This is “A Cup or a Well.” Perspective is a powerful thing. Often our trials are magnified and our blessings, minimized. This is exactly the way the enemy wants you to see things. But God’s truth tells us differently! In this message with Jentezen Franklin you will learn to look past your cup of trials and tap into God’s never-ending well of blessing!
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connection if you let it the world and
all this going on we’ll just go press
you and it’ll keep the whale of living
water and joy and you’ll go around just
focusing on your cup of trials and
forget you got a whale a blessing and
goodness that’s following you all the
days of your life and this is the worst
world will ever know all the trials are
in this world is a cup of trials but
when we get to heaven there will be a
well the blessing streets of gold gates
of pearl and not just in heaven but
there’s blessing here on earth if you
believe it give God a shout of praise
[Music]
Psalms 116 in verse 12 I felt like
preaching now Psalms 116 what will our
render verse 12 to the Lord for his
benefits toward me listen to these words
I will take up the cup of salvation and
call upon the name of the Lord he said
I’m going to take up the cup of
salvation the analogy in the scripture
there are two there’s a cup in the Old
Testament and there is a whale in the
New Testament in John chapter four it
talks about the woman at the well and
Jesus said if you will drink the water
that I offer you you will have a well of
living water that will never run dry and
you’ll never thirst again so I want you
to see that you have in the Old Covenant
a cup of salvation but in the New
Covenant we have a whale of salvation
but you have to decide do you want to
drink out of a cup or do you want to
have a whale you see there’s a
difference between Old Testament
salvation and New Testament salvation in
the Old Testament the blessings of God
the salvation that he offered was
referred to as the cup of salvation God
served his salvation by the cup that’s
why David said in Psalms 23 my cup
runneth over
that’s why Psalms 1:16 said I will drink
of the cup of salvation there was just
enough salvation through the blood of an
innocent animal one day a year the high
priest would roll the sin he wouldn’t
wipe the sins away just roll them over
to the next year and you could drink
that cup it was just enough to cover you
from judgment salvation by the cup full
is the Old Testament language but in the
New Testament he promised a whale of
living water
don’t go around all the time with a cup
hunting for a spigot you can have a
whale
I love the story of the woman at the
well because the Bible said when she
found Jesus and Jesus said follow me
she left her water pots the Bible said
she traded her cup and her water pots in
and left with a whale did you know that
you can leave your cup and your water
pipe here and you can leave with a well
this morning because jesus said that’s
what I came to offer you the Old
Testament cup of salvation was one of
drudgery it it speaks of drawing and
working and laboring trying to somehow
get just enough to quench the tremendous
thirst and it was never enough the Bible
talked about that they had to draw the
woman at the well said I can’t give you
it when Jesus asked for water she said
how can I draw water I don’t have
anything to draw with the only kind of
salvation you could have is what you had
to with drudgery and work conjure up the
little cup fool but jesus said I am
offering you a well of living water now
listen to me carefully the cup full in
the New Testament the cup in the Old
Testament was the cup of salvation and
the whale is in the New Testament but
now I want you to see according to the
Bible the New Testament trials are
referred to by the cup see Jesus so
changed things on the cross that now all
we get in this life is a cup of trials
that’s why he said if it be possible in
the garden of gethsemane let this cup of
trials pass from me so I want you to see
it the New Testament trials are referred
to by the cup fool it’s the it’s the
trials of life but there’s nothing more
than a cup full of them but when he
offers us blessings he offers us a well
full of blessings so life will give you
a
cup full of trials but Jesus says I
offer you a well full a blessing now are
you able to drink from this cup this
this cup of trials because there’s more
than a cup full a blessing that if you
will if you will bear and not fall and
not fail and not quit and deal with your
cup of trials and sometimes we need to
get rid of our cup mentality of of you
know we kind of reverse that around and
we think we have a whale of trials and
tribulations in just a couple blessing
but Jesus reversed that thing and he
says you have a cup of trials compared
to the well of blessings I’ve given you
even this morning no matter what you’re
going through here going to add anybody
watching me I’m telling you that if you
look at your life you may have a cup
full of trials but you have a whale full
of blessings and you ought to be
thankful the enemy wants us to think
that we get troubles by the whale full
and blessings by the cup full but that
concept is not our New Testament
experience our New Testament experience
is we get trials by the cup full and
these light afflictions Paul said it’s
just a little cup full are not worthy to
be compared with the whale of blessings
that God has stored up for those who
love and honor him I don’t know what
you’re going through but the good news
is that if your cup is full of trials
and troubles your whale is full of
blessings and God is not going to leave
you with a cup he’s going to your story
is going to end with a whale of blessing
I thank God today that we can we can
clean out our whale the problem is a lot
of people don’t enjoy their salvation
because their whale gets clogged up with
so much from the world the Bible talks
about in the book of Genesis how that
Abraham dug whales and then the next
generation Isaac came and the tried to
drink from those whales but the
Philistines the Bible said plugged up
the
Wales with filth and I’m telling you
today that we need to remember that
there’s a whale that we have but if
we’re not careful the world will plug
that whale up the cares of life the
carnality and sin and and the filth that
we see in the filth that we hear in the
world that we live in and the negative
stuff that we see and feed on it clogs
up the wail of salvation and you have to
do what Isaac did Isaac the Bible said
cleaned out the whale what we have to do
is get the junk out of the whale I tell
you if you let it the world and all this
going on would just oppress you and
it’ll keep the whale of living water and
joy and you’ll go around just focusing
on your cup of trials and forget you’ve
got a whale a blessing and goodness
that’s following you all the days of
your life and this is the worst world
will ever know all the trials are in
this world is a cup of trials but when
we get to heaven there will be a whale a
blessing streets of gold gates of pearl
and not just in heaven but there’s
blessing here on earth if you believe it
give God a shout of praise clean out the
whale clean it out and I just want to
say that we need to go back and redo
some of the whales that our fathers dug
and taste that water again and clean out
our whales the problem is our whales are
so full of we’re worldliness and the
lust of the eyes the lust of the flesh
the pride of life that we are so
consumed with this present world we
don’t enjoy the living whale of water
inside of us we have to clean out the
whale clean your life out clean your
mine up clean your spirit up get clean
on the inside so the whale can spring up
I remember the night I received the
baptism in the Holy Spirit it was
something else I was in a little
Pentecostal church my mom and some of
them were praying for me my daddy was
praying for me too
he had those women in my ears one of
them screaming hold on hold on one of
them screaming let go let go
they were my mom used to they didn’t
believe in cutting her hair much and she
would put her hair way up up it up up
higher than the Tower of Babel and and
and and she would get the shouting
sometimes you need to shout like that
she would shout and shout her hair down
it’d be like a horse whip one just the
woman’s hair and they would dance and
but let go hold on I didn’t know what in
the world is going on here but I got a
taste of that well you make fun of me
you can laugh at me you can say I’m
crazy but I’m gonna tell you something
this whale will give life to your
marriage it’ll give life to your
children it’ll keep your family in the
21st century
it’ll bless your home it’ll bless your
life there’s nothing the world can offer
you that can compare to living water
whoo hallelujah I’m trying to calm down
but I feel like shouting right now I
just have a cup of trials but I’ve gotta
weigh all the blessings in my life take
a praise break and I’m gonna keep
preaching clean the well up there’s a
lot of carnality there’s a lot of
frustrations and burdens and family
problems that can that can call the
whale up clean it out get back to God
this morning it’s up to you you can
leave here with a cup full of blessing
another sip
that’ll last you another week or you can
leave your cup here and walk out with
the whale the woman at the whale he said
if any man thirst
she had a thirst Jesus began his
ministry with hunger for 40 days he
ended his ministry with thirst on the
cross when he said I thirst he he went
the whole spectrum for you and I he
hungered and he thirsted so that he
could say with conviction blessed are
they that hunger and thirst for they
shall be filled do you hunger for God
God hungry me and God hungry women God
hungry men find God God hungry women
find God blessed are the hungry and the
thirsty for they shall be filled
you got a hunger for more Paul said in
Ephesians 5 do not be drunk with wine
where is in excess maybe that’s the
problem
maybe we’re so full of the intoxicating
things of the world that there’s no
living water in the whale anymore so
caught up and we need to be cleaned out
and he said don’t be drunk on wine where
is excess but be filled with this Holy
Spirit speaking to yourself in hymns and
songs and spiritual songs singing making
melody in your heart and to the Lord in
other words you’re in love with Jesus
again the Bible said that the living
water would spring up in us God’s
language is up God’s language is up
God’s language is always up that’s why
the Bible said stir up the gift and
stand up and will be called up and look
up your Redemption draweth now because
God’s language is always up Jesus was
preparing for the Last Supper and he
told his disciples go to the city and
you’ll see a man there who has a pitcher
on his head an empty pitcher he’ll be
carrying it on his head
follow him and he’ll take you to an
upper room and you rent it and buy it
and I’ll meet you there and we’ll have
the Last Supper
what do you following him for cuz he
knows where the water is well you and I
are supposed to be pitcher bearers God
has called us to be the ones that are
thirsty world looks at and if they want
to know where the water is they see us
and they know that if I follow them the
thirst that I can’t get quenched
anywhere else I can get it quenched if I
follow them they know where the water is
John
chapter 8 the Feast of Tabernacles goes
for seven days they would read from
Isaiah he that is thirsty let him come
and drink freely and right in the middle
of that reading of that scripture a tall
Galilean by the name of Jesus steps up
and he says these words with a
thundering voice if any man thirst let
him come unto me and out of his belly
will flow rivers of living water this
spake he of the Spirit which they had
not yet been given the Old Testament
spear experience was a cup full and it
always left him thirsty one priest with
one cup a year would reach into the pool
of Salome and he would pour it out
signifying the feast of tabernacles was
over and that was it if any man now it
was only a priest that could that could
do that ceremony but Jesus says if any
man thirst and then he says these words
he says out of your belly will flow
rivers it’s plural not a cup not one
river but rivers in this specky of the
spirit that you and I can have rivers of
living water not just one river but
multiple rivers flowing in every area of
our life flowing in to every aspect of
our life this well is the Holy Ghost
flowing out of us a little boy ten years
old received the baptism in the Holy
Spirit in children’s church and his
mother asked him what was that like and
he said these words
I got a tiger in my tank not like that
because that’s really the only
description there’s a difference between
walking down and shaking the preachers
hand and signing a confession card and
getting a tiger in your tank and what
this generation needs is more than a
handshake in a card filled out we need
to get a tiger in our tank called the
holy spirit come on somebody out of your
belly will flow rivers of living water
I’ll pour water upon him that is thirsty
Jesus said David said all of my springs
are in you that’s what you call an inner
spring that’s why we bounce so much the
only experience that ever brought
dissatisfaction in heaven is recorded in
the book of Peter when it says with the
Holy Ghost he has sent down from heaven
which things the Angels desired to look
into in other words there’s been only
one time when the inhabitants of heaven
became dissatisfied with the glory that
is in heaven and they saw something on
earth that made them dissatisfied with
what the head and they said we desire to
look into that and guess what it was it
tells you what it was when the Holy
Spirit was poured out upon the church
the angel said we’re dissatisfied with
this we want some of that we go around
with a cup barely making it barely even
thinking of God when we’re supposed to
be a well of living water full of the
holy spirit with joy the scripture said
in Isaiah we draw from the whales of
salvation the cup experience is over the
whale is flowing do you understand that
don’t lose your excitement clean out the
whale clean out the junk the thing about
this well as he said he that drinks of
this water will never thirst again
here’s the difference one sin always
calls for another sin sin is always
is thirsty one drink calls for another
drink
one drug calls for another drug one
affair calls for another affair one lust
calls for another less it’s always
unsatisfied but he that drinks of this
water will never thirst I don’t know
what you came to get out of this service
I would say a lot of people just came to
get a little cup here’s my cup Lord but
why settle for a cup when you can have a
whale
why don’t you exchange and throw your
cup down like the woman at the well she
left her pots at the whale and at that
natural whale she threw her pots down
and took the whale home with her Jesus
[Music]
I’m saying to you that if you’re thirsty
there is a river that is available to
you today there is a source of joy that
the world cannot offer you there is
something that only heaven can satisfy
on you and it’s the river of living
water lift your hands up high open your
mouth wide and go to praising God for
about 10 seconds hallelujah
whoa Jesus there’s somebody here so
thirsty there’s somebody here who’s who
just needs the river of living water
rivers God has so much more he’s missed
you he told me to tell you come home
come home if you’re weary come home
you’ve trodden the path of sin too long
come home maybe you’ve just been busy
with the cares
maybe the whale you you know it’s there
but it’s been clogged up with the things
of this life
come home I wonder I want to give a
little different altar call this morning
but I wonder how many of you would say
pastor Franklin
I would I would love for the river
I would love to exchange my cup for
River this morning I’d love to leave my
cup here and take a well home I’d love
for the dry spell to be over and I’d
love to get a fresh taste of heaven of
living water this morning you don’t have
to do it doesn’t mean you’re not
spiritual for you don’t do it but if
there’s a hunger and a thirst for more
get out of the seat and come stand as
close as you can get to this to this
platform this morning come quickly come
quickly
why don’t you come trade your cup of
trials in for your whale of blessing
this morning come on hurry there’s more
there’s more there’s more get in here
get in here God’s gonna bless you when
you move on a word let’s lift our hands
toward heaven and if you know you’re far
from God come home
he’s calling you pastor pray for me
you’re preaching and talking to me right
now
boldly raise your hand right now now’s
the moment if you know your back slid
you’re not right with God and you want
to get right with God raise your hand
high right now raise it high on a shame
beautiful beautiful hands all over this
room all the way up in the balcony
raise them high raise them high raise
the mind everybody who has a hand raised
I want you to keep your hand raised and
I want you to look around you if you see
someone with your with their hand raised
reach over and put your hand on their
shoulder
let’s pray this prayer together miracles
of salvation miracles of cleansing
miracles of forgiveness
brand-new cleansing the whale is being
unplugged today pray this prayer Lord
Jesus wash me cleanse me forgive me I
receive your forgiveness I believe
you’re the son of God you are the Lord
there is no other name whereby I can be
saved and I receive him take me back
open wide your arms of love Lord I’m
coming home now fill me with this whale
of living water I’m trading in my cup
for a whale and I’m gonna take you home
with me in Jesus name
fill me so full that none of the other
things will be able to destroy me in
Jesus name I want you to give the
biggest cheer of
morning to the king of kings and the
Lord of lords here at free chapel our
mission is simple to inspire people to
live for Jesus with incredible worship
and messages by senior pastor Jentezen
Franklin
you will leave encouraged to thrive
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start is free chapel boy so come I
invite you to join us at one of our
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come place to call home
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