Woman Evolve with Sarah Jakes Roberts - Protect Your Spark w/ Sarah Jakes Roberts

Episode Date: August 28, 2024

Curious about what happened when SJR activated Johannesburg, South Africa? Chhiiillleee, let’s just say Joburg got some “bruised heel baddies” on the frontlines! The kind that are ready to ignite what God placed on the inside of them—and REFUSE to lose their hope. Maybe you’ve got seed in the ground and are leaning towards a prophetic pulling. If so, this message is for YOU. Stay vigilant and protect that spark with everything you’ve got, Sis! Now, in other news: Have you heard we’re doing it REAL big in Texas next month? Come kick it with us at womanevolveconference.com!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey y'all, Dr. Joy here. I invite you to join me every Wednesday on the Therapy for Black Girls podcast, a weekly chat about mental health and personal development, where my expert guest and I discuss the unique challenges and triumphs faced by black women through the lens of self-care, pop culture, and building the best version of you. So if you're looking for more ways to incorporate wellness into your life, listen to the Therapy for Black Girls podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, host of Wumanica, a daily podcast that introduces you to the fascinating lives of women history has forgotten. Who doesn't love a sports story? The rivalries, the feats of strength and stamina. But these tales go beyond the podium. There's the teen table tennis champ, the ice skater who earned a medal and a medical degree, and the sprinter fighting for Aboriginal rights. Listen to

a manica on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Guys, I'm going to show up and I'm going to show you how to work around. I'm going to show you how to push through. I'm going to show you how to hang on, how to keep producing in spite of what tried to cripple you because what I put in you is so unstoppable. But if you don't believe it's unstoppable, it doesn't matter what the devil does. What matters the most is what you think about what happened to you. What's up, what's up family? It's your girl. Oh my goodness.

Can we get into, I am your vacation girl. I went on vacation. God met with me. I went with my parents. It was, it was a time. A time was had. And I'm just grateful that we are back in the saddle. I am excited to share with you an episode a little bit different from our normal routine.

My husband and I went to Johannesburg, South Africa, and we were blessed with the opportunity to serve what God is doing in the lives of so many people there. And I wanted to share that message with you because it felt just important. I have to tell you that context is, it was the last night of us being in South Africa. My voice was gone. It was shaky. And to be honest, my husband had demolished the place we tag team preached and I really felt like he had said everything that God needed to say. God had given me just one word

and a different text than the one that I had been preaching. And I had to surrender to the flow of the Holy Spirit. And I want you to experience the fruit of that. I pray this message blesses you and I will be back next week. Are you registered for Womany Bob? Make sure you come to Womany Bob. You talking about surrendering to the flow, here we go. God gave me a word for you, and I'm gonna just go with the flow of what God gave me. My text is Acts chapter two, verse 12. Y'all pray for my voice. Something is happening, but I'm gonna get the job done. I love you too.

Last night somebody yelled they love me. I was like we already go together you don't have to keep telling me y'all stuck with me. Understand that? Acts chapter 2 verse 12. 12 through 18. So I know that most of you all are Bible scholars but for those of us who need a little foundation I'm gonna help you understand the context of the text. Jesus has been crucified, resurrected, he walks the earth for 40 days. And while he walks the earth for 40 days he has encounters with walks the earth for 40 days, he has encounters with his disciples and he begins to unpack for them

their mission and responsibility once he ascends and takes the right hand of the father. And at this point in the text, they have gathered in the upper room and the day of Pentecost has fully come. And Jesus tells them specifically I have a mission for you but you cannot move into that mission until you have received power that power comes from the Holy Spirit and on the

day of Pentecost when the day had fully come the power of the Holy Spirit falls and as the power of the Holy Spirit falls. And as the power of the Holy Spirit falls, they begin to speak in tongues and they begin to create a disturbance in what should have been an ordinary time within the culture. They're creating a disturbance because they have been filled with the Holy Spirit. And the people are confused trying to figure out

what's happening to them. That is when my text begins in verse 12 and it says, so they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, whatever could this mean? Others mocking said, they are full of new wine. But Peter standing up with the 11 raised his voice and said to them, raised his voice, and said to them, men of Judea and

all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you. And heed my words. For these are not drunk as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.

That your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. I'm gonna say that one more time, because it's women's month. That your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions, that your sons and your daughters shall prophesy Your young men shall see visions your old men shall dream dreams and on my men servants and on my maids Servants, I will pour out my spirit in those days and they shall Prophecy spirit of the living god

I believe at the right time, at the right generation, at the right time in our lives to receive an outpouring that will push us completely over into the realm of our destiny. God, I pray for the spirit of wisdom, of revelation. I pray that you send angels to help guard my throat through this process. That you would give me strength, that you would give my mind clarity, that my heart would be completely and utterly surrendered to you and that we together would touch this room, fill this room in a way that makes it so evident that you see them, you know them, that you're not finished with them yet. So God, do that thing that you do when you rest in a room. Ah, glory God. Rest in this place as only you can, in Jesus' name, amen. I want to read to you an excerpt from a speech from Martin Luther King Jr.

It goes a little something like this. It says, we've got some difficult days ahead, but it doesn't matter with me now because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind like anybody. I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place but I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do god's will. And he's allowed

me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything.

I'm not fearing any man. My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. 24 hours after giving this speech, Martin Luther King Jr. would be assassinated. Interesting, I've heard the words before but never recognized the timeline, the sequence in which it took place. He says in his speech, I may not get there with you. That means that there was something about his mentality that understood that even though he was the pioneer, a leader of the civil rights at that time, that the civil rights movement could not die with him even if something

happened to him. He had what I would call a spark mentality. A spark mentality is when you recognize that your life, your existence, is not just about coming here and having a good time. That your life and existence is not just here for you to just have battle after battle after battle, but rather your existence is meant to spark something in the earth. The definition of the word spark means the stimulus for an event or a process. Your life is the stimulus for an event or a process. In other words, when

God created you, he was starting something. When God created you, you're not random. He wasn't bored. He didn't just decide that we needed more people in the earth. God says that there's something I want to start in the earth, and so I need to send someone in the earth who can start this thing that I want to accomplish in the earth. You were here to start something. That's why you have this desire to do something

that seems bigger than you. That's why you're discontent when life just seems mundane and routine and comfortable. It's because you were meant to start something. That's why no matter how many times you try to give up on this idea of purpose and destiny, it just won't leave you alone. It's because you were here to start something. You better nudge your neighbor and tell them I'm getting ready to start something. When you start something, it is not something that can easily be undone.

When you start something, it is something that raises a standard for your family, for your community, and for your generation. I'm trying to start something that cannot be undone. I'm trying to start something that cannot be undone. I'm trying to start something that changes the way that my community is seen. I'm trying to start something that makes another woman recognize that bruised heels still crush the serpent's head.

I'm not just here talking words, I'm here to start something. We don't get on the plane for 24 hours to come to South Africa so that you can stay the same. We get on the plane because we want to start something and the reason why we want to start something is because we know what God put on the inside of you. Baby you are a starter. I know sometimes you failed. I know sometimes you may have quit. I know sometimes maybe someone gave up on you. That's good news because you can start again because you were here to start

something. It doesn't matter how many times you failed. It doesn't matter how Someone gave up on you. That's good news because you can start again because you were here to start something It doesn't matter how many times you failed It doesn't matter how many times they betrayed you when you are a starter you get back up again when you are a starter You take a timeout, but you get back up again, baby. I'm a starter mess with me I might start something mess with me. I might change your life. I'm a starter baby If I get to praying I might break something off of you. I'm a starter, baby. If I get to praying, I might break something off of you. I'm a starter. I might introduce generational blessings in your life

because I'm a starter. I know who I am in God. God called me to start something. When I see what's happening in the world, I don't get discouraged. I come alive because it's my sign. It's time for me to start something. When I see some brokenness, when I see poverty,

it's my sign that it's time for me to start something I'm a starter Never played a sport, but I'm a starter never had a ball, but I'm a starter. I'm on the starting line, baby. I start stuff I'm a starter. And I need to live with this consciousness. Because when I do not know that I am a starter, I will believe that it is possible for the enemy to stop what God started.

Oh God, it's gonna be good in here tonight. The enemy's mission is to stop you before you even get started. Because if you ever get started, there is no stopping what God wants to do through you. So I gotta get you before you even get started. I wanna talk to some people in this room who know what it's like to have childhood trauma,

to know what it's like for the devil to be chasing you from the time that you were born. You didn't know why he was doing it. You thought that they were just rejecting you. You thought there was just something wrong with you. You thought you didn't fit in the family. You thought you were born in the wrong community. No, that's not what it was. It's that the enemy was trying to stop you before you ever got started. The enemy was trying to stop you before you ever received a touch from God because he knew one touch from God would radically change your life.

That if you ever got a revelation and started seeing yourself the way God sees you then you would start Rolling into your destiny you wouldn't just step into it glasses You would take off running into your destiny if you knew what I knew about you The enemy didn't realize though that you can stop a person but you can't stop God. God help me. You can stop a person but you can't stop God. And because you can't stop God, God can always reach that person. I want to take you back to Genesis 3 when there was a woman in the garden named Eve

and that woman had eaten from a fruit and the enemy must have been rejoicing he must have thought that he had won but even when the devil thought he won God showed up in the midst of the garden and he had a question for that woman he asked that woman who deceived you he wanted to understand what happened to you while the devil was rejoicing the woman was having an encounter with God. Because God said, it doesn't matter what the devil did to try and stop you. I know how to get you to start again. And he told that woman, if you would start producing, even in your brokenness,

if you would start producing, even in your wounds, if you would start producing, even though you've been hurt, I promise you that this devil you see today, you will see no longer if you would start pressing towards the seed anyway. The devil thought he won. But he was no match. Because there was a destiny over her life. There is destiny over your life. That means even though the enemy thinks that his plan will stop you.

Guys, I'm going to show up. And I'm going to show you how to work around. I'm gonna show you how to push through I'm gonna show you how to hang on how to trust how to keep producing in spite of what tried to cripple you Because what I put in you is so unstoppable But if you don't believe it's unstoppable It doesn't matter what the devil does. What matters the most is what you think about what happened to you. And some of us have come into agreement with the enemy's plan for our lives unknowingly because we believe the

report of the enemy when he says we can't do it we believe the report of the enemy when he says we can't add value we believe the report of the enemy and now all of a sudden those of us who were born to be a spark Are buried Buried with broken spirits Buried with doubt When we see what's happening in the world, we don't believe ourselves to be a solution So we wait for someone else to rise up And so God does something the world. We don't believe ourselves to be a solution. So, we wait for someone else to

rise up. And so, God does something from Genesis all the way up until the New Testament that I believe that he does even now for those of us who are finding it difficult to believe that we are a spark. He sends mirrors. Mirrors to help us see what he sees in us. Sometimes it's not actually a mirror, sometimes it's a word.

That word is meant to hold up an identity, a version of ourselves that doesn't look anything like how we see ourselves but looks exactly the way that God sees us because God's trying to spark us again. He comes to Moses with a burning bush and he gives Moses a mandate to be a deliverer. Context is that Moses I've called you to be a starter in my kingdom. I've called you to be a starter in my kingdom. I've called you to be a spark and if you allow your spark to be hidden, you're going to put us back behind where we should not

be. We need some people who are willing to get on the front line who are willing to say, I am a starter in the kingdom of heaven. I wish I could tell you how I got here. I just started believing what god believed about me and it put me in a position to start starting again and he

Comes to moses and he says you cannot be in hiding any longer I don't know who you are in johannesburg But I hear god saying that you cannot be in hiding any longer that I have called you To be a starter and because I have called you to be a starter You cannot be a starter and be hidden at the same time. Between work, the gym, family, I am overwhelmed. Sis, are you feeling overwhelmed? You're not alone.

I'm Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, licensed psychologist and host of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast. And I'm bringing candid mental health conversations straight to your podcast feed. We'll unpack everything from conquering imposter syndrome to nurturing your friendships. Join me and my expert guests as we explore mental health and personal development. Whether you're just starting your mental health journey, entering motherhood, thinking about becoming a therapist, or just trying to show up as the best possible version of yourself. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, host of Womanica, a daily podcast that introduces you to the fascinating lives of women history has forgotten. This month, we're bringing you the stories of athletes. There's the Italian race car driver who courted danger and became the first woman to compete in Formula One. The sprinter who set a world record and protested racism and discrimination in the U.S. and around the world in the 1960s.

The diver who was barred from swimming clubs due to her race and went on to become the first Asian-American woman to win an Olympic medal. She won gold twice. The mountaineer known in the Chinese press as the tallest woman in the world. And the ancient Greek charioteer, who exploited a loophole to become the first-ever woman to compete at the Olympic Games. Listen to Wamanica on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. wherever you get your podcasts. Same thing to Mary. He comes to Mary and he says blessed are you and highly favored are you amongst women. The greeting is so high and lofty that it makes Mary afraid. How can I be who you say I am? But he sends the word because the word is a mirror. And I need you to understand

that when we are in rooms and we're prophesying about writing books and we're prophesying about you healing the land and we're prophesying about what God wants to do in your life. There are some people that hear it and it's just words but there are some people who hear it and it starts stirring up the gift of God that's on the inside of them because God's been waiting for you to get a mirror in front of you that will make you start reaching towards what he knows about you. And this is what happens in text. We see it over and over and over again. So what is our job? What is our responsibility? When we recognize that we are a spark? is our Sometimes, that's what trips us I'm not in this world that I am meant to start. I don't, you don't even have to know what it

is to receive the identity. Sometimes that's what trips us up. We want all of the details but I hear God saying if you would just receive the identity first, if you would just receive the identity, then I could put the weight of the

responsibility on you but you want to qualify what God has called you to do before God can even give it to you but you need to be able to qualify the reality that God did not make me random, God did not make me by coincidence, God put me in this earth with intentionality and a purpose. He does not make mistakes and he did not start with me so if I am in this earth there is a task that only I can do so I got to protect this thing that God has given to me in seed form. I

know why my voice tried to get lost this evening because I believe that somebody I'm gonna give you roots. I hear God saying that I'm gonna accelerate the maturation process, and you're gonna go from seed to fruit, from seed to fruit. You won't even have to wait on the next season. I don't know who I'm prophesying to, but I hear God saying that you're not even gonna have to wait on this season to change, that you're gonna go from seed to fruit immediately. And you know how I know this.

I know this to be true for myself. I can't prophesy what I don't know but what I can tell you is some kind of way I went from seed to fruit what took other people 30 years to do God says I'm gonna do in five years because the gift that I placed on the inside of you is so urgent that I don't have time to wait for four seasons the earth needs it right now I don't know who you wait for four seasons. The earth needs it right now. I don't know who you are but I hear God saying that you may be weary but you're about to be running because when you recognize that it's not going to take you as long as it took somebody else that it's not going to require from you what it took from someone else. God says I'm not going to make you sacrifice on

the level that they sacrifice because they went ahead of you. You get to build on top of their foundation. We need to give God 10 seconds of praise that we're not starting it off on our own. I thank God for the people who went ahead of me. I thank God for the praying grandmothers. I thank God that I got a prayer language. I thank God that there's someone who says if you take a step, I'm going to lead the way. Now it's your time to blaze your trail.

Now it's your time to move some things out of the way. We got a generation to save. We got a nation to raise. Somebody's got to be willing to start something in the spirit. We can race start something. Johannesburg, you ready? We can race start something. I ask God for miracles. We can race start something. I ask God for breakthrough. We can race start something. Until all have seen. I want you to understand that

God is serious about you. God is serious about a version of you that you haven't even met yet. Which is why God was willing to give you a chance to God is serious about a version of you that you haven't even met yet, which is why God was willing to protect your spark before you even knew it was there. Man, if we had about 30 more minutes, I would tell you about how God protected my spark before I even knew it was there. I would tell you is too great to be wasted on this person and that person and this thing

and that thing. So yeah, some people walked away from me. I thought they hurt me, but they were really protecting me. Some people rejected me. I thought they hurt me, but they were really protecting me. Some people left me, but they really blessed me. Because when you walked away from me, you left me with my spark. When you walked away from me it you left me with my spark when you walked away from me You left me with my prayer when you walked away from it. It made me get on my knees

And say God I don't have nobody else but you God I can't do this thing unless you do it God I need your presence every day God, I need your wisdom in every way. So, you needed, you needed some of that sifting so that you could get down to the real deal. You needed some of that sifting. I can get up, don't worry about it. I'm a fighter, baby. I've been through hell and back, baby.

I know what it's like to be it. I'm a fighter baby. I've been through hell and back baby I know what it's like to be knocked down and get back up again And I'm in a room full of some warriors who know how to take a lickin and get back in the game The Lord Protect protected my spark. He protected me. I know him to be a keeper. I know him to be a way maker. He covered me.

He loved on me. When I felt unlovable, he loved me. He chased me down. He let nothing stand in my way And Something happened When I realized But God knew about me That made me want to

participate in the protection of the spark he placed inside of me. It's one thing to have god protect your spark when you don't even know it's who cannot even afford to be in this room. But they are so invested in trying to figure out what God knows about them, that they have decided I'm gonna be an active participant.

This is not just Johannesburg in the room. I started getting tweets that people were flying in. My flight just landed. Why would you go out of your way to be in a room like this? Because I know that there's something in the room that is meant to pull out the spark that's on the inside of me There are some people in this room who are more committed than they have ever been to starting a fire That cannot be contained for their family starting a fire that cannot be contained through their ministry Starting a fire that cannot be contained through their ministry, starting a fire that cannot be contained for their nation.

And so they're protecting their spark. Oh, I love the sound of deliverance. I love the sound of deliverance. You gotta protect your spark. I want to talk to you about the philosophy of protecting your spark. To protect your spark is to recognize that your spark exists in the context of the prince of the power of the air. Man, shame, depression, guilt, doubt, fear, worry, all the big scary dark words. Have a father, has a home.

It comes from the prince of the power of the air, darkness, the enemy. These are his weapons. These are his tools. This is what he uses to convince you to stay in bed. This is what he uses to convince you to stay in bed. This is what he uses to convince you that you have no worth or no value. These are his tools.

And yes, I go to therapy because I have to have a tool to fight back what the enemy is trying to deposit in my life. I need other tools because I recognize that the source of what I'm going through did not start with me. I've never used it in my life. I need other tools because I recognize that the source of what I'm going through did not start with me. The enemy is

using it to try and stop who I am meant to become. Which means that if you are going to protect your spark, you have to be willing to rebel against the government that you are constantly functioning under. that you are constantly functioning under. God help me.

Shame, insecurity, fear, creates a government in our lives. It has laws. It has rules. It says you can't do this. You can't say that. You're not good enough for that. Those are laws, rules that we abide by. So we become citizens of a kingdom of darkness when we obey what fear tells us

to do. But your spark cannot be oppressed by that government any longer. So when you come into the revelation that your life is a spark, it is your responsibility to rebel against that government because that government will convince you to help the enemy snuff out your spark. So when we quote the scripture that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, it's because you will try and use a carnal weapon for a spiritual battle. But when you recognize that he projecting your spark, that projecting your spark is spiritual, you cannot use a carnal weapon for a spiritual matter.

That's why you gotta pray even if you don't know all the scriptures. You gotta pray in the way that only you can pray. You gotta trust that God will give you language as you move. If you've got a heavenly language, you gotta tap into it because you gotta recognize that I am not going to be complicit in my own demise. I'm not gonna do the devil's work for him.

Devil, if you are coming after me, you're going to have to give it your best shot because I will no longer participate in helping you go against the destiny that God has for me. I felt some oil on that. Somebody's got to break up and it ain't a person. Some of you need to break up with the way you have been participating and what the enemy is using to snuff out your life

I don't know who you are in this room But I hear God saying that it is time for you to break covenant with the thing that is keeping you from the blood The thing that is keeping you from a blood covenant. I hear God saying this is not religion This is relationship and I shall have no other God before me If you're gonna be mine, you won't have to walk like your mind. You won't have to talk like your mind You won't have to think like your mind. That means you won't have to bring every thought into captivity Oh, no, I got a new thing going and I cannot afford to stay in My old way of thinking I

Got a spark to protect. I And I cannot afford to stay in my old way of thinking. I got a spark to protect. I got a change to protect. I got a transformation that must happen. And I got a limited time to do it. I don't know who you are, you think you're young, you're wrong. You got a limited time to get this right. You gotta move with a sense of urgency.

You gotta move like you don't have tomorrow. You gotta move like lives depend on your yes. You gotta move like lives depend on your yes. You gotta move like the kingdom depends on you. You gotta move like ain't nobody but you in the world. I maybe wish I shouldn't have come cause you might be counting on me. Baby I'm counting on you. I'm counting on you to hold your square down.

You gotta move like there is no other option. Like if I don't do it, it cannot be done. If I don't say yes now, I don't have another six months. I don't have another year. I gotta move. I gotta move. I gotta make a power move. I gotta make a power move. I gotta make a power move.

I'd have made some doubt moves, I'd have made some fear moves, I'd have made some shame moves. I'd have made some moves I regretted. But I'm in a season of my life that if I don't make a power move, then the power of the enemy, I wish I had some people in this room who got sick and tired of seeing the devil making moves over our families, moves over our generation, moves over our nation. I'm sick and tired of the devil having his way. So God, I'm giving you full permission to do whatever you need to do for me. If it's a word,

I prophesy it. If it's a song, I'm singing. If it's a prayer, I'm saying. If it's a song, I'll sing it. If it's a prayer, I'll say it. If it's a business, I'll build it. I came to take territory, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. When you walk into the job it ought to be an announcement that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. You gotta serve notice on the enemy every time you wake up that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Johannesburg, what's up baby? You're supposed to be the ones on the front line The kingdom of heaven is at hands It's in your hands

It's in your head It's in your heart Release it into the earth! Oh, Peter. Peter has a lot to work through. Peter has a lot to work through. Because he's called, but he's not perfect. Peter has a lot to work through because he's called, but he doesn't have the type of training. All he has is revelation.

Oh God. That's so good to me. All I got is revelation. I can't really make it make sense to anybody else. All I have is revelation. I got a revelation of who god is. I've got a revelation of what he can do in this industry. I got a revelation of what he can do in this family and and I can't always put it in the language but all I've got is this revelation and Peter

says I'm going to spend my life trying to unpack this revelation. Because Jesus sparked him. Follow me and I will make you a fish. connected in some way to what's happening. You think you're here maybe you think you like me you don't really like me I'm sparking something that God wants to do on the inside of you. There's something about what I do that sparks what God can do on the inside of your life. Sometimes God sends something just to spark you. But Peter, Peter tries to walk on water and he fails. Peter thinks to himself, I'll never deny Jesus. And he denies him three times.

I was studying as we were preparing for tonight and I wanted to go back to the scripture in Luke when Jesus informs Peter that the enemy has asked about him. Oh, y'all, God is so good to me. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon indeed, Satan has asked for you. There is no greater privilege on earth than the devil asking about you. I know some of y'all scared of that, but I'm telling you if the devil's not asking about you, you're not doing nothing.

Satan has asked about you. Satan wants to get his hands on you, but because he desires to sift you as wheat. Man, I want to be famous in hell. I'm going to be honest with you. I want the devil to wake up thinking about me, because every time I open my mouth, I take something out of the enemy's camp. I'm from an old school church girl from Dallas, Texas. We used to sing a song about going into the enemy's camp and taking back what he stole

from me. I wake up every day trying to figure out what I can get back from the devil. He tried to take so much from me that I wake up every morning thinking, you ought to be thinking about me. Because today I'm going to do something that reclaims some of my territory. Today I'm going to do something

that snatches another woman out of the grips of hell. Tonight I'm going to do something that saves my family from more heartbreak. Tonight I'm going do something that saves my family from more heartbreak. Tonight I'm gonna do something. Said Simon, Simon, Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail. Oh, it's so much in this text. I wish Jesus would have said, but I stopped him. But he didn't say I stopped him. He said, I prayed for you. He

said, I prayed for you that your faith should not fail. I'm not going to stop the sifting, but I am going to pray for you. I'm just so glad that we serve a Jesus who sits on the right hand of the Father Make an intercession on our behalf because even when the enemy asked for my name I got somebody praying for me in a realm. I cannot see Simon Simon. I want you to know Sarah Sarah I want you now lady now lady. I want you to know that that the same has asked for you He's asked to sift you as wheat, but I am praying for you that your faith would not fail You think you on your last leg you are wrong

There is a man making intercession on your behalf You think you in here because your friend convinced you to come you think you're in here on your last leg You ain't even on your last leg, baby You're just getting started because you are a starter. Somebody's praying for you. You didn't have the parents to pray. That's all right. There is a man named Jesus praying on your behalf.

I don't have no friends. Jesus prays for me. I don't have no spouse. Jesus prays for me. I don't even know what's coming, but I know Jesus is somewhere making intercession on my behalf. Oh God, I thank you that when I didn't have the words, that you set my name anyway.

I'm praying for you. Even in the sifting, I'm praying for you. Even in the weeping, I'm praying for you. Even in the depression, I'm praying for you. Even in the weeping, I'm praying for you. Even in the divorce, I'm praying for you. Even in the depression I'm praying for you. Even in the weeping I'm praying for you. Even in the divorce I'm praying for you. With the cancer I'm praying for you. I'm praying that your faith won't fail. Between work, the gym, family, I am overwhelmed. Sis, are you feeling overwhelmed?

You're not alone. I'm Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, licensed psychologist and host of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast. And I'm bringing candid mental health conversations straight to your podcast feed. We'll unpack everything from conquering imposter syndrome to nurturing your friendships. Join me and my expert guests as we explore mental health and personal development. Whether you're just starting your mental health journey, entering motherhood, thinking about becoming a therapist, or just trying to show up as the best possible version of yourself. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, host of Womanica, a daily podcast that introduces you to the fascinating lives of women history has forgotten. This month we're bringing you the stories of athletes. There's the Italian race car driver who courted danger and became the first woman to compete in Formula One. The sprinter who set a world record and protested racism and discrimination in the U.S. and around the world in the 1960s.

The diver who was barred from swimming clubs due to her race and went on to become the first Asian-American woman to win an Olympic medal. She won gold twice. The mountaineer known in the Chinese press as the tallest woman in the world. And the ancient Greek charioteer who exploited a loophole to become the first ever woman to compete at the Olympic Games. Listen to Wamanica on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I got seven minutes.

My God, I said I pray for you that your faith should not fail. And then it says, and when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren. Oh, this, and the King James version, it says, when you have converted, when you have converted back to me, there's going to be a moment where it looks like the sifting has done its job because you're going to feel separated and disjointed. One part of you is going to feel that spark. Another part of you is going to feel like you're drowning. The sifting is going to feel like it's working. But when you have returned to me, when you

have converted back to me, which means that my prayer doesn't mean that you won't have moments where you feel like you're falling apart. But I already know the end from the beginning. And if you can maintain your faith even in the separation, you're going to return to me. And when you return to me, you're not going to maintain your I'm saying that when this separation season is over for you, when you return to god, you're not going to return with a limp. You're going to return with more strength than you had before you went through the

sifting in the first place. Maybe this is why Jesus prayed for him because Jesus understood if he can withstand the sifting, he's going to be stronger than he was before the brother. He's going to be God. Oh God. And he is ready to step into the fullness of what God knew when he told him

follow me and I will make you fishers of men. We're in Acts two and the day of Pentecost has fully come. I'm about to wrap up but this moment in the text was so beautiful to me because we see Peter after the sifting. We see that Peter after the sifting is someone who takes leadership in Acts one and replaces one of the missing disciples. We recognize that part of what Peter needed to overcome in order to step in the full manifestation of what God knew about him would require that he engage with people who may have known him

as a failure before. Who may have known him as a failure because some of us cannot step And so we can't move. We can't get over who we became. Oh, I wish I could really spend time with you. I would tell you about the moments I became someone I wasn't even proud of. I tell you about the moments where I surprised myself. Peter said, I'd never deny Jesus. Somebody said, I'll never do that again. I'll never touch that again.

I'll never drink that again. I'll never do that again. And then we do the very thing that we thought we'd never do. And yet some kind of way, Jesus says, that spark that I started in you, it didn't die when you quit. It didn't die when you started doubting yourself. That spark I put in you is still there.

That spark when I first called you, that spark when you were so hungry to obey me is still there. You still that person. I still see what I saw in you. Oh God. He sends his son to die on the cross because I still see in the world what I saw in the world when I created the world. I still see it. God doesn't give up on what he sees because what he sees, we don't see. We give up on what we see.

God doesn't give up. So good is our God that for his own goodness, he forgets our transgressions. I don't even see that. And you're blinded by who you were. Blinded by what you done. Blinded by who did it to you. So much so that you can't see what God sees. But God still sees it. I still see you as fearfully and wonderfully made. I still see you as anointed. We don't have to get into the semantics of whether you deserve it or not. My grace is sufficient for you.

I'm just telling you, I still see it. If I didn't see it telling you I still see it. If I didn't see it, you wouldn't be here. But your breath, your breath is a promise that he still sees it. And there is nothing more powerful than seeing Peter Peter step into what God sees. Oh and Peter steps into what God sees. After he failed, after he messed up, after he did not Jesus, he still steps into it. What a God, what a God, what a God. What a God, what a God, what a God that you would order my steps from the place of my missteps. We talk about God ordering our steps as if we took all of the right steps. But Gus says wherever you are, wherever you misstep,

I can order your steps from right there. I can order your steps from the relationship I told you you shouldn't be in. I can still order your steps from there. I can order your steps from the pride that you found yourself in. I can still order your steps from there. I can order your steps.

No matter how lost you are, I can still order your steps from there. I can order your steps no matter how lost you are. I can still order your steps. and I've watched god order my steps. steps I was afraid to take. steps that made me feel small. and we see Peter. Oh, I don't And some people are amazed

that they're speaking in tongues and other people are confused and some people think they're drunk. Last night when I was preparing I asked God what is the word for Johannesburg tonight? And the word last night was rebel. So I asked God what is the word for Johannesburg tonight? And the Lord told me the coast is clear. The Lord told me the coast is clear.

The Lord told me that the devil you saw today that you will see no more. God told me the coast is clear. God told me it's time for somebody to start moving in the spirit with fresh fire and fresh anointing. God told me it's time for somebody to light it up, to blaze the trail, to say yes and obey. God told me that you'll know the coast is clear, not by waiting for the noise around you to stop, not by waiting for someone else to say, now it's your turn.

You'll know the coast is clear when you finally got rest in your spirit about who God has called you to be. Oh, I wish I could say that better than I said it right then. God says, I want to give you rest in your spirit. Because as long as the coast is clear inside of you, it doesn't matter what's happening outside of you. You're in this room and the coast is not clear inside of you. You don't have rest in your spirit. You don't have peace in your spirit. Grief, worry, pressure, expectations. Can I do it? Should I quit? Can can someone else do it your spirit hasn't been at rest in a long time

I've been praying for you that your faith would not fail Because I know us on the other side I finally come into a place where your spirit is at rest. I'm always asking God like antagonistic questions. I probably get on his nerves low-key. Like, God, why? Why should't lie and convince I share it all of the time. But I have to tell you that my spirit has had more rest in the last 12 years than I could have ever imagined.

I thought that I would always torment myself. Thought I would always be the first person to have something negative to say about me. I told myself that it was making me strong. That if I hate on myself, it won't hurt when someone else hates on me. If I doubt myself, then it won't hurt when someone else doubts me. I was doing the devil's work for him. But something happened in the sifting. I'm not going to be able to

vision for my life, the more rest I got in my spirit. Your obedience brings rest. Your obedience brings rest. Your obedience brings peace because there is no safer place to be than in the will of the Lord. And I'm not just talking about doing something, I'm talking about existing and being and breathing in the presence of the Lord. So you're in this room and your spirit hasn't had rest. There are many things that I cannot impart. Some things God did not give me to give, but the spirit of rest. I want you God's saying, don't worry about it. Don't be afraid. Don't start thinking about down the road. Don't start thinking

about 10 years down the road. God says, right now, in this moment, I want to give you rest. Right now, in this moment, I want your peace to be still. Your peace has been on the move. I want your peace to be still.

Prince of peace. Prince of peace. Let it out. wherever your doubt, your worry, your pain, whatever you want to call it. It's taking up place where your peace is supposed to be. I want to give you five seconds to just scream it out, yell it out, cry it out, whisper it out, just release it, release it, release it, release it in the presence of the Lord, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, release it, let it go, let it go. You can't hold on to it any longer. Let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go.

And in the last days, I'll pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Somebody needs to bring their flesh to the surface. Somebody came with their cute church face, but I wanna give you five seconds to let that doubt, to let that worry, to let that fear rise to the surface. Because your doubt needs to have a confrontation with his glory, because your pain needs to have a confrontation with his glory because your pain needs to have a confrontation with his glory because your pain needs

to have a confrontation with his power let it out let it out let it out let it out let it out let it out let it out like this is your only shot let it out let it out let it out like if I don't release it right here it may hold me hostage like if I don't release it right here, it may hold me hostage. Like if I don't release it right now, my child might carry this weight. Like if I don't release it right now, my community might carry this weight.

Release it like it's a generational curse. Like I'ma let out a yell my daddy couldn't yell. I'ma let out a scream my mother couldn't let out. I'ma let out some pain that my grandmother had pent up. Generational breakthrough, generational breakthrough. It begins with you. Generational breakthrough. Out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Out of your belly, out of your belly, your belly. Stir up the gift of God on the inside of you. belly stir up the gift of God on the inside of you. Rivers rivers rivers I gotta go I gotta go I gotta go I gotta go I gotta go I gotta go rivers rivers rivers rivers rivers rivers rivers rivers rivers rivers rivers rivers where there was a drought God says I'm gonna bring rivers. Where there was pain, I'm gonna bring rivers. Spirit, spirit of the living God. God, release your peace in this place, God. Let us settle and come to these, your sons and daughters,

Let us settle and come to these your sons and daughters and Establishing Satan I rebuke you Devil I rebuke you I claim these my brothers and sisters as Members of a royal priesthood God I thank you That you're not done touching them. God I thank you that you're not done changing them and transforming them. God I thank you that you're not finished resting on them. And so God I pray that they would feel your presence in a way that they have perhaps never

felt before. That the power of your love, that the strength of your grace, that your joy would rest on them in a fresh new way. God, and I thank you that you've got rivers flowing from them, rivers they cannot see. So God, I pray that from this day forward, that they would never lose out of their mind that which you have said about them.

lose out of their mind that which you have said about them. God I pray that you would uproot the spirit of torment, the spirit of shame, the spirit of guilt that has haunted them ever since that day. You know what day it is and God I pray that in exchange that you would help them to see that goodness and mercy has been following them. May they turn in the direction of your goodness and your mercy. May they change their minds, bringing thoughts that are not like you into captivity. Let this mind be in them,

which was also in Christ Jesus, that they would humble themselves and obey recognizing that no other way but your way will bring them the peace that they never had. I thank you God for a reclaiming, for a redefining, and then for a releasing. May everywhere they feet tread God experience your backup. And I for a seed and then for a God, I thank you for the person they're touching. This person who's in their region, in their vicinity, in their family. God, I thank you that you have orchestrated for us to not do this kingdom thing alone. And so God, as they are touching that person, I pray that they're pouring strength into that

person, that they're pushing faith into that person. I thank you God that you are dispatching angels on behalf of the person they are touching. And I thank you God that as you dispatch angels, you were strengthening them that you're filling them with your spirit and that they will remember the weight of what it felt like to be connected to a community that has decided that their spark cannot die so we plead the blood of Jesus over the person we're touching we decree and declare right now in the name of Jesus that they will not be forsaken because we have never seen the righteous forsaken. I thank you

God that their seed will not be begging for bread and I thank you God that as they are touching that person that it's like they're receiving a touch from you. Let healing flow through their hands. Let strength flow through their hands. Let strength flow through their hands. May they experience your love and never let it go. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Evolve. Hey y'all, Dr. Joy here.

I invite you to join me every Wednesday on the Therapy for Black Girls podcast, a weekly chat about mental health and personal development, where my expert guest and I discuss the unique challenges and triumphs faced by black women, through the lens of self-care, pop culture, and building the best version of you. If you're looking for more ways to

incorporate wellness into your life, listen to the Therapy for Black Girls podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, host of Wumanica, a daily podcast that introduces you to the fascinating lives of women history has forgotten. Who doesn't love a sports story?

The rivalries, the feats of strength and stamina. But these tales go beyond the podium. There's the teen table tennis champ, the ice skater who earned a medal and a medical degree, and the sprinter fighting for Aboriginal rights. Listen to a manica on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.