Keion Henderson - The Transition of Power

I want to talk about the transition of power, and I want you to know that if you are the last one here before this message is over, you are going to find out that the first shall be last, but it won’t be long before the last shall be first. If you feel like a shift is coming in your life, let me hear the sound of a worshipper! High five somebody before you sit down and say, «The power is shifting!» So, just yesterday, my wife and our team had a crazy weekend. We flew to Las Vegas because I had to preach there on Friday. Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me to preach in Vegas! You can take that however you want. So, we went to Vegas and preached, and my wife, Bishop, and I left in the morning, flew to Lubbock, Texas, watched Colorado play Texas Tech, and then flew back here last night so we could be in the service. Three cities in one day! I started to think about the team that Coach Sanders took over two years ago. That team was a one-win team; I believe their record was one and eleven. He took over the team, and the next year they had a four-win season. This year, they are seven and two, one place out of first in the Big 12. BYU is number one and has the opportunity to compete for a Big 12 Championship. The only thing I can think about is that 36 months ago they had one win, and today they are only one win out of first place. It only means one thing: power moves, power shifts.

The Cowboys—let me finish my sentence before y’all get an attitude. Y’all, some Cowboys fans are so sensitive! Just let the boy finish. They won a couple of championships back in 1995. That was an accident! The Emancipation Proclamation—this whole church is crazy! They won a couple of championships, and by the way, you can laugh at the Cowboys all you want; they are winning the real game. They may not be winning football games, but they are winning the money game—the most valuable franchise by far in the whole NFL! If you’re a Lakers fan, sometimes you win, and sometimes you don’t. No team wins the championship every year. Why? Because power shifts.

How many mothers are here right now? When you gave birth to that child, you did all the feeding, all the bathing, and you took that baby to school and all the practices. If life lasts you and death passes you—that’s an old phrase, and if you both live long enough, the roles will reverse. Your child is going to be taking you to the facilities and feeding you. Why? Because power shifts. When a baby is born, they come with no teeth, no hair, can’t walk, and can’t talk. If you live long enough, you’ll leave here the same way you came—no teeth, not your own anyway, probably no hair, and lacking the ability to speak, because power shifts.

When we started at the Lighthouse Church, one of the first schools we rented was up the street: Summer Creek High School. That’s right; are there any Summer Creek students or fans in here? One of the best football teams in the state! They were not cheering when we got there. North Shore was the dominant power at the time. See how that goes? But power shifts. One year the Astros win the championship; the next year the Dodgers win. The power doesn’t stay the same. What you’ve got to do is not be too high when it’s your turn and not be too low when it is not. That’s good!

You see, if you’re high when it’s your turn and low when it is not, that means your faith is built on something that is not eternal. I’ve been in church long enough and in the hands of God to know that my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’s blood and His righteousness. I’ve learned that when it looks good, it’s not that good, and when it’s bad, it’s not that bad. Why? Because whether it’s good or bad, they that wait—y’all going to help me today—upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Power respects respect. When power is respected, it seeks you out, and when you don’t respect it, it walks out on you. Just because you have power, it doesn’t mean you earned it. There are some powers given us so that we know that all power belongs to the one who gives power.

Satan had no power until God gave him the power to afflict Job but then put restrictions on the power. Why? Because when you belong to God, no matter what the devil does, he can only go so far. God will give the devil restrictions and say, «You can touch the cattle, you can touch the children, you can touch the money, but on the man himself lay not a hand!» I don’t know who I’m speaking to, but as you see things turning topsy-turvy around you, understand that the enemy has been given instructions: he can only go so far. He’s a dog on a leash. Most of us will run because of the bark; the only deadly part of the dog is the bite. A thousand shall fall at your right hand, ten thousand at your side, but none shall come near you. That means that God has already ensured that no weapon…