If your confused about a situation, don’t turn around and start spouting off all your confusion to those around you. You may cause someone to stumble if you do. Instead, get alone with God and seek His face concerning your own part in the matter. Then pray for all the others involved. You may not know the hearts of the others, but you can make sure yourself aware of your own heart.

And God will show you if you need to rectify something concerning yourself. He’ll do it in love and He’ll shower you in peace about the matter.

It isn’t your responsibility to change the heart of someone else. You’ll never know them well enough to do it anyway. It is God who changes the hearts of men and women. He looks into their souls and He will do the same for you as you open yourself to Him. He will get in that heart of yours and mend, straighten and clean up all the parts that you allow Him to!

If you’ll open up and be honest with Him. He’ll pour in His too much! But you, not God, sets the gauge for how much you’re going to get. He’s willing to overload you with salvation, health, prosperity, peace and joy! It’s you who determine whether you’ll take any of it. It is you who determines how much of His “too much” you’re going to take.

When It Comes to Jesus, I’m Not Changing!
Throughout my years of ministry, I’ve had many people tell me, “Jesse, you haven’t changed. You still preach the same stuff as when you first started.” Why? Because God hasn’t change, and, since I’m preaching His Word, it means I haven’t veered off the track into man’s experiences! Hallelujah!

Of course, in my flesh I’d probably appreciate it if He would change. Just a little. Maybe one day He would decide, “Ahhh, forget about this mercy stuff. I’m going to burn up everyone alive who’s messed with Jesse.” Yeah! Sometimes I think that would be great. Maybe you’ve caught yourself thinking that too!

Sometimes you just have someone who is a thorn in your flesh. Well, more like a complete bush! All bristly and sharp, they’re willing to cut your guts out the minute you turn your back! It is that type of fellow Christian that you pray for judgment on! “Ohhhh, Lord, Kill’ em, God. Do what You have to do, but hurt’ em a little bit, God!”

You want to get in the flesh a little and start making up a prophecy, saying something like, “You’ve been weighed in the balances and found wanting. You’re gonna get busted between the eyes and I’m gonna use Jesse to do it, this saith the Lord! Wow, wouldn’t that be something if God really said that?! Of course He wouldn’t though – He doesn’t change.

How many Scriptures are there that you wish you could just rip out the Bible? In fact, I can think of one right now that sometimes I wish God would have cut off midway through the verse. Hebrews 10:30 (NKJV) could have been my favorite Scripture. It’s the one that goes vengeance is Mine. I will repay, says the Lord. Sometimes my flesh feels He should have left says the Lord off. That way I could just claim vengeance is mine! Wouldn’t that be great? You could slap somebody silly and feel good about it!

I’m sure everybody occasionally feels that way, but I sometimes feel like it’s worse for preachers. If you’re a preacher, those thorn-bush people can be really bad. You’re supposed to be the example of love, but sometimes, well, you just would rather tell them where to go (i.e. hell) and repent later. Hey, I’m being honest.

I imagine if you’re a pastor it could be worse. There are just some people whom you would rather not have at your church. Don’t lie about it! You end up going up to them and saying. “Listen, sister. I know a good brother that needs you down the road. He pastors such-and-such church down the way and he really could us a dear soul like yourself.” And that good brother down the way says, ”I can’t believe you sent that crazy fool down here!”

Lord, You Got Some Crazy People Here!
One time I asked God about all those crazy Christians. I said, “Lord, You got some fruitcakes amongst us. God, you got some bad and I mean bad, bad kids. I just don’t know if they’re even saved!” And do you know what He said to me? He said, Jesse, They’re still My kids. They’re just my bad kids. He said, You ought to know about that. You were a bad kid, too!

He was right. I was a bad kid. Me and my brother hated each other until we became men. It seemed like he’d beat me up once a day. But I did my part, too. I was always and entrepreneur. And one time I sold his clothes. I sold his clothes! I wiped him out in a day. Then I sold his toys. I went down the street and I came back with about eight dollars. We were poor and his junk wasn’t worth much.

Wayne said, “Mama, I ain’t got no clothes. Jesse sold all my clothes. He sold all my toys, too!” I thought to myself, You mess with me and I’ll sell you, I know somebody who wants you! Boy’ Mama would get so mad at us! She’d make us repent. But she wouldn’t make us repent by saying we were sorry. She’d do something much, much worse.

“What’s the matter with you boys” Mama would cry, “You’re supposed to luuuuuvv your brother. Now, kiss your brother and make up.” Augggh! I hated it! I’d say, “I ain’t kissing him!” Boy, we’d start an argument! “I hate you,” I’d look at him. He wasn’t too fond of me either.

Mama would say,” You kiss your brother and you act like you like it. Jesse! So both of us would clinch up and go as fast as we could. Smack! A kiss planted on the cheek as hard as we could. We were hoping to make a bruise with that kiss. “Do it again! Hug your brother and kiss you brother!”

Augggh! We’d get close. I’d reach out there to hug him and simultaneously we’d start pinching each other on the back. See, Mama made us use faith and action. But it produced power, which was tested by an obstacle, my brother! Ahhhh! It all ties in, you see!


Source: God is Not Enough...He's Too Much! by Jesse Duplantis.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers