“Be Great Before It’s Too Late” with Jentezen Franklin

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connection I couldn’t help but think

that God wants greatness to come out of

us but it takes a humility and God says

the ones that I can trust greatness

within the great house are the ones who

will purge themselves cleanse themselves

set themselves aside and say God I want

to be great for you I want you to touch

my life with your grace and I want to

see greatness break forth in my life for

the glory of my king

today I want to talk about be great

before it’s too late

I want to speak specifically on the

subject of greatness because he talks

about in a great house there are vessels

of honor and dishonor vessels that are

great and some that are not great great

house being in a great house does not

make you great it’s one thing to have

great parents but that doesn’t make you

great it’s one thing to work for a great

company corporation that’s great but

that doesn’t mean you’re great because

you’re in that great house or that great

corporation or that great church or that

great family that you’re a member of

you’re either adding to the greatness of

that family or you’re diminishing it and

they said it’s possible to be in a great

house but you not be great you not be

gold you not even be silver you not be

brass you just be dirt or clay so being

in a great house does not ensure that

you’ll become great we should we

shouldn’t look at people own levels of

greatness some people say but I would

remind you that Jesus did Jesus compared

people and said some people are great

and some people are not he said of John

the Baptist’s in Matthew 11:11 referring

to John he said john the baptists of men

born of woman he is the greatest in

another occasion in Matthew 18 the

disciples came to Jesus and they said

who will be greatest in your kingdom and

Jesus said except you become converted

and repent notice two things you repent

that’s a that’s given your heart to

Christ but then you have to be converted

and converted as the renewing of the

mind is it takes some time to be

converted you repent instantly and

you’re forgiven but the conversion those

who go on from repentance to conversion

the turning away from and the turning in

to what God has called you and purposed

you to be and he said

that when you become humble as a little

child you can be great so I made a list

of things that greatness is not this is

a real simple message but I want to give

you what greatness is not and then a few

things that greatness is this morning

number one greatness is not inherited

it’s not the result of birth in other

words you cannot inherit greatness you

can be born high and live low or you can

be born low but you can still live high

your greatness is not determined by your

pedigree or or the family that you are

born into your parents can be great and

you can be a dummy or you can be born

into a family where your father and

mother were terrible less than great

people and you can become great you

can’t be great because of people who

gave birth to you you can’t be

eliminated from greatness because of

people who gave birth to you greatness

is not inherited secondly greatness is

not income a lot of people think that

wealth makes you great but it’s a lot of

wealthy people who are not great people

on the other hand poverty is equated

into greatness in a lot of people that

that if they have nothing they must be

great and neither one is true you’re not

great because you’re poor you’re not

great because you’re rich you you’re not

greatness your greatness is not based

upon your income it’s not based upon

inheritance greatness is not Talent now

this is very important to listen

greatness is not Talent there are some

people who are good at doing but they’re

not good at being we see this all the

time in fields like athletics and stuff

they’re great they’re talented they’re

great at doing something but they’re not

great at being someone and talent is not

greatness they do something great but

they’re not great I don’t

just want to do something great I want

to be a great person a great father a

great husband a great pastor a great

preacher I don’t just want to do that I

want to be it it’s the difference

between doing something great and being

great me give you another one

greatness is not popularity it’s not how

many Twitter followers you have it’s not

how many Instagram people you have how

many of you know some of the celebrities

have millions and millions but they’re

not great because of their popularity

never sacrifice greatness for popularity

if you get busy worrying about does

everybody know how good I am and how

great I am you’ll sacrifice your

greatness for popularity greatness just

does what it does and people discover

the greatness they see it in you

greatness is not cheap greatness will

cost you something greatness will cost

you something not somebody else

it’ll cost you something it’s gonna cost

you some time it’s gonna cost you some

energy it’s gonna cost you some some

some sacrifice it’s gonna cost you some

resources it’s gonna cost you some hours

of your life laying down paying the

price going the extra mile doing what

other people are not willing to do

greatness is not cheap greatness always

cost more that’s why there’s not many

people who achieve greatness they’re not

willing to pay the price greatness is

not immediate this is so important in

other words greatness takes time to

develop you can’t just run in your room

and come out great you can’t just go to

church one Sunday and expect to be great

because you went to the altar and prayed

and you got all kinds of stuff going on

but you prayed and now I’m supposed to

be a great Christian it doesn’t work

that way you can repent instantly but

the conversions gonna take a while and

greatness is not immediate greatness

takes some time I when I first started

playing the saxophone my daddy said I

sounded like a a why

goose try dying it I would squeak that

horn is a woodwind instrument it’s very

hard and if you any of you who’ve been

food band with your kids it’s it’s it’s

awful those those beginning years

whether it’s a trumpet or they all sound

the same is burberry per band it’s just

you’re listening to that you think they

will know they don’t have the talent

it’s not there and and and and and I

thought about how that when I was in

college I had students that I taught

saxophone to the you know the hip gave

me extra money and so I had several days

where I’d have three and four hours

back-to-back 30-minute lessons and those

students would come through many times

over nine ten eleven years old little

bit of kids I think some of them didn’t

practice the lesson I gave them until

they came back that week on the spot

there because they had not improved at

all and I would listen some days for

four hours to squeaky squeak

squeak-squeak-squeak

and I was thinking about that this week

held it how that greatness is not

immediate do you have to go through the

squeaky phase with anything some of you

your marriage is not great yet and

you’re about ready to give up only

you’re just in the squeaky phase

greatness is not immediate you got to

stay with it you got to stay at it you

got to keep working on e we give up too

quickly greatness is not common

greatness is not something that you see

a lot it distinguishes you from the

crowd it makes you stick out when you

become great greatness does not have to

have the approval of everyone and if you

are the kind of person that will have to

have the approval of everyone in

understanding of everyone you’ll never

achieve greatness greatness is uncommon

greatness takes tremendous focus it

takes decisions that you make and you

can’t always have everybody approving of

what you know you’re supposed to do you

cannot have the approval of everyone and

be great and the sooner you understand

that

the sooner you do great in life you’re

always going to live your life at the

lowest common denominator of your

friends if you don’t watch it and the

more you get involved people you get a

bunch of people in the room and you

start out with an idea like this and

they’ll keep bringing it down to the

common denominator that’s down here

somewhere and you begin to compromise

and lose the force of greatness in your

life no one can be great by living below

their potential somebody else can be

great doing the same thing you’re doing

because for them that’s greatness but if

you’re not giving it all that you have

all that you the talent that you have to

achieve it then that’s not greatness for

you even though somebody else can be

doing it and for them that’s great

but for you it’s almost effortless

therefore you’re not living at a level

of greatness because you’re not living

at the fullness of your potential you

can’t believe one way and live another

way and be great

greatness is living what you believe and

living up to your potential

now listen hidden greatness is usually

revealed during hardships usually you

will not discover greatness in a person

until they go through hardship it’s the

hardship the crisis that brings

greatness out of people the hard places

reveal hidden greatness hidden greatness

we’ll get in trouble and rise to the

occasion that’s when you start seeing

greatness it’s not watch what people do

in trouble watch what people do in

crisis and if they fold up there’s no

greatness there but if there’s greatness

there it’ll come out in the hard places

there’s something inside an internal

reservoir that won’t lie down and stay

down and whine and call their most three

defeated friends and have a pity party

but there’s something about a person

that when the when the waters get

troubled and all hell’s breaking loose

greatness will step up to the crisis

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living and the restoration of joy the

great fear of this generation is not

death or disease it’s I’m afraid for one

second I’m going to get quiet and

stealing in that society God says be

still and know turn it all off and know

that I am gone but in his presence there

is fullness of joy and at his right hand

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four seventy three I want to teach you

the secrets to joyful living you’ve been

down and depressed and discouraged but

there’s a spirit of joy that’s going to

be released in your life as you hear

these messages now here’s what you have

to do to be great number one you have to

be teachable the Bible said in Proverbs

a fool despises instructions

everybody say this out loud I must be

teachable or I will never be great if

you’re a know-it-all if you are somebody

who doesn’t listen to wisdom if you’re

somebody who’s got to argue with wisdom

all the time and have it your way you’ll

never achieve greatness the Bible talks

about a fool despises instructions you

learn in life the lessons of life two

ways mentors or mistakes and when you’ve

got people like parents and family and

grandparents that have lived life a long

time been around it all seen it all and

they’re mentoring you you’re either

going to listen to those mentors are you

gonna live and make mistakes sometimes

that

will set you back 10-15 years or you can

listen to that advice and it can

catapult you to a place of greatness

it’s up to you but you must be teachable

to be great you never come to a place

that you cease from learning great

people never stop learning people who

are very skilled at what they do they

still want to learn how do I get better

how do I get better one of the qualities

of greatness is it’s always wanting to

get better wanting to learn more won’t

you know people who are not good are not

open to instruction the Bible said that

the Lord in Isaiah will give us the

tongue of the learn but it also goes on

to say he’ll give you the ear of the

learned morning by morning he wakens

your ear to hear and if you will ask God

he will help you

to become great by being teachable and

learning continual learning morning by

morning to be great you have to be able

to receive correction you have to be

able to be told you’re not doing this

right and you have to be able to be told

that with a good attitude keep a good

attitude when you’re told that most

people had rather you pat them on the

head and tell them they’re great they’d

rather tell them that they’re great than

have you correct them I should say

receiving correction is not hearing it

receiving correction is receiving it

listening to it and walking away and

mumbling under your breath after you’ve

been giving correction is not receiving

correction touch somebody and say

everybody needs some correction come on

just touch him so everybody come on you

know they need it do you know how many

people are struggling because they had

nobody to correct them do you know how

many people are in prison today cuz they

didn’t have a daddy that would correct

here do you know how many churches and

ministries have been dwarfed because

they wouldn’t listen to the correction

when we get it and we hear it we ought

to receive it and sometimes God will

require of you to take your Isaac your

gift your talent and lay it on the altar

and be willing for it to die your

singing ability you’re preaching ability

or whatever it is that God’s gifted you

to do lay it on the altar and say God

kill it if you have to I want to be

great in your eyes

that’s greatness to God that stuff

matters to God and receiving correction

greatness listen is the tool not a

weapon have you ever noticed that some

people if they achieve greatness can God

trust you with greatness will you use it

as a weapon against all the people who

said you couldn’t and and beat the

living daylights out of them with your

greatness when you get it what do you

mean you can’t if you put some people

over the watercooler

they start requiring a doctor’s note to

get water because you put them over the

pencils and and suddenly you got a list

of rules and they like the law I’m over

the pencils you ever met people like

that you can’t put them over nothing cuz

it goes through their head and they get

crazy if you were all of a sudden great

how would it be on the people around you

would they be able to stand you would

you be humble would you use your

greatness as a weapon or would you use

it to bless David the Bible said became

king of Israel the greatest king of

Israel and when he reached his place of

greatness he didn’t use his greatness as

a weapon against all of the

enemies that had followed him on the way

up but he said is there anyone of the

household of Saul who was sold a man who

tried to destroy him and he said is

there anyone of his household that I can

bless that’s greatness Joseph when he

got to the to the right hand of the king

of Pharaoh and was put over all the corn

of Egypt and all the food in the world

he didn’t use that greatness as a weapon

against his own family and against the

butler and the Baker and all the people

who had done him wrong and throwing him

into prison he didn’t use his greatness

as a weapon he used it as a tool to

bless people that’s when you know

there’s greatness is when you can look

at the people that tried to stop you and

when you’re in that place of greatness

and you can turn around and say I have

nothing against matter of fact I’m gonna

bless my enemies as a matter of fact you

meant it for my evil but God meant it

for my good and he used it to bring out

of the hardships greatness in me for his

goal you’re not great until you release

greatness into someone else the ability

to recognize and relate to to see

someone and release greatness in them

and through them is a true character

characteristic of greatness if you’re

not careful you’re minimize and try to

equalize but one of the greatest things

you can do is find someone in pour into

them that’s a sign of greatness the

ability to maintain honor is a

characteristic of greatness honor your

father and your mother you can see that

the humaneness in others but you can

maintain the honor that’s a great thing

and so today I couldn’t help but think

that God wants greatness to come out of

us but it takes a humility to handle

greatness can God trust you with

greatness

can God take you from where you are to

places you’d never dream you could go

and do things that you never imagined

you could do it’s

limited what God can do in your life I

don’t care who you are listening to me

right now God says I have a place of

greatness your greatness is not someone

else’s greatness and in a great house

here’s the deal in a great house we’re

in a great house today

there’s vessels of honor and dishonor

there’s vessels of dirt and there’s

vessels of gold and God says the ones

that I can trust greatness within the

great house are the ones who will purge

themselves cleanse themselves set

themselves aside and say God I want to

be great

for you I want you to touch my life with

your grace and I want to see greatness

break forth in my life for the glory of

my king something inside of every person

doesn’t want to be mediocre average get

by but they want to be great and there’s

nothing wrong with that but you can’t do

it without God he’s the source of

greatness

going across this room today is the call

to greatness he’s not calling you to

average he’s not calling you to be

common he’s not calling you to be normal

he’s not calling you to settle for low

things normal things average things he’s

calling you today to greatness will you

be a vessel of honor can God trust you

today with greatness and you use it to

bless others then turn around and pour

it back into others if so he’ll make you

great he’ll make your name great he told

Abraham you will be great and I’ll make

your name great in that powerful God has

the power to do it he raised his one up

he pulls another down he can do it

will you submit your life to Him I want

to be very specific I feel in my heart

that there are many people who are

running from a call to greatness because

you’re not an honor you’re not an

honorable vessel right now the truth is

you live in a life and you know you’re

not living for Christ you talk the talk

but you don’t want to walk and when you

get off with your little friends you

just think you’re gonna it’ll just go

worse until you get enough of Jesus for

yourself to say I’m gonna be great no

matter what environment I’m put in I’m

his vessel of honor pastor I want you to

pray for me today I feel a call to

greatness I’ve known for a long time I

was born for something greater than what

I’m doing but but sin and the enemy has

sidetrack me and I would love to

surrender my life to Jesus Christ today

I’ve been looking for a chance to change

and I want to give him my life today

would you pray for me I will pray for

you and Jesus will touch you today if

you’ll invited me in pastor pray for me

I want to receive his great mercy grace

and forgiveness you’ll never be great

until you get the greater one on the

inside of you greater is He that is in

you

that’s what’s missing in your life

pastor pray for me I want to get right

with God today if that’s you pray right

now Lord Jesus I surrender my life to

you I believe you died on the cross it

was a great cross that you carried the

Calvary and you nailed my sins

everything I’ve ever thought everything

I’ve ever done everything that I have

ever seen you nailed it to the cross and

I just want to thank you that I’ll never

face the judgment for what I did because

you have forgiven me and I put my faith

in you and your blood cleanses me from

all of my sins I’m not a vessel of dirt

I’m a vessel of gold

I have great value because of what you

did for me and today I receive your

honor I receive your grace I receive

your forgiveness and today I thank you

that you’re releasing into me a spirit

of greatness I will be great before it’s

too late and god I thank you for greater

one that lives in me Jesus Christ now

lift your hands high and let’s praise in

just a minute we got to rejoice over

this I see tears I see people broken

I see miracles happening I see people

being set free Lord fill them fill these

vessels of Honor with the Holy Spirit

and set them free from every addiction

in every bondage in Jesus mighty name

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