed me to theuttermost, how he picked me up
and turned me around, how he setmy feet on solid ground.
I love that song because when Ihear those words, I literally
see pictures of my life, I seemoments of my life, and so

(04:21):
that's what I've come to sharewith you, not my story,
necessarily, but I want to tellyou some things that I've
learned, that have attached meto the vine and really played a
big part in where my life istoday Because my parents, I love
my parents.
My parents were married threetimes each and I'm grateful to
tell you today that they're allserving Jesus.

(04:42):
My dad's now been in his thirdmarriage for 34 years and my
mom's been just single for aslong.
But I wasn't saved until I was21 because we weren't practicing
Christians.
My mom was raised in aChristian home.
I might have told some of thislast year, but she went to a
church that felt like you werejust supposed to discover Jesus

(05:04):
on your own.
They they weren't active intelling you about it, so we
didn't talk about Jesus in ourhome, even though she was a
believer and, uh, so verydifferent than the home that
we've raised our children in.
We've actively talked about itand, of course, we're pastors,
so I would hope we would do thatRight.
But, um, we just celebrated our27th anniversary, so we're on
y'all's heels right here.
Y'all celebrated your 30th thisyear, so good, but all of that

(05:28):
to just say the roots of myfamily tree were not very strong
when I was growing up.
They weren't very strong.
But here's the good news is thatGod's word says all that can
change.
Doesn't matter how you start,it's how you finish right.
And so let's go look at thisverse again.
If the roots of a tree are holyand set apart for God, so too
will be the branches.
I love the message translation.

(05:48):
It says behind and underneathall this, there is a holy,
god-planted, god-tended root.
If the primary root of the treeis holy, there's bound to be
some holy fruit.
Some of the tree's brancheswere pruned and you wild olive
shoots were grafted in.
Yet the fact that you are nowfed by that rich and holy root

(06:10):
gives you no cause to gloat overthe pruned branches.
Remember you aren't feeding theroot, the root is feeding you.
I love that.
We're not feeding the root, theroot is feeding us.
Amen.
And so I can testify that, twogenerations later, god's been
faithful, god's been faithfuland the connection was made.

(06:33):
And so my children are allserving the Lord, they're all
married, they have children.
We have five grandchildren andone on the way, so number six
will be born in August, andthey're all serving God, and I'm
so grateful for that.
But I remember being a young momwith my oldest son, and maybe,
maybe the other two were around,I don't.
There's a big gap there.

(06:54):
The oldest is nine years olderthan the youngest and but
somewhere when they were allpretty little, I remember
sitting in my my quiet chair andjust reading my Bible and
praying, and I could notunderstand or fathom how a
person could come to love Jesusif they didn't have to go
through something terrible, ifthey didn't have to fall far

(07:17):
away.
Because that was my story,that's.
All I knew is that I was so farat the bottom and Jesus rescued
me.
He lifted me up and so I waspraying, because nobody wants
your children to have to gothrough tough things.
Nobody wants that.
I do understand, being inministry, that sometimes that's
where people have to find theirstart.
You have to just love them andpray for them.

(07:38):
But when they hit the bottom,the good news is there's only
one place to look, and that's upright.
And so we pray for people.
But I was sitting in my chairand I was praying for my
children and I just said, lord,I don't know how you do it.
I cannot even fathom that theycould be raised in a home where
we talk about Jesus and thatthey could really appreciate
what you did for us, that theycould really value their

(07:59):
salvation if it's come so easyto them and all of my children
I've learned.
You know we learn and we growright, and so now I can stand
before you or tell any familyGod has to.
Every person has to encounterJesus on their own, no matter
what their background is,whether it was like mine or like
my children who were raised ina Christian home.

(08:20):
My daughter, who is now 25,would tell you, stand up here
and tell you.
In fact, we started a podcast.
Y'all should listen.
She's really wise for her age,but she will tell you that she
feels like she got saved at 19,.
Even though she was in my home,she was at Rhema with Allison
and really what happened is sheknew Jesus.
She knew she had a call of Godon her life.

(08:40):
She wanted to pursue that, butshe had an encounter with him
where now Jesus wasn't just thethe uh, her parents' savior, but
her savior.
She had to have that.
So every one of us have to havethat.
Well, what happened?
She got really connected to theroot, right, she got connected
to the root.
So I want to.
I want to talk about thesethings.
So the first one when I thinkabout how he saved me, one of

(09:03):
the first things I realized isthat I need Jesus every day,
every day, not just at churchright, every single day.
And you know this word saved.
It means to be found, it meansto be, you know this.
It means to be born again.
Well, what is to be born iswhen a baby has their start,
right?
So salvation is to be bornagain.

(09:24):
So it's a fresh start.
And the good news is is thatsalvation is not a one-time
event, right?
I don't know if you'vediscovered that, but listen to
these definitions.
This is the Greek word sozo.
Salvation means deliverance,healing, preservation and
soundness of mind.
Anybody needed that yesterday.
You needed some healing orpreservation or soundness of
mind, like he just shows up.

(09:45):
And so every day is this freshday with Jesus.
And so I learned very quickly,even before we went into the
ministry, that I couldn't wait.
I was too hungry to wait forthe pastor to spoon feed me on a
Sunday.
I needed to get in there andget some food for myself.
I needed what Jesus wasoffering.
And so in Luke 19, verse 10, itsays for the son of man has

(10:07):
come to seek and to save thatwhich is lost, which is where we
all started, right?
That's how we all started.
We were originally disconnectedfrom the root.
So what did he do at salvation?
He came and he made thatconnection with us and so
salvation attached us to Christ.
But I dare say most of us Idare say most of us took two

(10:28):
steps forward and one step back.
Anybody start your Christianwalk that way.
Two steps forward.
I did it yesterday Like youcould be thinking you're doing
good and then all of a suddenyou do something stupid and
you're mad at yourself, likewhere did that come from?
I actually was teasing with myhusband because he was a part of
my stupidity or he witnessed it, and I said here's what's crazy
, babe.
I said yesterday morning youcould go read in my journal how

(10:50):
I was like Lord, I just want tobe wise, I just want to be wiser
, I just want to be able to like, help people.
Like in the moment I listen tosome people.
I go my gosh, the things thatcome off there.
It's so good and I'm like, Ihope I'm like that.
And I said, the minute I askedfor wisdom, god had to reveal
something dumb in my heart to gowell, if you asked for it, then
let me help you, because thisis, this is hiding and so.

(11:11):
But he's so good, but Iwouldn't know that if I wasn't
attached.
Right, I have to be attached,and so so salvation, god doesn't
.
I want to say this God doesn'twant us wallowing in our past,
but he doesn't want you toforget either how you started.
I've been saved now for 33years, no 35, 21 to 56, whatever

(11:34):
the math is.
I've been saved for 35 years,but I still treasure it like it
was yesterday.
I want to remember, I neverwant to forget or take for
granted how special and howprivileged I felt that he came
into my heart and saw past myjunk and loved me anyway.
And so you never want to forgetthat, no matter how old we get.
Amen.

(11:55):
Romans 2, verse 4 says do youdespise the riches of his
kindness, his restraint andpatience, not recognizing, or,
I'll add, not remembering, thatGod's kindness is intended to
lead you to repentance?
And let me just say this it'smeant to lead you back to him.
If you ever find yourselfgetting a little disconnected,
just put yourself in remembranceof salvation.

(12:16):
It's supposed to lead you backto him every single time.
And James 1, 21 says therefore,ridding yourselves of all moral
filth and the evil that is soprevalent.
Humbly receive the implantedword, which is able to save your
soul.
Now, I love that, because whatis your soul is your mind, will
and emotions.

(12:36):
That's the part of us thatreally needs salvation.
So when I say salvation is aone-time event, I'm not talking
about Jesus going back to thecross again, I'm not talking
about not understanding what Ireceived.
I'm just talking aboutreceiving again and again and
again everything that hepurchased for us amen.
And so the implanted word isable to save our mind, our will,

(12:58):
our emotions.
But guess what?
That means I need Jesus everyday, and the Bible says he is
the word made flesh.
So what do I need?
Means I need Jesus every day,and the Bible says he is the
word made flesh.
So what do I need?
I need this every day.
Every day, I partake of hisword, amen.
And so I can say that now thatthe word saved me daily, daily,
the word saved me, amen.
So when I think about how heraised me, all right, how he

(13:22):
raised me.
Now, this is funny, but I had tolearn how to walk before I
could run.
How many of you had to learn?
I just told you I have fivegrandchildren.
Well, two of them are older,but I have three that live right
there in Seminole with us andthey're all toddlers.
We got a three-year-old orabout to be three next week.
We got a two-year-old and wegot a one-year-old.
I got lots of toddlers right,and so you think about a toddler

(13:45):
, because they're learning towalk, they're learning to run,
they love to come to Pops andMammy's house and play and we
love watching them.
My little grandson that's goingto be three next week.
We don't know how he figured itout because, unless just
watching it on TV at my house,because his parents are not very
athletic, but he will get a Dothis on the ground and then

(14:10):
he'll take a step and he'll dothis.
And he's two and a half andwe're like his dad is artistic
and creative and, you know,doesn't do any of those things.
We're like where is he learningthis?
But I was videoing himyesterday.
I said we're going to save thisvideo because someday when he's
playing like you know, reallyplaying in high school or maybe
beyond I'm going to say lookwhat he was doing at two and a

(14:39):
half, you know.
But but they're, they'relearning, they're, they're,
they're learning these thingsand so, as they're learning that
, that's a spiritual parallel toour lives, because the word
raised means to cause, to setupright, it means to stand on
your feet, and that's what youdo with the toddlers, right,
like okay, let's get back up,and you help them up again.
And so second Corinthians four,verse 13 and 14 in the New
Living it says but we continueto preach because we have the
same kind of faith the psalmisthad when he said I believed in

(15:01):
God, so I spoke.
We know that God, who raisedthe Lord Jesus, will also raise
us with Jesus and present us tohimself together with you.
I could have easily just chosento read to you verse 14, but I
intentionally decided to readverse 13 because that scripture
is tied to the speaking part ofour faith, and so I told you

(15:24):
earlier, we're a product of ourraising, meaning, as God raised
Jesus, he raises us up too.
But guess how that happens?
There's got to be a connection,not only to the vine through
the word, but there's got to bea connection not only to the
vine through the word, butthere's got to be a connection
through our words.
The speaking part of our faithis such a vital, vital part of
maturity, and so we're going tohave to speak up.

(15:45):
I learned to speak up, Ilearned to speak out, and you
know it's awkward when you'redoing some of these things for
the first time, like as a newbeliever, and so I think
sometimes then we can take itfor granted and I don't know
about you, but like I'll be in ameeting like this and I'll get
inspired by something and belike man, what did I forget?
How did I forget?
How did I let that slip?
How did I stop saying my dreamsand speaking things out by

(16:07):
faith?
Like his promises, his word istruth.
We are saved and sanctified byhis word.
And these are just elementaryprinciples, according to the
apostle Paul, that we should bespeaking our faith, but what we
tend to do is speak ourcircumstance.
I remember when my brother wasgoing to Raymond.
I was a brand new Christian andI went to go to his graduation

(16:28):
and I had a cold.
But I really wanted to be there.
I was really excited for himand, but I guess I was be there.
I was really excited for him,but I guess I was really
negative.
I was talking about my cold andblowing my nose and constantly
talking about it, and he wouldsay Daphne, you're healed,
daphne, you're healed.
I'd be like I know and I'dsneeze or whatever, and anyway,
and finally one day I guess Igot on his last nerve Anybody

(16:49):
ever get on your nerve and I goton his nerve.
He was like Daphne, you arehealed.
And I was like I know I'm goingto be healed, but I'm dealing
with all this.
He said no, no, no, you gotthis backwards.
And so he took me over to Mark11, where it talks about you
need to say to your mountain beremoved, be cast into the sea.
And because I thought that Iwas healed when it manifested

(17:10):
and he told me, he said, daphne,everybody knows you're sick, we
can see your mountain, we cansee what you're struggling with,
but you need to speak to yourmountain.
And that was really the firsttime my eyes were open to that
and I have never forgotten itand applied it to so many other
areas of my life.
Because we face mountains,right, we stumble because of
mountains, we stumble because oflittle things too, but what are

(17:32):
we doing?
Are we?
Are we complaining about thatthing or are we speaking to that
thing?
Okay, so I want to speak tothese things.
And so in Ephesians, chapter two, verse four through six.
It says God, who is rich inmercy, because of his great love
, with which he loved us evenwhen we were dead in trespasses,
made us alive together withChrist.
By grace, you've been saved.

(17:52):
And what did he do?
He raised us up.
He raised us up, he picked usup and he said come on, come on
Now.
What does that look like?
Sometimes that looks like causewe literally stumbled.
Sometimes that looks like causewe're.
We've got an illness in ourbody, we're laying on the couch.
Sometimes that that just lookslike depression or whatever.
Well, what will he do?
He's going to raise us up.
He's going to say what are yousaying?
What are you speaking?
Let me help you on your feetright.

(18:13):
And he says raised us uptogether, made us sit together
in the heavenly places in ChristJesus.
So I want you to imagine thiswith me.
I want you to picture a childthat's been put on his father's
shoulders.
Okay, you can picture that,right, like, like my little
grandson I was talking aboutMilo.
His dad loves to pick him up,throw him in the air and he gets
on his shoulders all the time.

(18:34):
Well, that's you and us, that'syou and me, that's you and me
on our father's shoulder.
We are the product of hisraising right, that's where
we're seated, and so things lookdifferent on the father's
shoulders.
Things look different fromright there, right.
And so then you and I have todecide to stay there.
I'm not going to crawl down andgo back here, I'm going to stay
there.

(18:54):
Well, how do I do that?
I stay in the word.
I make sure his word is comingout of my mouth, despite the
circumstances.
Guys, we have circumstances andwe could talk about it all day
long, and I dare say you livewith people or you work with
people.
That's what they like to do.
They like to talk about it allthe time.
Well, what are you saying?
Because you can be a catalyst,even in someone else's life, to

(19:14):
try to redirect those things.
Well, I had a young man that wasat the church this past weekend
and he kind of had a negativeattitude, and so immediately I
was just like trying to redirect, you know, but Jesus is good,
jesus is for you.
You're a winner, you know.
And trying to redirect becausesometimes we get so consumed
with our things.
Well, what had he done?
He had climbed off the father'sshoulders, he had forgotten his

(19:36):
place in Christ.
Okay, so we don't want toforget our place, amen.
So when I think about how hefilled me, let's talk about that
one for a minute, how he filledme with the Holy Ghost.
Listen, how many of you realizeyou need the Holy Spirit every
day to go to Walmart?
Right, that's a.
We laugh at that, but it's sotrue.
Like I need it in Houstontraffic.

(19:57):
I bet y'all need it in Houstontraffic.
You know, I just have to saythis.
I was telling them a moment ago.
But we went to Egypt a couple ofyears ago and we're working
with a ministry over there and Iwas talking to the school
director's wife and somehow sheasked about where I lived and I
said, oh, seminole has about8,000 people.

(20:18):
She looked at me.
She said 8,000, that's a wholecity block where she lives.
There's 20 million in her city,you know, in Cairo.
And I said I know, I know, butyou know, so I can only imagine
in my little town I can ziparound and do whatever.
But here I'm like I'm gladPastor Jay is driving because I
don't want to drive in thistraffic.
But how many of you know we needthe Holy Spirit for a lot more,

(20:41):
a whole lot more.
What does it mean?
To be filled?
I love this.
It means to be suppliedabundantly.
It describes filling a vesselor a hollow place with something
.
I really like that Sometimes wecan feel hollow, right.
So what does he do?
He fills us.
We know these scriptures.
Acts, chapter one, verse eightyou shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon youand you shall be witnesses to me

(21:04):
in Jerusalem, judea, samaria,to the end of the earth.
That word upon is so perfectbecause every believer, when
they're born again, receives theHoly Spirit.
Right, he's our helper, he'sour counselor.
But what this verse is talkingabout is the overflow.
So if I had a cup of waterright now and I showed it to you
, well, we could point and saythe water is in the cup, but if

(21:26):
I kept filling the vessel, right, with more water, it would
eventually reach the top andoverflow.
That's a pond, it came out in apond, and so the Holy Spirit
helped me see it this way, onetime that you and I can be a
container of Him or he could bea container of us.
And that's the difference.
We want the baptism of the HolySpirit.
So He'll be a container of us.

(21:46):
I want to be yielded to Him,and one of the things that I
think is significant in thisverse is that Jesus said when
the Holy Spirit has come uponyou, you shall be a witness.
You shall be a witness.
A lot of times in our Christianfaith we talk about going and
witnessing, and we should shareour faith, but this verse says
when you're so filled with theSpirit, you'll naturally be a

(22:07):
witness.
What does that mean?
People will see the peace onyou.
When you shouldn't have peace,they'll see the joy on you.
When you shouldn't have joy,they'll recognize there's
something different about you,and I want what you have.
Amen, you'll be a witness.
And we know in Acts, chapter 2,on the day of Pentecost, verse
2, it says and suddenly therecame a sound from heaven as of a

(22:29):
rushing mighty wind and itfilled the whole house where
they were sitting.
Do you know?
Only one person in your houseneeds to be filled with the
spirit, to fill the whole house.
Come on, are you praying in thespirit at your house?
Are you calling those things?
Because people can walk intoyour home and there's just a
different kind of peace there.
Right, your children who areacting crazy can come home and

(22:50):
be like there's something here,right, it just ministers to us.
The Holy Spirit is present tominister.
I honestly, I do not know whereI would be without the Holy
Spirit.
I was thinking about it and, ifI'm honest, I think I might be
divorced and that's reallystrong.
And I'm not saying in anotherlife, I'm saying as a pastor's
wife.
We went through some rockyplaces, things are hard, and if

(23:13):
you didn't have the Holy Spiritand you didn't have the
connection to the root, to theword, then that's what happens
is that we end up just leavingand quitting.
And I had the example that wasmy, sadly, that was my default,
because I saw my parents.
So it's like I'm out, I'm out,right, and so if I hadn't had
the Holy Ghost going, no, you'renot, no, you're not, you're not

(23:34):
going anywhere, right, andhere's what the Holy Spirit
helped me see too when twobroken people get together,
there's a lot of sharp edges,right, and we don't mean to, but
we hurt one another.
Well, the Holy Ghost is thehealer.
He brings healing, he bringsrestoration and he helps us.
And it takes two people healing.

(23:55):
He brings restoration and hehelps us, and it takes two
people.
My husband would get up hereand say his part is equal to my
part.
Right, but think about theseven names of the Holy Spirit.
I wanted to share this with youbecause it's helped me so many
times.
But in the Amplified the Biblesays that he is our helper, he
is our comforter, he is ourcounselor, he is our
strengthener, and I could gothrough each one.
What does that mean?
He does?
He helps us, he comforts us, hecounsels us, he strengthens us.

(24:18):
He's called the intercessor andthe advocate, and both of those
are so great because we havethe voice of God on one shoulder
.
It really is that picture ofthe angel and the devil.
We got the voice of God on oneshoulder, we got the voice of
the enemy on the other shoulder.
Well, the Holy Spirit's on bothsides.
What's he doing?
He's trying to remind you whatGod says about you, who you are

(24:38):
in Christ.
He's always bringing the wordback to our remembrance, guiding
us into all truth.
But what's he doing over hereas your advocate, when the
devil's telling you you're worthnothing, you can't do nothing.
He's your defender.
He's your defender and he'sgoing to bring the word back and
go.
No, you can do all thingsthrough Christ, jesus Favor
surrounds you like a shield.
No weapon formed against youshall prosper.

(24:59):
And so he's just constantlyworking on our behalf.
And but my favorite might bethe last the seventh name of the
Holy Spirit.
The Amplified says he's thestandby, and so I'm going to
borrow a story Brother Hagentold this years ago.
You know, he was a pastor formany years and then God called
him to go teach his people faith, and he went out on the road to

(25:21):
be an evangelist, and when hefirst went out, he would be out
on the road, you know, six oreight weeks at a time, and so he
said he would have to stay.
You know, times were differentback then, and so there weren't
hotels or fancy places to stay,and so he would often stay, you
know, either at the pastor'shouse or at a church member's
house, and usually they didn'thave an extra bedroom.

(25:42):
It was like kick out the kidsand you get this twin bed, you
know.
And so he was very grateful forthat.
But it made it challenging whenhe needed to pray, when he
needed some quiet time for theselong meetings, and so he went
to the Lord in prayer and hesaid, lord, if I could just have
a little camper that I couldpull behind my car.
You know, then I would becomfortable there, I could just

(26:02):
rest there, I could pray there.
And so the Lord blessed him andhe got this little camper.
And so his testimony is, youknow, as he was traveling,
pulling this little camper, hesaid you know, when we were on
the flat roads of Kentucky, hesaid I'd almost forget that
camper, that trailer was behindme.
He said, but we'd hit the RockyMountains, he said.
And as soon as we startedpulling, you know, that trailer
on those mountainous places, hesaid it was putt, putt, putt,

(26:25):
because I just had a littlefour-cylinder car.
He said it would slow me down.
He said, so I went back to theLord very grateful.
Thank you for the trailer.
Can I have a six cylinder car?
I think that's all they madeback then.
Can I have a six cylinder car?
And so a little bit of timepassed and he got to upgrade his
car and he said but I noticedsomething.
He said, here I had this sixcylinder car.
And he said but on the flatplains of Kentucky, he said it

(26:48):
was just the same, I almostforgot about the trailer that
was behind us.
He said.
But when I noticed the twoextra cylinders this is when we
hit the hard places, when we hitthe rocky mountains he said
that those two extra cylindersjust kicked in and we just kept
on going as if we were on flatground.
And he said that's the HolyGhost.
He lives on the inside of you.

(27:08):
He's always available.
He's always standing by readyto kick in when you face
something hard.
And we sometimes are on theflat, smooth ground.
Everything's good.
We forget that the HolySpirit's there until what we hit
a hard place and we need him.
And so to me, the standbycovers everything else.
He's always standing by and weneed him every day.

(27:30):
Amen, more than just Walmart,we need him every day.
Now, when I think about how hehealed me to the uttermost I
love that phrase because Ineeded wholeness.
We all need wholeness.
Right why we have holes.
We came to Jesus with someholes, but to be healed means to
be made whole.
It means to be made well,successful, good.

(27:53):
Or I like this one restored.
I really like this wordrestored, because anytime you
see that word restored, I hopethat it triggers you to think of
Genesis, chapter one, becausehow God created man and in the
garden is what his originalintent was.
And so what Jesus did is he cameto restore all things.
That's what he did, and thatwas the conversation that God

(28:16):
had in Genesis, chapter three,uh, with the enemy.
Right, you remember theconversation.
He told him.
He said he's, he's gonna uh,how's it go?
He's going to bite your heel,you're going to bruise his head,
something anyway.
But he prophesied of it and hetold him.
And so, from that day forward,satan was nervous because he
lived with God in heaven.
Lucifer was kicked out right,you remember the story.

(28:37):
So he was kicked out, so he wasnervous about this, and so we
don't have actual scripture onit, but we can piece enough
together to know what happened.
Because I'm just going to runover here this isn't in my notes
, but it's so good I want toshare with you Mark, chapter one
.
We have this story where Jesusin Mark one.
It's verse 21.

(28:58):
It says they went intoCapernaum and right away he
entered the synagogue on theSabbath and began to teach.
And they were astonished at histeaching, because he was
teaching them as one who hadauthority and not like the
scribes.
Now, this is important becausethe scribes were those who made
copies of the scriptures, of thescrolls, and so, just by
repetition, they knew the wordsof the scrolls right.

(29:20):
But if they got up to read it,it was just like Charlie Brown's
teacher Y'all remember her andso there was no authority.
So, but when Jesus got up thereand he started speaking from
the scriptures, all of a suddenthere was some authority and
they recognized how different itwas.
And so what happened was therewas a man in the synagogue that
was filled with a demon spiritand he got very agitated at the

(29:43):
words of Jesus, same words thatthe scribes would read, and it
didn't bother him why.
When Jesus read it, jesusbelieved it.
Jesus knew the word, hebelieved the word and it was.
It empowered him.
But watch, this is how we canpiece things together.
Because this man was soirritated by this, he looked at
Jesus.
Now it's funny what he says whatdo you, what do you have to do

(30:04):
with us?
Jesus of Nazareth.
So what he's doing first ishe's looking at this man, and
that's how they identifiedpeople.
They didn't call him by a lastname, they call them by a
location or a skill or somethingyou know.
Jesus of Nazareth.
He's looking at this manstanding in front of him, but
watch what he says next.
He says have you come todestroy us?
Wait, wait, wait.
I know who you are You're theHoly One of God.

(30:27):
Now, who told that demon?
Who told the demon that a holyone of God would be coming?
Except God, except Jesus, Imean let me get my character
straight except Satan, right,because God told Satan I'm going
to send somebody.
I'm going to send somebody.
And so you know, from Genesisthree until this moment, they'd
been talking about it.
He's coming.
We don't know what he's goingto look like, we don't know when

(30:49):
he's coming.
And we see, though, through thescriptures, though, that what
did Satan do?
He had an agenda to kill babiesbecause he knew that's how he's
coming.
That's what God did.
And we see in Revelation thatSatan was mad at the woman who
gave birth to the male child.
He went to war with her becausehe knew she could recreate, she
can recreate.
And so what did Jesus do?

(31:10):
He came into the earth as theson of God.
He was the Emmanuel God with us, right in the flesh.
Well, what did Jesus do?
He came into the earth as theson of God.
He was Emmanuel God with us,right in the flesh.
Well, what did he do?
He came legally.
That's what Satan couldn'tstand is that he came legally,
got a body.
In Hebrews, chapter 10, it sayssacrifice you did not desire,
but a body you have prepared forme.
That's what Jesus said.
Why was that important?

(31:30):
Because what keeps you here onthis earth, this body, to be
absent from the body, is to bewhat Present with the Lord.
So what keeps you here, thisbody right?
And so we have so many peoplethat have this physical body,
that have kept them here on theearth, but they're disconnected
from the things of God, andthat's not God's plan.
Jesus came to restore all that.

(31:51):
So when we talk about healing,yes, there is physical healing,
but I personally need heart.
I needed heart healing, Ineeded soul healing.
I had wounds, right, and sohealing comes in all shapes and
sizes.
And so mine came in front of mymirror.
I believe maybe I shared thatlast year, but just in case
there's somebody here thatdoesn't know that story but I

(32:12):
was born again, maybe just twoyears.
I'd brought a lot ofcondemnation into my walk with
God because I was pregnant whenwe got married, but I was
already born again.
So I just thought man, I can'teven be a good Christian, I
don't know how to do this.
And I was.
I felt like I disappointed ourparents and just God.
I felt like I disappointed Godand I could not understand how

(32:33):
he could still love us, love meand my mess.
And one day, in my bathroom, hejust stood me in front of my
mirror and he said you tell her,you love her and you forgive
her.
Because that was the first timethat I realized it wasn't God
who was mad at me, it was Daphnewho was mad at me.
Jesus had already forgiven me.
God had already forgiven me.
Jesus had saved me, but I neededthat healing and in Psalm 107,

(32:55):
20, it said he sent his word andhealed them and delivered them
from their destructions.
Delivered them from theirdestructions, isn't it
interesting?
Your testimony may be similar,but I'd been born again for a
little bit, and it took the word.
He sent his word.
I was in his word.
I already told you I neededthis word daily.
I realized what I needed dailyand it was the receiving of his

(33:18):
word that I finally reached apoint where the word was going
to work in my life save me frommy own destructions, not what he
had done.
I won't even blame the devil, Ijust had stinking thinking that
wasn't lined up to the word.
And then one day he was able toopen the eyes of my
understanding and help me to see.

(33:41):
I also, when I got born again atthe age of 21, I had lived with
hypoglycemia my entire life.
I don't know if anybody knowswhat that is it's the opposite
of diabetes and so my bodyoverproduced insulin, and so I
was constantly nauseated.
Or if I wasn't careful withwhat I ate, I could faint, I
could, my blood sugar could drop, but this nausea was my number
one symptom.
I just didn't matter if he ateor didn't eat.

(34:02):
I was constantly nauseated, andI got born again in the summer
of 1990.
And my mom?
Her faith was renewed, and soshe was excited with me, and so
we started going to churchtogether.
And then there was a conferencethat we went to and they prayed
for healing, and I sat in achair, just like you, and it was
like faith comes by hearing,and hearing by the word of God.
I was like you can be healed.
What do you mean?

(34:22):
You can be healed Like.
I've wanted to be healed mywhole life, you know.
And so when they offered aprayer line and my little feet
just took me right up there, Ididn't even know what I was
going for, but I was like soready for it and to this day I
still don't know if anybodytouched me.
But I fell out under the powerof God, didn't even know what
that was, but I felt somethingwarm from my toes all the way up

(34:43):
to my head, and then I was onthe floor and when I got up I
wasn't nauseated.
And the next day I wasn'tnauseated, and the next day I
wasn't nauseated, I was justinstantly healed.
It was just the grace of God.
And I've been healed ever since.
And so I've experiencedmiraculous healing, I've
experienced soul healing, andI'm so grateful and what I would

(35:03):
tell you is that, no matterwhat kind of healing you may
need, it comes from God's wordfirst and foremost.
Like that was a miracle, simplybecause it was the grace of God
.
But I think I was getting theword, I was believing the word
that they were speaking, and hesaid if we'll believe, all
things are possible to him whobelieves, amen.
And so knowing and believinghis word, believing the truth of

(35:26):
his word, brings healing.
In John 17, verse 17,.
Jesus, this is his prayer.
In the Garden of Gethsemane hesaid thy word is truth.
Sanctify them by your word,sanctify them by the word, make
them holy by the truth.
And 1 Peter 2, 24 says hehimself bore our sins in his own

(35:47):
body, on the tree, that we,having died to sins, might live
for righteousness, by whosestripes you were healed.
And I love that, because that'snot a quote of Isaiah 53.
It's so similar, right?
But Isaiah 53 says that by hisstripes you are healed.
What was Isaiah doing?
He was looking forward to thecross and then Peter was past

(36:09):
the cross and he was lookingback where it happened on that
tree.
We were healed.
On that tree is whereeverything happened.
And that's why and that's whatI learned with my brother when
he was trying to help me with myconfession is that you don't
have to say I'm healed todaywhile you're still dealing with
symptoms.
You're not lying when you saythat what are you doing?
You're pointing back to thecross, where it happened.
That's where it happened.

(36:30):
By his stripes I am healed.
And if I was healed there, I amhealed today and I'm claiming
that healing.
I'm walking in that healing,amen.
But I love that he mentions thatwe might live for righteousness
, because I want to make thestatement Jesus took care of sin
and everything that sinproduced.
Jesus took care of our sin andeverything that sin produced.
Now, I'm not saying your sinproduced, whatever challenge

(36:54):
you're going through, I'm justsaying in the garden, when man
fell, sin produced a lot ofthings, right?
Well, jesus came to take careof not only the sin but
everything that sin produced.
Amen, amen.
So when I think about how hepicked me up and turned me
around anybody, everybody beenpicked up, turned around I just

(37:15):
picture a little girl justdancing in her dress.
You know, don't you love that?
When we had two boys and mybrother, my brother I'm sorry,
my husband has a brother andthen his dad only had brothers.
So we were, at this point,three generations of boys, and
so I prayed and I would havebeen thankful for a third little

(37:36):
boy.
I already had a name picked outand everything, but I said,
lord, I'd really like a littlegirl, and this was before we got
pregnant, and so I was close tomy mom and my grandmother, and
so we did not know that we werehaving a little girl until two
weeks before she was born.
Every time they did a sonogramthe cord was in the way her legs

(37:58):
were crossed something wedidn't know and I was having
some early contractions and Iwas in the hospital or being
checked and I remember theultrasound guy was like do you
know what you're having?
And so I told him the story andhe goes oh, I could show you, I
know.
And I guess she was ready toshow us.
So anyway, we were delightedthat we were having this little
girl.
But I tell you that storybecause when she got to be about
two years old, she's justspinning around in her little
dress and doing these things andTodd literally looked at me.
He said did you teach her to dothat?

(38:20):
I said, no, you don't have toteach them to do that, they just
do that on their own.
But he just thought how doesshe do that?
And so I think sometimes youknow that's just what we do in
the spirit.
Thank you, lord, we're just,we're so grateful, right.
But but I learned he picked meup, he turned me around and and
what I learned was and thissounds kind of maybe opposite of

(38:42):
what I'm trying to communicate,but I'll tie it together I
learned one bath isn't enough.
One bath isn't enough.
You know when we, when my kidswere growing up my husband loved
big dogs, and so you know howit is.
You give your kids a bath andthen you let them go out in the
backyard to play with the dogand they come in and you need
another bath.
All of a sudden you smell likedog right and so, in a spiritual
sense, I'm talking about beingcleansed from the stain and the

(39:05):
guilt of sin.
When you realize what you'vebeen cleansed from, it makes you
want to dance.
There's a freedom when you getthat revelation.
Amen.
And so at salvation, we werewashed, we were cleansed, we
were made new right.
And then what did we do?
We went outside.
We went outside First, john 1,9.
If you don't know that verse,you need to.
You need to highlight it, youneed to look at it often.

(39:28):
It says if we confess our sins,he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and tocleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
Cleanse us from allunrighteousness.
Listen, it's simple.
Talk to Jesus, just talk to him.
I have a friend her name isMichelle and her husband's name
is Johnny, and she was our youthpastor for many, many years and

(39:50):
she would say this.
She'd tell the students shesays I go to bed every night
with two Johns, and they allknew Mr Johnny.
And they just look at her.
And she says I go to bed withmy husband, johnny, but I go to
bed with 1 John 1-9 every night.
I'm not waiting until it buildsup to try to remember
everything.
I want to confess to the Lord.
I just talked to him about thatday.

(40:11):
Lord, I wish I'd been kindertoday.
Lord, forgive me of this.
Talk to Jesus.
It's really that simple.
It shouldn't be condemning to usbecause he has such an open
heart and receives us.
And this word unrighteousnessis so great because in the
Hebrew, when we look at thesewords in Greek and Hebrew, they
can have slightly differentmeanings, although they have the

(40:32):
same outcome.
But I love this.
In the Hebrew, unrighteousnessmeans what ought not be, what
ought not be.
So we want to talk to the Lordabout what ought not be, what
showed up, that shouldn't be,what is out of harmony with God.
But guess what the good news is?
If he cleanses us of all theunrighteousness.
What's left, righteousness right.

(40:54):
What ought be, what ought be?
That's terrible grammar.
What ought be right, what oughtto be.
Amen, righteousness is whatought to be, and so we want to
learn to repent.
We want to turn and go theother way, that's.
All that means is we want toturn, and transformation is a
result of God's faithfulness.
He will not disown you and I.
He wants us to talk to him.

(41:14):
And I just found such freedom.
He just picked me up and heturned me around.
I just found such freedom whenI learned this principle, when I
learned that I don't have tostay in that condemnation, I
don't have to carry that guiltLike I can give it to him over
and over and over again, and wejust grow in that.
And so I want to make thisstatement to you, because

(41:35):
Christianity is not a change oflife, it is an exchange of life.
Can I say it again Christianityis not a change of life, it is
an exchange of life.
Now, that's significant to me,because I tried to perform, I
tried to work for my salvation.
I felt like perfection is whatwould please him.
Well, he wasn't asking me tochange my life, he was asking me

(41:58):
to exchange my life.
We know 2 Corinthians 5.21,that God made Jesus, who knew no
sin, to be sin for us.
There's that exchange so thatwe could become what he was,
which is the righteousness ofGod.
Amen.
And so when we learn that, thenwe're not trying so hard, I can
just talk to him and receivewhat he's offering.

(42:20):
Right, if I have frustrations,then I can give that to him and
receive of his peace.
All these things are tiedtogether because what am I doing
?
I'm drawing on the vine, I'mdrawing on what he has given to
me, and so these two kind of gotogether, because when I think
about how he set my feet onsolid ground, that's where he
wants you to get.

(42:41):
Everybody say no more rollercoaster living.
How many of you are tired ofthe roller coaster?
Yeah, when life is like aroller coaster, who wants to do
that?
I don't even ride the rollercoaster like the real one, like
I'll hold your stuff, you go,get on it.
All right, I'll be the one thatstands down here, okay, but uh,

(43:02):
but what?
What am I talking about?
I'm talking about balance.
I'm talking about balance,possessing firmness and
stability, composure and ease.
No more roller coaster living.
We have to stop it.
We don't have to live that way.
Did you know that we don't haveto live that way and there's
this sweet lady that goes to ourchurch and years ago she told
me.
She said you know, you need totell Pastor Todd that if he ever
sees anybody sleeping in church, not to be offended or hurt,

(43:26):
Because some of us live in suchchaos.
It's the only peace we know.
She said I just come to churchand be like whew why she lived
on a roller coaster, accordingto her confession or her
testimony.
But I don't know if you knowthis.
But JD Vance, who is our vicepresident, do y'all know about

(43:46):
his book that became a movie,hillbilly Elegy?
I actually saw the movie andheard about the book long before
he became our next vicepresident, and the reason it's
really a tough read, to behonest with you.
But what made it so popular isthat it was relatable because it
was about generationalrollercoaster living.
That's what it was about, abouthow his family had so much

(44:09):
dysfunction and he painted apicture, like you know, just
that programs and things likethat we're not going to rescue.
You're going to have to get tothe root.
You're going to have to get tothe root of the issue and
families are going to have toget healing to change those
generations right and so it wasrelatable.
But you and I don't have tolive on a roller coaster.

(44:30):
Isaiah 40, verse 4, says that inChrist, every valley shall be
exalted, every mountain and hillbrought low, the crooked places
shall be made straight and therough places smooth.
So I love that because that'sour life.
If you found yourself in avalley or a you know, a mountain
or a crooked place or a roughplace, like in Christ we can

(44:50):
find the smooth place.
We can always find that in him.
Chaos can be going on around uson every side, but we can find
that place in Christ, and Ifound it every day in the word,
every day praying in the spirit,every day talking to Jesus,
reminding myself of the promisesof God.
I love Psalm 40, verse onethrough three.

(45:12):
It says I waited patiently forthe Lord and he inclined to me
and heard my cry.
He also brought me up out of ahorrible pit.
Are you picturing all thesetogether Like there's the
stability, there's the raising,there's the foundation.
He brought me up out of ahorrible pit, out of the miry
clay, set my feet upon a rock,established my steps, and that's

(45:32):
not all.
He put a new song in my mouthPraise to our God.
Many will see it in fear andwill trust in the Lord.
What is that?
You're a witness.
You're a witness.
He lifted me up out of thatmiry pit, set my feet on a rock,
established my steps and thensaid that's not enough.
I'm gonna put a song in yourheart, I love.
I'm so glad, miss Carol, thatyou can sing so good, and I'm so

(45:54):
glad that I was by the drumsand they're so loud, because I
love to sing loud, but I don'twant anybody to hear me.
Just Jesus, just Jesus.
So if somebody else is singinggood, my husband's our praise
and worship leader.
If he's singing good, I cansing along with him and but but
I love to sing.
Why?
I have a song in my heart.

(46:14):
I have a song in my heartbecause he established my steps
and he put my feet on a solidrock, and that's what any of us
can have.
And I've been in moments ofchaos and yet I can find that
place again.
I'm on the rock.
I'm on the rock of my salvation, amen.
But what am I doing?
I'm speaking these things, I'mbelieving these things.
I was thinking about thisearlier, so I guess I'm supposed
to share it, but years ago Iwas speaking.

(46:36):
I've had the sweet privilege ofministering at some really
unusual places.
One time I was a speaker at theBaptist Ladies no, what was it?
The Baptist SecretariesConvention.
I was like, y'all know I'm notBaptist.
Yes, that's fine.
Okay so.
And then a Mennonite conference, a ladies conference for
Mennonite, I know, isn't thatphenomenal.
And but anyway, this one time Iwas asked to go speak at a

(46:59):
ladies conference and it was aretirement community and I
didn't realize that.
So when I showed up, I'm theyoungest one there, and so it
was so sweet and all theselittle it just felt like grandma
, everybody was a grandma, andand so end I was teaching on
righteousness and I rememberthis lady I don't know how old
she was, but she was elderly andshe came up to me and she said
you know what makes you so good?

(47:20):
And I didn't know how to answerthat.
And she said because youbelieve this stuff, that's what
she said to me because youbelieve this stuff.
And I laughed like you did andI was like well, of course, I
think that's what we're supposedto do.
She said I've been a believer along time and I've had many
preachers and I don't think theybelieve it.
She said I'm not convinced theybelieved it.
Well, guess what, when you haveexperienced what I've

(47:43):
experienced, you better believeit.
You better believe I believe it.
Amen.
He set my feet on a rock, heestablished my steps, he put a
song in my mouth.
Amen, but that's a witness.
When you believe this stuff,it'll show up in your
conversations, it'll show up inyour prayers, amen.
And my dad, my sweet stepdadthat raised me, he never had any

(48:07):
natural children and he's stillin my life and and when his, he
also was remarried after my momfor 35 years and she passed
away five years ago, his, hissecond wife, and she was Baptist
and took him on like littlechoir trips and stuff.
So he was hearing the word and,and you know, his daughter now
is a pastor in the ministry andso I would talk to him.

(48:29):
But there was always this likeOK, you know, and never a full
conversation.
And the day that she passed wetalked about it again and I said
, dad, you know that you can seeher again, I know where she is
and you can see her again.
He said I want to believe.
And I said well, this, I justlaid it out to him about how
simple it was.
But the Holy Spirit knowsexactly what you need to say.

(48:50):
And I said you know, dad.
I said I said there was someonethat approached Jesus one time
and said help me with myunbelief.
And I said, you know, he didn'tturn him away.
He said absolutely I can dothat.
And that just opened my dad'sheart because he thought he
needed to be like as strong as abeliever as I was in that
moment.
But see, he was seeing me 30years into this right.

(49:11):
So sometimes our faith is sostrong that others don't know
how to take that step.
But you can show them how totake that step and I'm happy to
say he gave his heart to Jesusthat day.
And now it's so sweet when Icall and check on him.
We don't live in the same city,but I call him every week and
check on him and his tone haschanged, his words have changed
and he'll be like hey, you needto pray for you, know something.

(49:33):
And so I've started doing thatto him and I'm like, dad, hey,
I'm going out of town and I'mgoing to be ministering, you
need to pray for me.
He said, ok, ok, I'll do that.
I'll do that, you know, and Ijust love it and so, and then
I'm more open with him than I'veever been because we just got
back from Turkey.
I'm telling him all about it,everything we ministered on, and
I can hear he's just quiet onthe other end like really,

(49:53):
really, you know.
So he's a believer, butsometimes you've just got to
share your faith in simple ways,in simple ways, and help people
, amen.
How many of you know FrancineRivers?
Do y'all know her?
She's an author.
I love her books.
You know.
My favorite is redeeming love.
Y'all read that one, that's.
I mean, that's the one thatstarted her whole thing.
It's such a good book.

(50:15):
It's a little immature, butit's such a good book.
And I just related to it becauseit was about Hosea and how in
the scriptures, how God used aprostitute, like marrying, the
prophet married the prostitutejust to show that the love of
God would bring someone back in.
Anyway, I'm not going to givethe whole story, but I was

(50:36):
thinking about this becausethere's this one line where he's
talking to this woman who is aformer prostitute and she had
had a rough childhood, she hadbeen thrown into this lifestyle.
And this is what they said youdidn't choose the life you had,
but you can choose the life youwant, and I think that's what we

(50:57):
can take for ourselves and Ithink that's what we can tell
others If they're broken, ifthey're angry, if they weren't
given the right root system.
Guess what?
Jesus can give you a differentlife, amen.
You can build your life on afirm foundation I thought we
were going to sing that songtonight.
But you can build your life ona firm foundation, amen.

(51:20):
What did Jesus tell us inMatthew, chapter seven, verse 24
through 27?
Therefore, whoever hears thesesayings of mine and does them, I
will liken him to a wise manwho built his house on the rock
and the rain descended, thefloods came and the winds blew
and beat on that house, but itdid not fall, for it was founded
on the rock.
Everyone who hears thesesayings of mine and does not do

(51:43):
them will be like a foolish manwho built his house on the sand,
and the rain descended, thefloods came, the winds blew and
beat on that house and it fell,but great was its fall.
What do we learn from this?
Rains will come, but they don'thave to knock us down or knock
us out, right, they don't haveto.
Psalm 18, 29 says for by you Ican run against a troop.
By my God I can leap over awall, or I like to say this or

(52:06):
over an obstacle, right,whatever is thrown your way,
listen, by him we can runthrough a troop we can leap over
.
This is Superman faith.
This is Superman faith.
Now, this is not the same aswriting the Superman at Six
Flags.
That's a big no for me.
But Superman faith is when youcan jump over those things.
Amen.