Messed Up But Still Anointed
Pastor Talbert W. Swan, II
Leviticus 21:16-23
16 The LORD said to Moses, 17 "Say to Aaron: ’For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. 18 No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; 19 no man with a crippled foot or hand, 20 or who is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles. 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to come near to present the offerings made to the LORD by fire. He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God. 22 He may eat the most holy food of his God, as well as the holy food; 23 yet because of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. I am the LORD, who makes them holy.
INTRODUCTION
Statistically 97 out of 100 babies are born healthy…however, an expected mother has a 3 to 4 percent chance of giving birth to a child with defects. However, if defects run in the family then the chances are alarmingly higher. A birth defect is a problem or challenge that is present at the time of birth. A birth defect can be so mild that on the outside the baby looks normal…it is not until testing has taken place that it can be ascertained that something has gone awry. In medical terms there is phraseology called congenital anomalies, which is an abnormality of birth. Something happened while you were still in the womb that was not detected. 40 percent of birth defects come from genetics or environment. 60 percent of birth defects to this day cannot be traced to the place of their origin. With all of the technology, all of the strides…they still cannot pinpoint where the brokenness came from. They just know that 40 percent comes from genetics or environment.
BORN AGAIN
I’m saying all of that to say that any person who was born again…there is a high chance that while you are born again….you were born again with some defect. Because I’m born again does not mean that I’m perfect…it doesn’t mean that I am devoid of issues…but 40 % of my issues come from the stuff I had to deal with in my family or my environment. But there is 60% percent of the stuff that is going on with me that is not from my family…not from my environment and I don’t know how to fix it because I don’t know how it got broken. So how do I deal with my issues when the church doesn’t even have an answer for the issues and the areas of my brokenness? And what happens if my brokenness is so mild that by looking at me I seem normal. It is not until you have spent some time with me that you find out that there are some deep seeded wounds that I don’t know where they came from…..and I don’t know how to get rid of them.
I don’t know where you’re sitting in this sacred space called sanctuary but somebody…everybody around you was born with something. We were born in sin and shaped in iniquity…my sin may not be your sin but if you stick with any person long enough you will see some traces and some highlights of a person who is wounded with an issue.
Because we are living in a politically correct era we no longer use the term handicapped…we now use “disabled, challenged or impaired” So my hearing is impaired…my sight may be impaired…If I’ve lost my limbs I am challenged. But isn’t it strange that when you try to live for God…what you face are challenges…things that God never designed to handicap you but to see if you would be able to walk through life knowing something is wrong. The only way that you’ll keep hurting yourself is if you pretend that you don’t have a challenge. But when you know you have a challenge you can readjust your life bcuz If you don’t readjust your life you’ll keep bumping into stuff…you’ll keep falling over things…you’ll miss it when things come in your direction.
TEXT
So imagine how alarmed I was when I read Leviticus chapter 21 with all of the sensitivity training that is given in a corporate structure as to how to use proper terminology and what needs to be in the restroom and how there needs to be an adequate entrance way and how there is a need to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act….so how out of all places in world that in the Word of God we seem to find discrimination against people who have issues. In Lev. Chapter 21 God uses an unlikely source…he tells Moses..these are the people who cannot work for me in the church. These are the people who can’t bring the offering…who can’t stand on my behalf…these are the people who do not meet the standard…these are people that are messed up.
Now I had a problem here because the person God told to tell other folks that they were messed up….was messed up himself. He told Moses…who has a stammering tongue because of an environment that was overwhelming for him…he was being raised in a house he knew he didn’t belong in….he was in foster care after his own mother gave him up and his father was nowhere to be found..and so it was environmental…not sure if it was genetic bcuz his father never spoke to him.
Notice that God will use somebody that’s messed up to tell me what’s wrong with me. God uses broken vessel to tell us about our brokenness…. But we have the nerve to complain about the broken vessels that deliver the message to us…..but can’t even identify the brokenness that is inside of us…He can’t tell me nothing….she can’t tell me nothing. God is brilliant in His selection of messanger…he understands that it takes one to know one……He understands that sometimes the only person that can get to the drug addict is someone who used to be addicted……so He sends somebody in front of us with all of their issues just so you can see what yours are.
So God says to Moses…these are the people that you can’t use for my kingdom…these are the people who are messed up…these are the people who missed the mark…the people I don’t want representing me are blind……….Please don’t limit that to the physical…Hellen Keller was interviewed and asked “what’s worse than being blind?” She said the only thing worse than being blind is having eyes but having no vision. There is something to be said about people who claim to love God but have no vision for their lives…too many of us are satisfied with the right now..while God is pointing to a greater way and a greater possibility …so many of you have shared the vision that God has given you to folks who try to talk you out of it bcuz they cant see what God is showing you…you’ve gotta get away from people who are blind bcuz all they’re looking at is now. But when you’ve been anointed by God…you can’t be stuck in what you see now bcuz we walk by faith and not by sight….so when you see me celebrate God it’s bcuz He showed me something I can’t see yet…but I’m holding onto it bcuz if God told me I believe it’s gotta come to pass.
God says…I don’t want people who are blind…but not only do I not want those who are blind….I don’t want people who are LAME …who sit by the pool…I was walking past John Chapter five the other day and I saw a pool called Bethesda and right by the pool there were lame folk and Jesus came out of nowhere and said “how come you’re not walking and a lame man complained and said “I had nobody to push me in the pool” God says..that’s the kinda folk I’m talking about…I’m sick of being around people who keep blaming other people for why they’re not further along in life….you’ve gotta learn to stop depending so much on other people and learn to depend on God bcuz folk will let you down…they’ll make promises and say that they’re gonna be there…but when times get tough you’ll find out that you’re in it all by yourself.
And I don’t know if you’ve lived long enough to find out that people will walk away from you in your most vulnerable moment ……so you need to learn like David to encourage yourself…to say God if it’s just me, myself and I…I don’t need no crowd to give you glory…as a matter of fact I had church before church…I learned how to give God the glory by myself…..I aint depending on nobody to do nothing for me…If I can’t get it I’ve gotta trust God to give me the resources I need. Stop blaming other people…. …stop acting like a victim and start acting like a victor…I know there’s racism and sexism…I know there’s economic inequality…but how was your grandmother able to do all of that with no degree…with no grant money…with no loan..but she understood Jehova Jireh….He is my provider…stop playing the blame game..and say “I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me!”
I don’t want lame people…I also don’t want people with BROKEN FEET. Psalms declares…blessed is the man who walketh not in the council of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners….God says I don’t want people who keep going back to what I delivered them from. You cried when you were in the middle of it and I delivered you from it and everytime I turn around you’re back in it…are you out of your mind…you barely survived the last time…..When God shuts the door you better change your address..get your number changed…move in another direction…this is the time when you have to walk away from some stuff…away from some folk…..It is not personal …it’s business. I’ve gotta get what God has for me and if you’re draining me and stressing me and worrying me and fighting me..you are blocking me from my goal….and you better get to stepping before I walk over you. I don’t want people with broken feet…who keep going back to what they’ve been delivered from.
Not only broken feet but BROKEN HANDS. You see….anybody with a broke hand doesn’t have the capacity to hold on. I don’t know where are in this stage of your life but God sent me on divine assignment to tell you today that this is the season where God wants to see how long can you hold on….I know you’ve thought about quitting…I know that there have been stages where you’ve said it just aint worth it…I know there were moments when you almost gave up on God and almost gave up on the church but God says when you get to the end of your rope…tie a knot and hold on….I know it looks like everybody else is passing you by…I know you feel like you should be further along but God is saying…keep holding on bcuz the calvary is coming….look at your neighbor and say …don’t you dare let go…..Well pastor Swan..what am I holding onto? I’m holding onto what God promised me…God promised me that my best days were in front of me…I’m holding onto the fact that He said He’ll never leave me or forsake me… …I’m holding on!
That’s why you need to be careful how you judge people in church…Some folks aint shouting because they have everything…they’re not celebrating bcuz things are perfect…sometimes they’re giving Him glory bcuz it’s all the strength they have left…you don’t know …somebody on your row almost got high last nite…almost let go…almost made a phone call to the wrong person…almost committed suicide…but decided to hold on a little while longer…God I don’t know when you’re going to do it but I gotta trust you that weeping may endure for a night…but JOY comes in the morning!
So I can’t use broken hands…I also don’t want anybody working for me with a HUNCHBACK. Being a spiritual hunchback is a sign that they can’t handle the weight. They’re bent over from their circumstances. God says …I need some people that while they have the weight of the world on their shoulders…you can’t tell by looking at them. There is someone today who is carrying 3000 pounds of stress but you don’t wear it on your face and in your demeanor…as a matter of fact..you look better than what you’re going through…you didn’t come to church to show off or to be a part of a fashion show…you just had to let the enemy know…you didn’t break me…you didn’t take my joy…you didn’t take my pride…I’m still standing up..even when I feel broken on the inside. God put a weight on you back to see whether you could stand under the pressure….so many people in your family…so many people that you grew up with …so many that you used to run with have fallen by the wayside..bcuz they couldn’t handle the pressure…when life got hard they got swallowed up in drugs and swallowed up on the streets and swallowed up by alcoholism and in depression…some of you have seen people that you knew from back in the day and they look 20 years older than you and you’re trying to figure out what happened to them that didn’t happen to you…When the pressure started mounting you refused to lay down and play dead..but you lifted up your head bcuz the Bible says lift up your heads o ye gates…and be ye lifted up……and the King of Glory shall come in…
Who is the King of Glory…the Lord Mighty in Battle. Somebody said He’ll never put more on you than you’re able to bear.. YOU CAN HANDLE IT! God made your back stronger than you think it is……you can tell the enemy…give me some more…add some more and see if I don’t still walk out of it.
Not only do I not want a hunchbacks…But the text says…I don’t want any DWARFS ….. Let’s not look at this in the physical…let’s look at it in the spiritual…I don’t want anybody who refuses to grow into their full potential…anyone who cuts off where they’re supposed to be by small thinking and a small perspective and a small mindframe. How are you waddling around like a dwarf when you were created to be a giant? Some of you feel that the walls are coming in on you…that’s just God reminding you that the place that you’re in is too small for you….that check that they’re paying you don’t match your anointing…those friends around you..you’ve outgrown them and they cant even catch up to where you’re going..You’re supposed to be hanging in a valley of giants but you keep limiting yourself with dwarf thinking. God wants to know is there anyone here who is tired of low living, small planning and mundane talking and colorless dreams…..Is there anyone tired of sight walking and tiny times and midget management…is there anyone who wants to grow past where you are. I don’t have time to spend with folk who want to stay at the same level…if you don’t want more for your life you will never be an asset to the kingdom. If you don’t think you can get better than life is right now you will never see the fullness of God’s glory. People who have dwarf thinking get don’t understand those of us who think outside of the box…..As a man thinketh so is he. I don’t have ten dollar thoughts….hundred dollar thoughts….I have multi billion dollar thoughts because I serve a great big God…..I know…folks keep telling you “slow down…you’re doing too much”…why you going after all of that? If I was you I would be satisfied…well you aint me! And bcuz you aint me you don’t understand that there’s a hunger inside of me…I want to know more of God…I want a deeper level of anointing ….a higher level of success…more wisdom,,,,more knowledge…clearer thinking……more understanding…..I want higher heights…deeper depths…I want more…but too many of us have been acting like snow white…hanging out with the seven dwarfs…..God wants to make you a giant!
So I don’t want anyone who’s a dwarf…the text also says that God doesn’t want anyone who has RUNNING SORES….They have wounds and scabs that won’t heal…so they’re cut up in pain from something that’s not recent. They keep dragging on for years something that God has already delivered them from…..so everytime you talk to them they keep talking about the pain of the past bcuz they won’t allow God to heal them from it. God is looking for some folks who can say yes…I’ve been hurt…I’ve been wounded …I went through some painful experiences…I was in some stuff that almost killed me..I felt strangled…I felt suffocated…I was let down…I was rejected..I was isolated..but that was THEN…and this is NOW. And so now I wanna thank Him for every mountain He brought me over..I wanna thank Him for every valley He brought me through…I aint telling you to pretend like you aint never been hurt before…but you’ve gotta make up in your mind that if it didn’t kill me…it made me stronger…
if it didn’t wipe me out..God wanted me to get a lesson out of it. I don’t want anybody whose still carrying the wounds and the pains of something I’ve delivered them from.
Then the text says…God can’t use anyone with CRUSHED TESTICLES. The carrier of the seed….God can’t use anyone who won’t be productive. …who doesn’t have the ability to reproduce…who only wants self gratification. Not looking to see how they can be a blessing to others but everything is about what’s in it for them. God is looking for us to reproduce…We shouldn’t be the only ones in our family with faith….our faith should be contagious so that folk in our circle will catch on. The enemy wants to crush your spirit so that you’ll never produce….but you should look the enemy in the face and tell him…you shouldve killed me when you had a chance..but bcuz I’m still here I’m gonna reproduce faith….love…peace…and trust in God.
So the text says that if you’re messed up like these folk …you can’t be used by God…you’re not fit for the Kingdom…you’re not suited to take over. But then He leaves a LEGAL LOOPHOLE. He says …..unless your Father is Aaron you can become clean.…If so…forget the fact that you’re messed up….because of who your father is ….you can become clean and you can serve. Because your father is not Aaron you can become clean and I can use you. I’m so thankful that as messed up as I am…I know who my Father is….not my biological father…I’m talking about another father…my Father is rich in houses and land…He holds the power of the world in His hand.
Leviticus is the book of law..and if we were stuck in the Old Testament we would be bound by the OT Law…but bcuz of Jesus….we’ve got grace. Grace then breaks the law…so the stuff that was supposed to happen…didn’t happen to me bcuz of His grace…you see the wages of sin is death…that’s the law..but the gift of God is eternal life….that’s grace.
I don’t know where you are..but every now and again you ought to remind yourself that I am where I am not bcuz I’m so good but bcuz of His grace….I can preach a whole sermon on that…as a matter of fact when I want to talk about his grace there’s only one thing I can say about it…it’s AMAZING!
With all of my brokenness God can use me…in spite of all of the things that are wrong with me…God has a purpose for my life…the enemy is a dirty fighter…..he tried to do everything to mess Jesus up…he wanted to make sure he didn’t meet the mandate of the law…..He took a 9 inch spike and ran it through his hands to make sure His hands were broken…He took a twelve inch spike…drove it through His feet so his feet were broken…He put a crown of thorns and turned it so blood was in His eyes so that He was blind and couldn’t see…he put a 200 pound cross on His back so His back would be hunched over…but they made one mistake…when they got to the top of the hill…they lifted Him up and he said If I be lifted up I’ll draw all men unto me….No wonder I praise Him..If you knew all my issues ….all my mess…everthing wrong with me and how God loved me anyway…you would give Him the glory too.
In the New Testament he switches it…bcuz of the grace of God…I don’t want perfect people…perfect people don’t know how to bring a sacrifice…now I want people who are wounded and broken and are hurt and got blood on their hand but understand that God can redeem me.
So now let me separate the room….If you’re perfect I don’t want you to give God the glory…but if you know you dragged yourself into church with all of your mess and got the nerve to shout anyway…give God the glory!
