Keion Henderson - Head Strong

I only have a few moments with you, and I didn’t want to spend 15 minutes giving you an introduction. I wanted to dive right into the Word of God. Absalom, in his stuckness, was still part of our series, «Unstuck.» He has been fixated on what Absalom has done. For two years, he waited to respond to something that upset him. He was stuck, as we say, «stuck on stupid.» He was stuck on the fact that he was going to get revenge for his sister-stuck on it. Have you ever had something in your head that you just couldn’t let go? He was stuck on it: «I’m going to get Amnon back for raping my sister.» The Bible says that he got a couple of people together and waited until a group of men fell asleep. He came out, took some knives, and cut the foreskin off the men. They were sore, and he actually achieved his goal: he killed his brother. It took him two years to do it. I wonder, before I even get into this text, what has the devil been using for the last 24 months to keep you stuck? What thing, what event, what feeling, what emotion, what perceived robbery, what breakup, what heartache, what situation has so fixated your sights on it that for the last two years, two months, two weeks-whatever the timeframe is -it has rendered you useless and prevented you from moving on? I know it looks rewarding because the Bible lets us know, Pastor Torrence, that just four years after the incident where Amnon raped Tamar and the two years prior where he got revenge, the Bible tells us that in four years, he becomes king. So it looks like his grudge has paid off. He starts off the story as a son and ends it in this context as a king. It appears that being angry for a long time has paid off. It seems he has gotten even and gotten ahead because he starts as a son, and now he declares himself a king. Now, let me tell you, if you declare yourself a king, you can always attract someone to your kingdom. You don’t have to be strong to do it; all you have to do is declare it. The Bible lets us know-and I’m condensing the story so that I can reach my point-that after Absalom avenges his sister’s rape by killing his own brother, after a two-year waiting period, four years later, he declares himself king. Here 's a lesson: he begins to believe in himself. The Bible tells us that the people in his father’s kingdom turn on David and begin to support Absalom. I want to give you a lesson about believing in yourself. Even though he doesn’t have a position, he has a following because he believes in himself. I wonder how many things would come to track you down if you would just believe in you. If you would just say, «You know what? I’m gifted. I’m talented. I’m worthy. I’m able. I’m capable.» Look, it’s the law of attraction: when you believe in you, other things begin to believe in you. I’m not telling you to be Absalom; I’m just taking a page out of his book, and I want to tell you to believe in you. Teach your children to believe in themselves. Teach your daughter how to believe in herself; after you give her makeup tutorials, teach her how to believe in herself. After you teach your son how to cut the grass, teach him how to believe in himself. After you tell the maid how you want your socks folded and how you want your T- shirts folded, tell her to believe in herself. After you finish going through the rejection and insecurity of your life and what your parents did or didn’t do for you, and after you’ve gone through the aches and pains and anguish, can you please come out believing in yourself? I want you to just say, «I believe in me,» and that’s not wrong; it’s not arrogance. I’m not telling you not to believe in God, but I’m telling you to believe in you. God put this gift in earth and vessels; He has placed something in you. It’s called a treasure, and you’re not going to be able to get it out until you believe. Nobody else will believe in you until you believe. And you, Pastor, you don’t know what I’ve been through, but I do know you can believe in yourself. Pastor, I’m sick. Well then, believe you’re going to be healed. Pastor, I’m lonely. Well then, believe that company is coming. Pastor, I don’t know where my next idea is coming from. Believe that God is going to give you an idea that will create wealth. I just want you to touch yourself and do something you should have done a long time ago: just touch yourself-on the head, on the arm-and say, «You know what? I believe in you. I believe in you. I believe in you.» You’ve got to believe in yourself. Absalom was able to get a following just because he believed in himself. You could get the job you want if you just believe in yourself. You could start the company that you’ve written down in your journal. You could actually be a CEO if you believed it. In fact, you can’t even be.