Toure Roberts - From Covert to Overt

There are times for being covert, and there are times for being overt. Can I talk about it for a minute? Stay with me; I’m going to teach today. Not a whole bunch of shouting today—not, not, not now—because I need to get this message across. There are times to be covert, and there are times to be overt—times to keep silent, right? Not just silent, but silent in that you are, to a certain degree, invisible. Some of us don’t want to be invisible because some of us want to be overt in a season when God needs us to be covert. Oh, let me take my time right there. We’re angry with God because He hasn’t put us on go. «God, I want to be overt!» But God recognizes that if He made you overt, you would be overt. Uh-huh—let it sink in, let it sink in, let it sink in. Because God says there’s a time and a season—watch this—for everything under heaven. In other words, Heaven has an understanding of how things are supposed to be and when they are supposed to be. So we’re mad because we are in a covert stage, not realizing that God having us in a covert stage is God covering us. Are you hearing me? Because if He didn’t cover you, then you would be overt prematurely. Oh, God, I feel that thing right there! In other words, I’m mad at God for protecting me. «God, when is it going to be my time? I’m anointed, I’m talented, I can produce better than her, I can sing better than her, I can preach better than him! If only the masses could see!» Jesus, Jesus—hurry up, Lord! You’ve forgotten about me! I’ve been at this thing for a year, for five years, for 20 years, for 30 years, and I’m still covert. I feel the Holy Ghost, and it doesn’t make sense because I work hard, and I’m gifted—gifted, blessed, and beautiful. I see other people less gifted, less beautiful, and surely not as blessed as me. And that thinking, that paradigm, is the evidence that you’re not ready to be overt. So God, in His love for us, doesn’t hurry what would destroy us, and we have to trust it.

So there are times when God hides us, and then there are other times when you must hide you—when you must be covert. And what does that look like? There’s a certain season where God will call you to not reveal in that season who you are. Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost! Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Yeah, there are certain seasons when you’re not supposed to be—hear me clearly—and some religious people are not going to like this, but let’s go for it! There are seasons when God doesn’t want you to be shouting how Christian you are from the rooftops. Stay with me; don’t check out now! Stay with me, stay with me! Even Jesus Himself said, «Tell nobody!» Right? Watch this—because the time has not come. Study your Bible; study it! So there is a time to be covert—who you truly are covert—not that you are not you, but you are moving strategically as God is putting you in position. Come on, come on, come on, come on! You’re moving strategically because if you open your mouth too soon with your cross on your chest, saying, «I’m so holy! I’m so blessed!”—if you move too soon, you can’t get in position. You’re not ready; you’re not ready! You don’t get it. Being covert requires a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to understand the times and seasons for such. Yeah, but there is a season when you have to shout about who you are and what you’re carrying. Come on! And sometimes even your dreams—shh! Don’t say anything—it’s not ready! Well, the time is not yet. Don’t play with me. The purpose of the covert season is to learn, to grow, and to get in position. The Bible says, „Be wise as a serpent, but harmless as a dove.“ What does a serpent do? A serpent sneaks up on you. It says, don’t be a serpent—be wise as a serpent. A serpent doesn’t announce itself—come on, somebody! You look up, and it’s upon you! I remember I was in my backyard a few years ago, and I had shorts on and everything. It was night, and I was in my backyard, just walking. I stepped on something because it was concrete, but this felt squishy. I said, „I wonder what that is?“ I looked down, and then the rattle started going. I stepped on that fool, and I’m not an Olympian, but the level of high jump that I did—I don’t know how—I probably almost made it to that back door! No, no! Snakes don’t announce themselves, and by the time they announce themselves, they announce themselves with a strike. Covert! Now, you can’t stay covert forever, come on! There’s a time to be silent, and there’s a time to speak. Because if you get into position and you never strike, you have become unprofitable. Wow! Sometimes what happens with us—not you, but somebody you know—sometimes what happens is we’re good at the covert, we get into position, but we never become overt. Because in the process of being covert, we become compromised, because the position feels good, it feels safe. The position is paying my bills, and we think that it was us being covert alone that got us there.