Hidden Progress | Take Action

Pastor Keion Henderson is the lead pastor of The Lighthouse Church in Houston, Texas Lighthouse is an organization that serves the body of Christ through our 5 pillars. We always ANTICIPATE a move of God in every experience, so we constantly set a great ATMOSPHERE, and we ACCEPT everyone through love. We believe the best way to impact people is by being AUTHENTIC to who we are and by taking ACTION to move everyone towards greater.

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Autogenerated Transcript

Pastor Keion (00:21):
Hey everybody, what’s going on? It’s Pastor Keon here, excited to be in your living room, your office, your automobile, wherever you are catching this broadcast and another episode of Take Action. I’m so excited that I get to share with you. This is the year of manifested promises here at our local church here in Texas, and we are in the month of manifested promises. But specifically for this month, we are talking about the progress, the progress of God. And if you’ve been with us this month, you’ve heard us say things like The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. I want you to know that you’re getting ready to obtain favor in the sight of God. So just right out the top of the gate, right at the top of this broadcast, I want you to center yourself. I want you to get yourself in the mind frame that everything that you have going on in your life right now is about to hit a progression stage.

(01:25):
That progress is about to happen, even if it’s from a reset perspective, even if it’s from upstart God’s about to give you a level set and there is a progress, a progression that’s getting ready to come into your life. If you believe it, just type in the chat. Amen, amen, amen. Because I’m going to give you a scripture and I want to welcome you all over the world, all over the nation, just for your continued support. And as you give throughout these discussions, make sure that you’re clicking take action. If you want to support what we’re doing here so that we can continue to be a blessing to the world, look for the take action link and we will give accordingly and we’ll give you an opportunity to do that later. What I want to do is to put something in your spirit and let your faith arise.

(02:21):
Now, I know all of you all watching me right now, some of you all have just been in church just a few months, some of you all a few years, some of y’all all of your life, but what I’m going to talk about today is suitable for whatever level of Christianity you may find yourself in today, okay? And I want to use the word just like we’re talking about here in our church this month. This is the month of progress. Everybody just type progress in the chat. Progress, progress, progress. And the Bible says in Matthew chapter 13, verse 31, Matthew 13 and 31, and they’re going to put it up on the screen for those of you’all who are indisposed and don’t have a digital device or a Bible that you can read. It’s very, very, very common scripture. But let’s see what we can get. The Bible says in Matthew 1331, the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sold in a field.

(03:31):
Now, I want to give you a statement right now that’s going to both depress you and give you joy. I want to say something right now that’s going to make you kind of cringe, but also make you stretch. Are you ready? The enemy only plants weeds among the harvest. The enemy only plants weeds among the harvest. One more time. The enemy only plants weeds among the harvest. So that means that if in your life now you see weeds popping up and weeds, it’s metaphoric language. What do I mean by weeds? Come on. Depression, anxiety, imposters syndrome, doubt, fear, no peace, no joy. Relationship issues, domestic issues, problems with your children, problems with your belief system, your faith, all of those elites. And when you go back and study in the scripture, when the Bible says that there must be a separation or there is a separation from the wheat and the tear or the wheat and the weeds, the wheat and the weeds, there is a grass over in the holy land called denari and they will tell you that when you go out into a field and you see the grass and the weeds, you can’t tell the difference because the denari finds a way in its growth process to look exactly like grass.

(05:52):
And the reason why it does that is so that it can camouflage amongst the grass so that you can’t pull it up because it knows that if it stays there long enough that it will wrap itself around the roots of the grass and steal the nutrition from the grass. Then you’ll see the wheat or the weed, I should say, to rise above the grass because it stole nutrition that wasn’t designed for it. But the nutrition didn’t know the difference because the roots and the color in the beginning stages, you can’t tell the wheat from the tear.

(06:35):
And so what the enemy does is he hides the weeds amongst the wheat or the harvest. Why? Because when you get frustrated, you rip up the weeds not knowing that the weeds have connected to the weed and you get rid of the weeds and you harm yourself. So the devil plants the weeds among the harvest, and in the beginning you can’t tell it’s a weeded because it looks like the harvest. But when you get rid of it at a later stage, when it finally grows high enough for you to see it, then you run into the situation where you cannot separate it from yourself.

(07:20):
So the enemy plants the weeds among the harvest. I want you to hear me because in your life right now, and I’m just, I’m imagining you, wherever you are in your life right now, everywhere you thought you saw harvest, you now see weeds. It started out beautiful, it started out amazing. It started out looking like, yes, this is it. And all of a sudden you’re now starting to see dissension and disagreement starting to rise above what you thought was harvest because the devil is professional and proficient at hiding the wheat among the tear. Now, this will make you question yourself because you’ll start asking yourself, and I want you to be honest online, if you’re watching me, you’ll start saying stuff to yourself like, am I stupid? Why didn’t I see that? Am I dumb? Why do I always make the bad decision? Why you see, because you’re questioning yourself because the devil is sophisticated.

(08:36):
I’m not surprised you thought it was grass. I’m not surprised you thought it was wheat, because the devil knows what he’s doing. He camouflages, okay, another reference. The wolf can get in the fold because puts on sheep’s clothing. And so what the enemy does, the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sold in the field. He hides the weeds among the weeded. You thought that was the job you wanted until you got there and they asked you to compromise your morals, but you were looking at a paycheck. You thought that was the relationship that God said that you should be in until after the wheat started to separate from the tear, you thought that you should have spent your money on that car until that first note came in and you had to measure that note against your budget.

(09:41):
You see? And now what you thought was a blessing has become a burden because the enemy will hide the weeds among the harvest. I bet you that there are at least 2000 of you watching me right now. I could talk about this for an hour and you would never get tired because you are in a situation right now where you are questioning God, questioning, questioning yourself, questioning your faith, questioning your strategy, questioning the way you think, because you cannot figure out how in the world did this weed get in my harvest? How in the world did I go from being happy three years ago to being depressed again? I even promised to myself that I would never feel like that way again. And here I am with all of this wisdom, with all of this scripture, with all of these friends, with all of this access, and I still can’t find happiness. I haven’t smiled in months. I don’t want to go outside. I haven’t been to church. Every sermon I hear, I feel too convicted to hear the word of God because I’m beating up on myself. And it is all because you have fallen victim to the devil’s oldest trick, and that is putting the weed in the harvest.

(11:06):
Now, I want you to come out of yourself because in 2023, the devil has become more sophisticated, but I want you to put yourself in the shoes of the first disciples as they listen to Jesus. Say what I just said to you. I want you to take yourself out. Listen, come off your couch. Come out of your nice kitchen with your island and your six burners on your stove. Come off of your lazy boy chair your love couch. I want you to leave close your eyes if you can, not if you’re driving, but leave the environment where you are and go all the way back 2,100 years to when Jesus was talking to his disciples with no Bible, with no commentaries, no Google, no internet, just faith. And Jesus walks up to those guys and say, we ought to be sowers of the word and faith the size of a mustard seed will move a mountain.

(12:45):
I can hear the disciples saying, if you be honest, if you were one of those disciples, I can hear the disciples saying So geez. So what you saying is we should be sowers of the word of God. Okay, got that? What word you talking about them tablets. Moses had what word? I am the word. Oh, okay. So we’re supposed to sow you. Make this clear to me. So we’re the sow the word, okay, got that. And you’re telling us that when we sow this seed of the word, which is you, by the way, the devil is going to be at work snatching it away as soon as we plant it. Now, how many of you would plant anything knowing that every time you planted it that there was a proclivity for something to come snatch of the away? Now, now I’m not saying that it won’t happen from time to time, but I can’t conceive that I’m talking to anybody online who knew for a fact that everything you planted in the natural would be at jeopardy every day, every night that the enemy was going to steal it, but you had enough faith to go out and plant it again in the morning.

(14:05):
You can’t get me to buy it. You can’t get me to buy it. You know why? Because I’m human. So what are you going to do? The first thing you’re going to do is you’re going to get some poison and you’re going to sprinkle it. Then you’re going to get a fence and you’re going to wrap it around it. You’re going to do all kinds of things to mitigate what you are planning from being stolen from something that has the power to do it. So the disciples are saying, so Jesus, let’s get this right. You want us to sow the word and you the word, okay, that’s weird. And you’re telling us that when we sow this seed, the devil is going to be at work to snatch it away. And you’re also telling us that trouble and persecution will come to us, but we’re supposed to gladly accept it Jesus.

(14:58):
And on top of that, when the seed falls in good soil, the enemy is going to sow weeds amongst it, amongst it, but we are not supposed to pull ’em up because you got it taken care of. Okay? I don’t know if I want to be a Christian. Now, let’s just be honest. Let’s just be honest. Let’s not look at and antiquity and take away the historicity of making what we witness a difficult proposition, what Jesus was asking of them, and I recognize that what he is asking of you is a difficult and sometimes seemingly insurmountable task. So Jesus, we ought to be so as of the word of God with you, and you’re telling us that when we sow the seed, the devil is going to snatch it away but be of good courage, trouble and persecution is going to come to those of us who plant, but we ought to gladly receive it.

(16:01):
And on top of all of that, when the seed falls in the good soil, the enemy is going to put a weeded amongst it, but don’t worry about it because you’re going to take care of all of it. How many of you all feel like that sometimes in your real life that the instructions and the exercise that Jesus gives you about harvest are complicated and sometimes leaves you in the deficit and you are always the one planting and somebody else is always pulling? Am I talking to you that you keep giving the seeds of your life, the seeds of your hope, the seeds of your income, the seeds of your heart, you keep scattering those seeds and what somebody advertised as good soil only to find out that somebody’s tried to pull it up or either the devil has planted some weeds amongst your harvest.

(16:54):
If I’m talking to you right now, you got to show me some sign online. You got to put some fire in the chat. You got to put some clapping hands because this word is for the planter. This word is for somebody who has poured their heart into it. This word is for somebody who has given all that they have to give and you’re finding it difficult to stand, and I am standing in the midst of all of that sanctioned by the word of God to tell you that this is still the month of progress that he who has began a good work in you will establish it until the day of Jesus Christ. And sometimes progress is an outcome you didn’t predict. You better write what I just said down because if you hear me, it may challenge your, but progress is sometimes an outcome that you did not predict.

(17:56):
And if you think that progress is only what you predicted, then you will wake up every day talking about when is it going to be my turn? When is God going to hear my prayer? And I am speaking to you by the words of the Lord that sometimes progress is the thing that you did not predict. His ways are not your ways, his thoughts are not your thoughts, and God has something for you that you might not understand. Right on my change, I’m waiting on God’s signal that this is the right direction. I’m waiting on God’s direction, that this is where he wants me to go. I might have to cry to get it. I may have to suffer to get it. I may be embarrassed, but I’m going to get this progress that God has for me. I may have to lead through it.

(18:45):
I may have to bleed through it, I might have to cry through it. I may have to fast through it, but I’m going to get through it because this is my month of progress. Somebody type. I’m not settling until I get progress. I don’t know where you’re going to type it. The chat might be too long. Type it in your phone, type it in your notes, but I’m not leaving this month without the progress God has for me, okay? I want you to commit your life to this. This is the same thing Jesus asked the disciples to do. Commit your life to the unclear, oh, Jesus, commit your life to the unclear how in the world, God, am I supposed to stay faithful when I don’t understand how in the world am I supposed to stay calm when the enemy keeps pushing my buttons? How in the world am I supposed to trust? Oh, thank you, holy Spirit. How in the world am I supposed to trust this process when I’m in the process with somebody I can’t trust?

(20:09):
Lord, you want me to commit to this? I’m unhappy and you want me to commit to this. I’m miserable and you want me to commit. You want me to believe that there’s progress in this? Who am I talking to? I know a word when I got one. God bro, please, I ain’t trying to be disrespectful, but you want me to believe there’ll be glory after this. How all I see is wheat and weeds and I can’t tell the difference between the two. What chance do I have to survive God knowing that since you know everything, you know where I came from, who raised me, you know how I was brought up, you know what I came through, and this is where you want me to have faith. Why couldn’t you make my faith station somewhere on a more solid ground? Why must I have faith in the most shakiest part of the journey?

(21:25):
How in the world am I supposed to sustain my lifetime of service with you when it seems like everything is against me? Because I’m asking you, God, because you know it all. You are the one who’s the alpha and the omega. You are the one that’s from beginning to end. Please inform me. Please inform me on what I am supposed to do when I am in a situation when I cannot tell the difference between good and evil, please tell me what I’m supposed to do when I look around and my harvest is tainted, please tell me what I’m supposed to do because I can understand if those weeds were there because I put them there, but according to the word of God, the enemy put them there. So how am I supposed to react to a weeded that invaded my privacy? I didn’t plan it, it found me. What am I supposed to do?

(22:35):
Here’s what the rule of Christ looks like in the world. This is what he says. He says it is like a tiny seed. Jesus says, the progress I have for you is like a mustard seed. In other words, listen to me. The progress that I’ve instituted in your life is so small, it’s almost invisible. And God says, I am acutely aware that you are in a situation where you’ve asked me for something that I’ve actually already provided. You just can’t see it yet, and I want to ask a question to somebody watching me. How many of you are willing to admit that you quit on God because this answer wasn’t big enough that you gave up on the Messiah? Because what he provided wasn’t the size of your expectations.

(23:58):
He didn’t move quick enough. He didn’t move big enough. He didn’t move fast enough. He didn’t move where you thought he would move or should move, and myself included, you made a move because you didn’t trust God’s move and what he provided was so small that you didn’t trust him. You were disappointed because your expectations and God’s providence didn’t come equally balanced. That’s why he says faith is like a mustard seed. Oh, we got to get into this. We got to get into this. Listen, I believe that the weeds that are surrounding you right now, what if I told you that God allowed it to be there? Because he wanted you to know that you have to trust him for the process of reaping and sowing. And he knew that if he had allowed the weeds to reveal itself quicker, you would not have chosen the field he planted you in and the field he planted you in was the only field he could grow you in.

(25:57):
I’m going to stop right there. Listen, I want y’all to come back next week because see if I stay there. We’re going to be here for an hour and I know you got to go. The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sold in the field. Matthew chapter 1331, I want you to study it and I want you to meet me right back here next Tuesday so we can continue this conversation. And as you get ready to give, I want you to get your seed in your hand right now because right now I don’t have time to belabor. I’m not trying to preach for a certain amount of time. You may say, you know what? That wasn’t long enough. Come back next week. It might be longer, but I want you to plant your seed in this atmosphere right now, and I want to say a word over your seed because this muster seed of a gift that you have right now. I’m believing that God is going to make it a mountain, and I want you to repeat after me. As I move towards greater, I will accept all divine ideas, thoughts, and concepts that will connect me to my destiny. Say this, I believe that what Jesus Christ has done for me is bigger than what anyone has can and will do to me.

(27:21):
And because of his full gift, I will lend to many nations, but we’ll borrow from none. Listen, that is the word of the Lord for this watch. Meet me right here next Tuesday because we are going to finish this conversation.

Speaker 2 (27:40):
Hey everybody. My name is Pastor Keon Henderson. I am the founder of an organization called Take Action. Now. People are always direct messaging me and texting me and saying, pastor, what are you doing? How can I be a part of what you’re doing? And I know everybody doesn’t want to be a part of the local church, but what if I told you I had a way for you to partner with me so that we can affect change throughout the world? Hence, take action now. A 5 0 1 C three nonprofit organization committed to advancing individual agency and social progress by protecting, strengthening and uplifting the underserved and disenfranchised throughout the world. We’re doing humanitarian things, teaching entrepreneurism, teaching home ownership and institutional inequities, cultural deficits. We have our ear to the ground and we need your help to make a difference whether it is making a sizable donation to the estate of a young woman who lost her battle with cancer via the internet, and we were able to make a difference there.

(28:45):
Or whether it is in a underserved community in the Caribbean islands where the children were playing amidst rocks and glass and we came in and broke ground recently on the park so that athletes and cheerleaders and young people in that community can have a safe place to stir up the gift inside of them. Whether it is paying the utility bills in cold climates for seniors, or just helping basketball players get the proper uniforms of football players. It’s just us making a difference through financial literacy and technological empowerment and mentoring services. This is what we do, and all I’m asking you to do is become a partner with me right now, and I want you to go visit take action, and now.org. Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today.