Keion Henderson - Detained by Destiny

Luke chapter 3, verse 19, and then we’re going to read Matthew chapter 11, verse 2. I’m just going to explain to you what’s happening here. In Luke chapter 3, verse 19, how many of you have ever heard of Herod the Great? Herod the Great was a man who thought he rivaled God. So much so that if you go to Jerusalem now, there is actually a mountain that he leveled, and he made all of his slaves move the dirt to another place just to prove that he could build a mountain like God. He died, and when he died, his authority was split among his four sons; each son received one-fourth of his authority. Well, this Herod that we’re talking about today-Herodias-is the one who arrested John the Baptist, the guy we talked about on Sunday. Okay, are you all with me so far? Alright, go over to Matthew chapter 11 as you leave Luke 3: 19. If you get to verse 20, he arrests him and puts him in jail for one purpose: to shut him up. I want you to get that; somebody might put you in prison to silence you. Alright, go to Matthew 11: 2. Are you with me so far? Matthew 11: 2 says, „Now when John had heard…"-somebody say " heard"-"in the prison the works of Christ.» You see, sometimes God has to put you in prison so you can hear. I can guarantee you that there are probably at least 200 people in here right now who are looking at prison from a confinement perspective, and God says this is the only place I could get you still, quiet, and long enough to set up and listen to Me. Who am I talking to so far? Is this sermon already good enough for you? So, John heard in prison; he didn’t hear when he was free. He heard in prison, and then he sent two disciples. Here 's where he messed up: he sent two disciples and said, «Are you the one we’re looking for, or should we look for another?» You see how quickly people get discouraged by you when their situation changes? Like, you’ve been baptizing for Jesus all this time, now that you have a sudden sentence of a few days, you question if He is who He said He is. So, I have a problem with people who change their perspective of you based on how they feel at the moment. Like, «Ain 't I the same cat? Aren’t I the dude who was there when you needed me?» So now you’re in your feelings, and suddenly I 'm not the same. Am I the one or should you look for another? You’re looking for another? That 's my advice, but I ain’t Jesus. And He said to him, «Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?» Verse 4, and Jesus answered them and said, «Y’all better go tell John, ' Don' t you remember? The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor receive the gospel.' And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in My name.» I want to talk on this subject, and I know everybody in here knows what this feels like: you feel like the walls are closing in, and time is running out, and you’re in a season where you feel like something just needs to break loose. Is there anybody? Who am I talking to so far? That 's actually the side effect of destiny. I want to talk about, for the next few moments: Detained by Destiny. Just touch somebody and say, «This is not punishment; you are being detained by destiny.» You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. Maybe I’m naive, but I sometimes believe that when you do good, good things ought to happen. And I know, I know, I know it ain’t always that way, but I don’t care how saved you are or how long you’ve been in church, you don’t do good to experience bad. If that were the case, you wouldn’t treat people good who treated you bad. Somehow you think that if they treat you bad and you treat them good, then God is going to work it out in your favor. And He will, sometimes. Sometimes, you just have to go through it. Sometimes you’re going to meet a person, you’ll be upfront with them, and you’ll be honest; you’ll give them the truth, and they’ll still lie to you. Sometimes you’re going to love a person and give them all you 've got, and once they get tired of you, they’ll take your goodwill and move on. It’s the truth. You can keep tithing; I want you to, but that won 't stop that. I want you to come to church every Sunday. I just don’t want to give you false hope. I don’t want you to think that just because you come to church every Sunday with a pure heart, you will always meet pure-hearted people. And I don’t want you to think that just because you were good to them, they will be good to you. Sometimes, reciprocity is not part of a person’s response to you. There are some people who will come into your life purely for the opportunity, and once they win, you lose. But sometimes, losing difficult people is not a loss at all.