Discipleship in Being in Divine Alignment – Pressing Into Understanding
Sunday, March 5, 2023 – RECAP/Study Points
[Watch the Testifying Time video.]
Dr. DeeDee: I think that was really powerful. She’s a coach as well, you know. She’s a trainer, and she’s always sharing different principles and different things on how you can conquer and overcome in your exercise routine. One of the things that I’ve taken away from this whole video presentation is that she has some understanding about something. In order for her to get over the hill, she had to understand something. She understood that she could do it. She understood that she had the ability and the wherewithal to conquer that hill. She also understood that that hill wasn’t going to last always. One of the things I really admire even about what you’ve been teaching is this whole principle on Divine Alignment in our thinking; having a Divine Alignment even in his this relationship as far as Pastor-parishioner or Pastor and Shepherd, you have to have some kind of agreement with what you want. That’s simply what alignment is. She had to be in agreement even with what she was saying because a lot of times, you can come in here, you can quote certain things, you can watch this video, and you can sit there and look at it over and over again, and your mirror neurons can be running, and you can be jogging up that hill with her, but if you don’t have any understanding that you can conquer every hill, every challenge in your life because the scripture says you’re going to have hills.
Say…I can conquer every obstacle, every option that’s presented to me, every last one of them.
Dr. DeeDee: The scripture says you are you are going to have hills that you’re going to have to overcome (John 16:33), but the good thing about that scripture is if you can, if you stop right there saying in this world, I will have tribulations, and you have understanding of that because of your experiences and what you have always encountered because we all will have those challenges, but understanding is reading the rest of the scripture and having a revelation that but be of good cheers because God is already over the overcoming. So, even though the challenges and the obstacles come, you know to overtake you, they don’t have to, but if you don’t have understanding that it doesn’t have to, then it will. I mean, it’s just talking about, I mean, even thinking about the challenges or the things that are that present themselves against us even in a relationship in our marriage, it’s like if I don’t have understanding that this dude is for me that this dude is with me that we are one and we can conquer and winning every everything, and I’m not going to allow myself to even embrace the fact that I can get over the hill.
Or, get over him because him is a lot. Him could be a hill. I know him. I’ve been with him for 62 years, and him is a pistol. Yeah, and if she doesn’t have understanding about this hill and what you teach about understanding, divine comprehension in my heart that gives me the ability to repeat something at will.
Dr. DeeDee: She said every time, but one of the things I do know, and this is not to say anything bad, that mountain is there, but she did come back and say it gets easier. You can overcome. I believe that every mountain you face, you don’t have to keep going to because you should learn something from the last mountain that you encountered. You will have others that are going to come up and present themselves to you, but you should not have to be dealing with the same hill every time and still having the same difficulties in getting over the hill. Do you understand that?
As you expand and grow and are exposed to more things in life, with those introductory things, as it relates to new things, there are some mountains at every level. With every level, there’s a new Devil. But, because what we have experienced and even what we’ve understood has caused us to have victory, how many times? Every time!
Pastor Dewayne: You know, it’s amazing when Dr. DeeDee was saying it’s that understanding that she had, that comprehension that she was able to repeat something at will. It always kind of puzzles to me because she said about this love-hate thing. You know something that you love, but then there’s something that you hate about it. You know, it’s amazing; there are a lot of people who love the promises of God. I mean, they love, and they squeeze the promises of God, but they hate the process, and you can tell that they hate the process because they quit in the middle. But, what you’ve got to do is make an adjustment in your mind. You’ve got to make an adjustment in your mind, and when you do that, you’ll let patience have her perfect work, so you can be able to endure the process, the things that the devil is throwing at you. You don’t have to give up in the middle. The reason why people give up in the middle is because you gave up in your mind before you gave up in your actions. Your body is a reflection of what you believe. Your behavior will always follow your belief. Your behavior is never before your belief, so stop focusing on your behavior. That’s not the problem. It’s the way you believe when you’re going after the promise. So, let’s go after the promise, and let’s bring home the bacon y’all so we can feed some other people around us.
I would like to even kind of expound or elaborate on the belief system. The belief system is predicated on your thinking because as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. I even made a decision to stop asking people, ‘how are you doing?’. My salutations and greetings from here on, and it may take me some time, guys, so be patient with me and tell me; I want to approach you and ask you how you are thinking because if I can get to your thinking, I can discover how you’re doing because what you do is a byproduct of your thoughts and when people are not doing right they’re also not thinking right. You see what I’m saying here? This understanding will help align your thinking. So, therefore you are processing your thoughts in a manner of understanding where you’re always getting the desired result.
I told you that right after this lesson on pressing into understanding. Understanding what? Divine Alignment. I gave you an acronym for FLOW. Anybody remember the acronym FLOW? Following Laws of Winners. Shout, I follow laws of winners! Jesus is a winner. I follow his law. Your pastors are winners. I follow laws of winners. People in the congregation are winners.
I follow the laws of winners; therefore, guys, when we’re sharing certain things as it relates to this Divine Alignment, understanding is absolutely critical. Why are they doing what they’re doing? My job is not just to come in here and preach; my job is to build lives. I told you that this understanding Divine Alignment would be this series. I told you there’s a series that’s following this series. Anybody remember? Renewing Your Mind, and you should be making notes of these things so you can get way ahead. Most places you go into, you’ll never know what the pastor is going to be talking about until that day when he introduces the subject matter. I’m putting you way ahead of the game so you can be aware of what your teacher will be teaching. I told you right after that I’m going to be teaching on what? Do you remember class? Yeah, I said Words, but before, it was Agape and Honor. Well, the Lord began to deal with me about it. Before you get to Agape and Honor, right after the Renewing of Your Mind, I have to talk to you about your Words. So, right after getting your thinking right, I want to get your speaking right because there are five functioning components to faith, and two of them are how you think, how you believe, and then how you speak.
There are so many believers who don’t speak in line with the Kingdom of God that they have surrendered themselves to. ‘I’m on a fixed income.’ That’s corrupt communication. ‘My feet are killing me,’ ‘if it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all,’ and then you can go into churches and hear, ‘he may not come when you want him’. That’s filthy communication, and because you don’t know any better, because you have not been taught, because you’re not properly aligned, and you don’t have understanding when Rev says he may not come when you want, you all up in the air (shouting) Yeah! You know why you’re saying yeah? Because your situation is kicking your behind, and it feels like Jesus ain’t around. He can’t be around with my life being the way it is. How could he be here and let me continue to live like this? So, you’re still thinking he’s coming, and you speak what the preacher has spoken, and Jesus said this, ‘I will never leave yo,’, but you say he may not come. She said being aligned equates to agreement. You’re not in agreement with God when you say he may not come. How can two walk together unless they agree. So, we’re going to get your words right because your words are creating your destiny.
Pastor Dewayne: This has been going on for eons. Do you remember Job? Job was going through his thing, and Job said out his mouth, he said teach me, and I will hold my tongue. Right after that, he said, ‘how forcible are right words?’
He knew the difference between, and then he comes and say I am snared by the words. You know a lot of people are trying to get ahead, but your mouth won’t let you. Your mouth got you hung, and you don’t know, and you don’t have enough understanding about how forcible our right words are, and even when somebody is talking to you, you can tell your mind is trying to push it out right now. Your mind is saying it don’t take all that. Your mind will tell you a whole lot of stuff, but you better submit yourself under the word of the Living God that’s how you’re going to increase in life, get yourself in alignment with the word of the Living God and find out who you are under and what are you standing on because who you under you’re gonna stand on their point of view that’s why you just can’t listen to anybody right.
Dr. DeeDee: Oh, that’s facts! That’s good because, again, that’s all about Divine Alignment. Your thoughts, your mouth, and your actions, all of that should be in alignment. If you’re thinking one thing and you’re saying you believe something else, and your mouth is saying something contrary to what you say you’re believing, you will never receive what you’re believing God for or what you say. You just got a bunch of Hope. You hope it’s gonna happen. Well, I’m telling you your hope will be deferred, and it’s going to make your heart sick. That’s what the Bible says.
Job was so amazing, and most people quote things out of Job that are truly stated, but they are not statements of truth, and you hear pastors say all the time, ‘the Lord God giveth and the Lord God taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord,’ and you subscribe. But, you should be able to subscribe to the leader you’re listening to, but then later on down in the chapters, the Lord steps to Job and says, ‘Job, shut up.’ But they don’t tell you that.
Dr. DeeDee: Yeah, but they don’t even tell you like having an understanding of parables. Those Old Testament stories were parables those are God’s stories it was like to show you God, not to show you that those principles are supposed to apply to your life and what you’re supposed to do now we pick and choose pieces and parts of it if it was for us to apply all of it to our life then we would still be stoning people we will be killing each other we will be doing so many different things but if you don’t have an understanding of how you study the
Word and what certain parts of the Bible is for you won’t be able to apply to your life the correct way and that’s why I like these particular settings as we segway into that Ecclesiastes 5.
Because some of you all have been coming in here misunderstanding the purpose of why coming here, and you don’t even know why principally speaking, there’s a reason why you come in here and that’s why you can’t go toe-to-toe with a Jehovah’s Witness threaten your kids, and you close the blinds.
Ecclesiastes 5 (MSG)
1 Watch your step when you enter God’s house.
Enter to learn. That’s far better than mindlessly offering a sacrifice, Doing more harm than good.
2 Don’t shoot off your mouth, or speak before you think.
Don’t be too quick to tell God what you think he wants to hear. God’s in charge, not you—the less you speak, the better.
Watch your step when you enter God’s house. Caution! Anytime anyone tells you to watch your step they’re trying to alert you or call you. Watch your step when you come in here now. How many of y’all know this is Old Testament reading? How many of you all know this building is not God’s house? But, a lot of you don’t. Oh let’s thank God for being back in the house of the Lord one more time. And, he was in the house when you came in. Y’all all right?
I had an occasion where I was at the Temple Hills campus and it was very cold that day, and a guy was outside in the parking lot smoking, I mean collar up, everything. He had to have that smoke. It was just bad and I felt bad for him. So, I said hey, bro come here, and he walked up along and I said, “man come on and smoke that inside.” He said, “What?” I said, It’s cold. Why don’t you come in and smoke that?
He said, “I can’t smoke in God’s house.” And, if he had understanding that his body was God’s house… You’re respecting a brick-and-mortar structure. You wouldn’t fornicate if you knew it was God’s house. You wouldn’t put stuff in it. Why wouldn’t you do it here? Because you reverence a place that he called you. You are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, but you’re not being taught. No understanding.
So, where’s the transformation going to come from? Did you put the cigarette out just because, just before you came through those doors? You wouldn’t light up the joint in here. Enter to learn. Enter to what? If I was going to be anything else, I promise you I would be a Jehovah’s Witness, even with their lack of understanding and doctrine, because you know what they do when they come into Kingdom Hall, they pull out their pads and they pull out their Bibles, and they’re writing notes it’s like classroom time. You know what we do? Jump up and down, run, shout, scream, laugh, and get out there and have our butt whipped down to the white meat.
You come in here for the wrong reasons. Some come to fellowship, and you should fellowship. Some come for hookups, and there should be some hookups, even if you found your wife here, fine. Even if you made a business connection here, fine. But that’s not the principal reason for you to come, and some of you will leave here and haven’t gathered any information to take out there and will still remain defeated when Jesus went to hell to take the struggle out of our lives. So, why are you struggling as a Christian? Your father owns the cattle upon a thousand hills, and you can barely make it from paycheck to paycheck. I’m not fussing. I’m provoking you unto good works. You should not be struggling. Say I should not be struggling in any area as God’s child. Why does this ministry have to pay your rent? We will pay it because we got it like that. You got a good leader. We want for nothing. Whether you choose to tithe or it’s your prerogative. That’s your business. I don’t know if you give or not. I’ve never looked at anybody’s tithing record in almost 30 years. That’s not my business. My business is to teach you the word of the Living God, so you have an appetite for the principles and the ways of God.
Pastor Dewayne: You know it’s amazing Pastor Mike. It’s like, again Job asks this question. Where’s the place of understanding and when he asked that question, it kind of makes you think, because you’ve got to answer that question. There are a lot of people in the place where they should be getting understanding, but they don’t recognize they are in the place, and if you don’t recognize that you’re in the place to get some understanding, you’ll never give your ear to it, and it’s made some people. It’s like everyone under the sound of our voice right now you’re gonna fit in the wonderful category, and you can find your category over there in Mark 4. You’re gonna be wayside.
Here you’re going to be ones who receive the word with joy or you’re going to be that good ground person, that when you you hear the word you’re gonna get some understanding, and when you come in here you’re saying, if you recognize or you believe that this is a place that you come into and this is a place of understanding, you’re going to give your ear. It’s amazing, you’ll find that word ear in the word learn. You give your ear to it. And, those who give their ear to what they are learning and apply it, those are the ones who will always earn. And, there’s a difference between those who are earning and those who are not. If you really trace it back, you’ll find out that some of them never gave their ear or submitted to the man and woman God.
It’s amazing to me how some people can come in here and we probably got one of the greatest generals here. I’m not talking about just giving us a message, but I’m talking about modeling the message that he’s ministering. You look at you, you look at Dr. DeeDee, she got a message and she modeled the message. They’re very few that you put two together like that and they are modeling the message and they are willing to give that message to us, and you mean to tell me you’re going to come in here and sit under somebody like that and you’re not going to take advantage of it. Don’t be like the people that were with Dr King years ago, and years later they said this out of their own mouth ‘if I would have known that that man was as great as he was then, I would have given my ear to him more’. You don’t need to have that kind of testimony, you know why, because you recognize this is a place of understanding.
In that word learn is ear and earn. Your ear will cause you to earn this year because there’s ear in year. I’ll tell you how your year will go if I can find out how your ear goes. How’s your hearing? There’s no excuse and he talked about all of the things that we had to have transitioned through. You were a hot mess when I first met you. You didn’t become all this before me. You should thank God for me all the days of yours
Dr. DeeDee: Absolutely, I agree. I do and I tell you and I tell anyone and I had to learn really to get understanding of knowing that you were not just my husband, but you were my pastor, and so even when I had challenges over here on the husband side, I had to lean into the pastor side because I knew you were teaching me things that could profit me, that would be beneficial to me.
It’s the truth and so just like some of them they may have a challenge with certain things that you may say or certain things that you may do, but they gotta understand that no this is my pastor and I have to lean in because this is what I live off of. Like Brittany told you she lived off of the words that come out of your mouth, not just as a father in the natural, but as a father in the spiritual arena. You are given to us to lead us into green pastures, but if we don’t have an understanding of that, we think it’s about control or dictatorship or another man just trying to tell me something to do.
That’s what I’m saying and OMG I wouldn’t even bother you if I wasn’t called to do this. My personality, my makeup especially, I wouldn’t ask you for a dime. I wasn’t asking y’all to give or to sow. I would mind my business and be very successful at it as a believer sitting in the pew, but when I’m teaching this, and like Pastor Dwayne said, and the fruit is visible point out an area of our lives that there’s a deficit. Isn’t that what he went to hell for? I’m not saying we’re perfect. I’m talking about every gap has been filled with principles of His word, and if we can do it, listen anybody can do it.
My daughter here, spiritual daughter from our homeland in the beautiful country of the Bahamas. Pastor Dwight and his amazing wife Naomi are here they’re visiting with us and we were at the house in the Bahamas and she came over. We were talking about something and she complimented the eyewear. So, she complimented and I said oh yeah this will probably look good on you. And, I like getting certain reactions, so I knew she would respond a certain way when she tried my glasses on. I said here try them on and I knew it would cause her to just be like dang you cannot see. She put them on and she said oh, these are nice man what what’s your prescription? And, I said I don’t know. I said give me your glasses. I put her glasses on and I’m saying this chick can’t see. Because I could see. I was like oh snap. And, so we just dropped it and I said well if you can see then here take them, they’re yours. And, the next time we were back in town I brought five more pair. And, so we just so happen to have a meeting with the optician and they were there, and I told my optician, I said can you believe that she is wearing the glasses that I gave her. And, she was thinking I just gave her the frames and she put her prescription in it, but she hadn’t. She said, “What? You can’t do that.” She said, “No two visions are alike.” And, I said like the fingerprint. She said there are no two.
And that hit me like I said oh my goodness. I said, oh man we don’t even see the thing the same way. That’s where all the trouble and the challenges are coming from, because no two people see alike. And, I got thousands of people and no two people see alike. So, how are we going to see alike if in fact, I don’t offer you these lenses (from the Bible). Come on. The only way you’re going to see as one is that you align yourself with the one that will cause us all to see the same way. It will fix your marriage because you see as one. It will fix your business because you see as one. It will fix your siblings and affect your community.
Pastor Dewayne: Yeah, because if people don’t listen to what they are are hearing you know it’s going to go back to what Pastor Mike was talking about, a scripture that he’s going to throw in, so I’m gonna just throw it in right now. Proverbs 10:13. Yeah, that’s the white meat scripture I think you were talking about.
He said wisdom is found on the lips of him who have understanding, but a rod is for the back of him that is devoid or lack or empty of understanding.
Proverbs 10:13 (MSG)
You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight, but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face.
Even when you’re not responding properly, even doctors will come to you to bring you through unconscious. They just they tap you on the face to try to awaken your consciousness.
Pastor Dewayne: It’s amazing. When you sit down listen to someone, if they are not trying to teach you in a manner where you can get some understanding, then what they are saying to you. They don’t care about you because they always want you to come to them so you can feed out of their hand. The person that loves you is going to give you some understanding, so not only you can go out and win, but you can help deliver others out of darkness and bring them into the marvelous light. My antennas always go up with people who stand in front of us and just want to entertain you. I don’t want to be entertained.
I want you to teach me and give me some understanding of the Word, because when I look in the Bible it says those who hear the word and understand it, those are the ones that’s going to bring forth fruit. So, you can come in here and hear the word of the Living God and don’t get an understanding. You will not bring forth fruit, and if you don’t bring forth fruit you’re gonna misrepresent Jesus, because you’re going to be opening up your mouth talking about the Jesus that they cannot see. But, you don’t have the fruit to show them that there’s a real Jesus. I’m gonna tell you that God’s raising up a people who are saying I’m submitting my ear to the word of the Living God, because the thing that God has to give you and I it’s his word, because it’s his word that’s going to build all of us up. And, this is word that’s going to give us an inheritance. I don’t know about you, but I go with Jesus. Man shall not live by Popeye’s Chicken alone. You’re going to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Anybody wants some understanding from the Word?
Dr. DeeDee: I was just sitting here thinking about what you see out of your eyes is not what came to your brain. It’s not necessarily what you saw in your brain. Listen, it’s like your vision and your sight are two different things and so it’s what you feed here will determine what you will see through here. You know because like if I said dog, you don’t see a dog in this room but you see a dog because you know how to feed that picture in your brain. So, those words like you were talking about, it’s necessary for us to have the right kind of thoughts to come through our mind because we are responsible for those thoughts. You may not know how to control those thoughts all the time, or you can’t really control the thoughts that come, but you can control how long you stay on the wrong thought, which would dictate to you where you will be in life. And for years I meditated on the wrong thoughts and when I decided to get in alignment with the word, get in agreement with the word, because we always think of agreement as being in agreement with just each other or an individual person. But, no you’ve got to be in agreement with this word so you can see what you want.
You don’t see with your eyes, you see through your eyes. Your brain tabulates what has come through your eyes and whatever you have on the canvas of your imagination.
Whatever you have allowed to paint pictures, the images the experiences of betrayals and let downs, the things you’ve been through your subconscious, has already received and absorbed the negativity. So, when something looks like the other stuff that you’ve been going through, you’re quick to go there again until you begin to flush out all of those images, images of negativity.
Dr. DeeDee: But that’s why the Bible says to set no wicked thing before your eyes. A lot of times we think it’s just what we see in the natural but we set a lot of things before our eyes and God is trying to tell us don’t keep looking at that, even through your brain, through your mind because what you feed yourself is what becomes one with you. And, so you gotta change how you see things. Get another set of lenses.
Now, there are two overarching words that I told you to always keep in mind for this entire year and those two words are growth and sustainability. Even in business, your relationship, you want growth and sustainability. And, all of these lessons are designed to create that environment you’re being exposed to. This today should enlarge your territory like the things you would say prior to today you’re not gonna say anymore. I’m gonna keep that thing out of my mouth. There are some things I’m just not going to talk about because I give life to what I talk about. I want to grow and I want to sustain this growth, where we are in our relationship, I want to sustain it and even climb higher. Permission to go to another level? That’s what we did in the aircraft the pilot would always have to ask for permission to go to another level. Now, watch this. Let’s get this. Let’s understand this. I say I understand this now. Now, watch this. In Proverbs 4:7, I want to show you something. It says and with all you’re getting, get what? Understanding. Now,
Psalms 47:7
For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.
Pastor Dewayne: Yeah, because there are a lot of people that are singing praises without understanding. I mean you know like I’m climbing the rough side of the mountain. I’m doing my best to make it in. I mean when you what are you talking about. As a matter of fact the word told you to speak to the mountain, tell the mountain be removed.
They sing praises with understanding that’s why you got to make sure the songs and the praises that you offer up to God got to be in line with the word of God, but you won’t if you don’t have any understanding. That’s why I’m so happy about when Pastor Mike was just talking about flushing out some stuff. That’s why I’m glad that y’all not gonna miss next week when we start talking about renewing the mind, because renewing of the mind is what’s going to flush out that old stuff y’all talking about unplug. We’re gonna unplug you and then we’re going to plug you into the real source because you need to always be connected to the power source that never stops flowing and understanding is that power source that never stops flowing.
When you’re singing and lifting holy hands unto the Lord, you’re causing an interruption in the invisible arena. You’re paralyzing the hand of the devil. And, some people got the nerve to come in here sometimes in praise and worship and their hands stay right here with their mouths barely getting open. You’re not showing that you understand. When I lift my hands in surrender if I understood that when I’m praising him lyrically that’s already understood. We gotta watch the words. He corrected us on that even this past Wednesday when I was singing bless me bless me bless me Lord indeed. He said you aren’t already blessed? So, I changed it. He blessed me, He blessed me, He blessed me y’all indeed. I’m still right with the cadence.
Falling in Love with Jesus
Taking words from the world and trying to use them in the system of the Kingdom of God, and some of you all have become subjugated, because you fall in love with the one you with and that’s why you fall out of love so fast. I love them but I ain’t in love with them no more. The Bible talks about growing in love. Make up your mind what side are you gonna be on and you’re gonna have to use words that are conducive with the system that you are a part of. I have fallen in love with her, but then I decided to grow in love with her, and growing in love with her is far better than falling in love.
Pastor Dewayne: You know what you were saying about the understanding
and sing praise of understanding, it just brought to my mind on last week I was listening to a testimony of this guy, this husband and wife. They had a little child and they gave the child a month to live and if I was getting worse and they said within 30 days, so 27 days later it fell on a Sunday.
They said that they were just so pressed to go to this particular ministry. In the middle of people lifting up their hands, worshiping God praising, the almighty God, all of a sudden, when they turned around to the baby ,they saw a difference. This was their first time coming to this particular ministry, and all of a sudden, they took the baby back to the doctor. The doctor couldn’t find anything wrong, and the mama and the daddy said I’m going to that ministry. But, notice it happened when people were lifting up their hands and praising God with some understanding.
And, I believe with all my heart that that same God, that same Holy Spirit that was hovering over that place, when they were ministering in praise and worship, is that same holy ghost that is hovering and moving in this place. And, I’m telling you we’re going to see the hand of the almighty God and the power of God release his power like never before, but it’s only going to be in the presence of people who have some understanding.