John K. Jenkins Sr - The Danger in Neglecting Your Destiny

I’ve been in this series on the season of transition. This is our season of transition-say it: «season of transition.» That 's what I’m in; this season of transition. I have been declaring to you for the past couple of weeks about the fact that God is transitioning us. It means moving from one place to another, from one dimension of life to another. God is moving you from one element of life to a new place. This means several things; it means you have to get prepared for something new. As a matter of fact, that was one of my first messages on New Year’s Eve: we talked about preparation. Do y’all remember that? Preparation! God wants you to be prepared. I also talked about relationships. You have to be prepared; you have to connect with the right people at the right place and at the right time. Relationships! Then last week, I talked about helping others. Thank you, one soul person; where was that person right there who remembered helping others? God is calling us to help others; that’s what we’re supposed to be doing. Those have been the three messages so far, and today, I want to hit a new piece. I want to look at Joshua chapter 18. So, if you have your Bibles, turn to Joshua chapter 18. It says this, beginning in verse 1: «Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh and set up the Tabernacle of Meeting there, and the land was subdued before them. But they remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance.» Then Joshua said to the children of Israel, «How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? Pick out from among you three men for each tribe, and I will send them. They shall rise and go through the land, survey it according to their inheritance, and come back to me.» I love this! This is the season and time that God is calling us to be in. Let me re-read verse 3 because this is what I want to talk about. Then Joshua said to the children of Israel, «How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?» That 's what I want to talk about today: the dangers of neglecting your destiny. Say that! Look at the person sitting next to you and say, «There 's a danger in you neglecting your destiny.» Last night, I did something that I don’t do very often on Saturday nights: I watched a football game; I watched the NFL matchup where the Los Angeles Chargers played the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was a playoff game, a wild card playoff game. On Saturday night, I watched it, and at halftime, the score was Chargers 27, Jaguars 0. That game was over! The quarterback for the Jaguars had thrown four interceptions in the first quarter; it appeared to be a lopsided game. But when the second half began, something shifted. How many of y’all saw the game? Let me see a show of hands. One, two, three-okay, some of y’all did, but most of y’all didn’t. By the end of the game, the Jacksonville Jaguars had come back from being 27 points behind and won the game! It’s unbelievable! As a matter of fact, when they kicked the field goal with three seconds left to win the game, my son and I were watching the game together. My son Jimmy and I were both watching, and when they kicked the field goal and the game was over, we both said the same words together — unplanned and unpracticed: «Unbelievable!» It was unbelievable that a team at halftime was down 27-0 and came back to win the game. They beat the Los Angeles Chargers; they came back and won. We were shocked! And why am I telling you that story? Because what God is going to do in your life and where He’s going to take you-it may seem like you’re behind now. It may seem like you’re losing now; it may seem like you can’t win now. But what God is about to shift and cause to happen in your life, people are going to look at you and say, «Unbelievable! What happened?» How did that team come back and win, being 27 points behind? That 's unthinkable in the field! You know what happened? Somewhere during the process of the game, some of the players on the Chargers thought the game was over and they neglected to do what they were supposed to do. In one of the touchdowns, the Jacksonville Jaguars' quarterback, I can’t remember his name-what is it? Trevor Lawrence-rolled back in the pocket and threw a bomb touchdown pass to a receiver who was all by himself! There was nobody around him, no one checking him, no one following him, nothing! He caught the ball and ran into the end zone for a touchdown. He was unchecked! Somebody neglected to check him; somebody neglected to fulfill their role…