Rhema Ehiemere - Don't Choke on the Grapes

God has destined you for more than where you are and more than what you have now. In Numbers 13, the children of Israel tasted the grapes from the promised land but never made it in because of doubt, disbelief and disobedience. They settled for just being spies when God called them to be owners of the land. God doesn’t want you settling for a fruit when He has promised you a future. Don’t allow the enemy to deceive you into taking a proof when God has a place for you. There may be giants in the land but as long as you don’t see yourself as a grasshopper, you will possess the land.

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For the next few minutes, I’m going to preach on the subject that says, «Don’t choke on the grapes.» Look at your neighbor and tell them, «Don’t choke on the grapes.» If you are in transition and you are not where you used to be but you are not yet where you want to be, and if you feel pressured to settle for less, then this message is for you. Can you look at your neighbor and tell them, «Don’t choke on the grapes?» This is your five seconds to do a pew check to see if you are sitting beside the right neighbor or the wrong neighbor. If you are sitting beside the wrong neighbor, tell them, «Pastor says you can move to another seat.» I’m not going to move; you are going to move! So look at them and tell them, «Don’t choke on the grapes.» What did they say? Is that the right neighbor? Oh, there you go! Okay, put your hands together for Jesus, amen! Don’t choke on the grapes.

You know, most of the events in the Book of Numbers took place in the wilderness. The children of Israel had spent 430 years in Egypt as slaves, and now they were transitioning through the wilderness to the Promised Land. When we look at the Book of Numbers, it chronicles and documents that journey through the wilderness, that transition period; it documents their wilderness experience. This is very significant because it does not talk a lot about the highlights of their lives; it talks more about the lowlights. It doesn’t talk much about the mountaintop experiences; it discusses the valleys of their lives and their wilderness experience. Why is this important? This is important because if you are in the house today or you are online watching, you might be going through a difficult situation or a painful circumstance right now, and you’re wondering, «Does God see me? Does God hear me?»

The Book of Numbers lets us know that our pain is not wasted and that God documents your journey. If He can bring you to it, He can bring you through it. Somebody say, «He will bring you through!» If He can bring you to it, He will bring you through it. This is very important because God documents their journey, and it’s okay for Him to record my journey for His sake. However, it’s a different ballgame when God makes my journey public. Now, we look at the Book of Numbers because we have the gift of hindsight. We can sit down on this side of history and say they were so disobedient. You can judge them, criticize them, and dissect their character, asking why did they behave like this. They were so disobedient because their lives were public, but I don’t know what you would do if you were in their shoes because your life is not public.

We live in a day and age where we always like to show our mountaintop experiences and not our valleys. We’re in the social media age where you always see the reels showcasing your highlights but not your lowlights. You forget that you keep showing off, and while there’s nothing wrong with accomplishments, you cannot brag on them because it’s not by power nor by might but by the Spirit of God. Many people are so used to showing off without realizing that as long as you keep showing off, God will not show up in your life. I want to challenge you: God has been waiting on you to stop bragging about your accomplishments. God has been waiting for you to stop boasting about your laurels and trophies. Divine intervention begins when human interruption and interception end, and you have been delaying God’s plan. You have been distracted and disrupting God’s purpose because you keep talking about the things you can do without acknowledging what God has done in your life. Come on, put a praise in it!

As we look at this text, I love it so much because Israel was not where they wanted to be, but they were not yet where they wanted to be. I get it now; God brought them out of Egypt, but He was still yet to deliver the Promised Land to them. Watch this: let me try this again. God delivered them from Egypt, but He was yet to deliver the Promised Land to them. I got it: God is not just in the deliverance ministry; He is in the delivery ministry because He is going to deliver you from some things, and He is going to deliver some things to you. Is there anybody in here today who can testify? You don’t need to share everything you went through, but if you’ve ever been through anything that God delivered you from—if you should have been dead but here you are—because God delivered you. You should have been down, but here you are—because God delivered you. Do I have anyone in the house that wants to testify? Or do I rely on those online? Do I have anyone in the house that wants to testify and say, «God delivered me from some things»? Yes, He did! Yes, He did! Look at your neighbor and tell him, «Yes, He did! He delivered me. I should have been down, but God delivered me. I should have been out, but…