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Experience the life-changing messages from the Church of God’s annual Winterfest youth gathering. These are the sermons, moments, and voices that have shaped generations of young believers — now available anytime, anywhere.
Psalms chapter 127. I'm going to go ahead and start. They may put the text up on the screen,
but Psalms chapter 127 verse 3 says this, and if you've been,
if you're not new to church or maybe been around church, you would often hear this particular
scripture often associated with Father's Day or men, but I want you to see something different
from it tonight that I'm going to share with you. But in Psalm chapter 127, it says,
behold, children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Verse four says, like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
They shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
Notice that.
Verse 4 said, they are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
I love what it says.
They shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
The message says it like this.
Your enemies don't stand a chance against you.
You will sweep them right off of your doorstep.
Oh, yeah.
Now, let's read another passage of Scripture.
In Isaiah chapter 49, verse 2, it says this.
He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword.
he has hid me in the shadow of his hand listen to this I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver
the prophet said this he said he has made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword
he has hid me in the shadow of his hand I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver and I'm going to stop
reading right there and I'm going somewhere with this if you're taking notes and I hope that you
are that you're writing things down it's important that you go back after this week next week and the
following week notes that you took or recordings to go back and listen to every teaching and every
session again and again because oftentimes there are things that you may not get tonight that you'll
get from it next week when you go back and listen but if you want to give a title to this tonight
or a subject, I want to call it something simple.
Arrows, not targets.
Arrows, not targets.
Arrows, somebody say that.
Arrows, not targets.
Say it again.
Arrows, not targets.
There was a young man by the name of Danny Simpson.
Danny Simpson was a 24-year-old young man.
Danny had fallen on hard times
he was struggling financially
he had lost a lot
he had lost his job
he was losing everything that he had
and he was pretty much had hit rock bottom
Danny came up with this bright idea
that the only way that he was going to turn his situation around
was that he would rob a bank
and through robbing this bank
he would receive the funds that he need to get back on his feet.
Danny goes one night and he spends, goes to his parents' house.
There he sits down with them and have dinner.
He's acting as if everything is okay.
He's not actually consulted or even have a conversation with his family,
what was really going on in his life.
But although Danny was there having dinner with his family, with his parents,
his goal was not just to have dinner that night.
Danny knew that his father had kept a handgun at a certain place in the house
Danny was there to go and get that handgun
And that handgun would be the very thing that he would use
As a weapon to hold up the bank to steal or burglarize
In order to get the funds that he thought he needed to survive and get back on his feet
But unfortunately in Danny's failed attempt
when he went to rob the bank and he thought he was successful he was he he ended up getting caught
and the sad thing is is that Danny only got six thousand dollars but he had to serve six years in
jail for this act that he performed so Pastor Javon what what what's the big deal well here's
the thing you got to realize Danny went to jail but the story said the gun that he had went to a
museum why did it go to a museum well come to find out that the gun that Danny had had gotten from
his father the gun that he was carrying to rob the bank it was a 45 caliber Colt semi-automatic
listen to this, which turned out to be an antique that was made by the Ross Rifle Company in Quebec City in 1918.
And the reason why they took the gun and put it in a museum is because the pistol or the gun was worth up to a hundred plus thousand dollars,
which was way more than Danny had gotten when he robbed the bank.
and the problem with this that I want you to see Danny did not have to settle for going to jail
or Danny did not have to settle watch this for robbing a bank if Danny actually understood
the value of what he was carrying because he didn't know the value of what he had in his
possession because he didn't know the value and what he was carrying he settled for a lifestyle
and decisions and choices that ultimately left him down a pathway that took life from him and what
I've come to tell you tonight and to preach to a generation this is the danger of not knowing what
you carry. This is the danger of not knowing the value what you carry as children of the most high
God. And I promise you it is the devil's assignment to trick a generation into not knowing what they
carry, not knowing what their worth is. But I come tonight to declare to you that what God has put on
the inside of you is valuable. What God has put on the inside of you is great. What God has invested
inside of you is major. And I come tonight and serve notice on the devil that we here tonight
in Pigeon Forest, Tennessee will not be a generation that does not know the value of what you carry.
the enemy's goal is a constant attack on this generation's identity when I think about this
the enemy always listen hell will always question what heaven calls you the enemy is always his goal
is to get you in a place where you're confused about your identity confused about your worth
confused about your calling, confused about your purpose, he always understand that this has always
been a strategy of the enemy. Because if you don't know who you are, then you won't know what's
connected to you. If you don't know who you are, you won't know what you possess as a child of God.
If you see this strategy, he did the same thing to Jesus. Notice the first temptation everybody says
was to turn, you know, the stones into bread in Matthew chapter 4. But if you really look at it,
the first thing, the attack was not turning stones into bread. The first attack was on his identity.
The enemy said, if you are the son of God. Notice the first attack was on his identity.
And then when you look at three and a half years of his ministry, the ultimate thing that Jesus
dealt with over and over was questioning was he who he really said he was if thou be the son of
God are you really who that's just a carpenter son that's just another man he's just a teacher
he's just a normal average individual that's what the end all throughout his life even to the point
when he hung on the cross they looked at him and said if you are the son of God save thyself in
In other words, from the beginning all the way to the end and throughout his three and a half years of life on earth,
hell was constantly trying to get him to question who he was.
Because if he could doubt who he was, he couldn't come on.
He couldn't accomplish what he was sent in the world to do.
But I'm here tonight.
Come on, somebody, that this will be a generation that knows who they are.
The enemy's desire is to put labels on you, to label you, to minimize you, to make you think less than, that your value and worth is not what it really is in the eyes of God.
But see, think about this.
Labels on you do not determine the contents that are in you.
Understand that just because a label is on it, it doesn't mean that's exactly what's in it.
I could take a bottle of water if I had one.
I could take a bottle of water.
It was just thought about this.
And I can put Pepsi on it.
But just because I put a label on it, that doesn't mean that that's what's in it.
Are you following me?
See, watch this.
Satan wants to put a label on you.
But Jesus is who put contents in you.
And he tries to come on somebody.
Jesus put contents in you and Satan wants to put a label on you.
But I'm here tonight to come against the lies and the labels of the enemy.
And one of the biggest label that he's trying to put on your generation right now.
I'm going to go to my sermon right now.
One of the biggest labels that he's trying to put on you and minimize your worth, minimize your value, minimize what you carry.
is that you are just a young generation
or young people that are nothing but targets.
You're just a target for depression.
You're just a target for anxiety.
You're just a target for confusion.
You're just a target for abuse.
You're just a target for sexual immorality.
You're just a target for
Everything is messed up. You're just a target. But I come to tell you tonight that the devil is a liar. I did not read scripture that said anything about you, that you are a target. But in Jesus name, you need to recognize that you are an arrow and not a target. You are, come on, a victorious and not a victim. You're the head and not the tail. You're above only and not beneath.
You are not a target.
You are an arrow in the hands of a mighty God.
Can I get somebody to give Jesus a praise?
You have to understand as arrows.
Can I preach this like I feel it?
As arrows, you are God designed.
As arrows, you are God defined.
Your identity comes from who God says you are.
Ephesians 1 11 says it is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we're living for.
Can I just declare the word of God over you?
As arrows you are sons and daughters of God.
As arrows you are heirs and joint heirs.
As arrows you are God's treasured possession.
As arrows you are the apple of his eye.
As arrows you are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
As arrows you are friends of God.
As arrows, you are overcomers by the blood of the lamb and the word of your testimony.
You are not a target.
You are an arrow.
You have to understand as arrows, listen to me tonight.
You have an assignment.
Your presence has purpose.
None of your accidents.
None of your coincidence.
None of your mistake.
I don't care what people may say to you.
The Bible says in Jeremiah chapter 1, God told a young man, he said, before you were in your mother's womb, I set you apart.
I set you apart for purpose.
I set you apart for destiny.
I set you apart for a kingdom cause.
Notice he said before.
You had a before before you ever had a battle.
You had a before before you ever faced trouble.
You had a before before you ever had opposition.
Before anything ever happened in your life or you did anything crazy in your life, God had already set his mind on what your future would be and what you would accomplish in this earth.
Listen to me.
As arrows, you have an assignment.
But as arrows, you are an answer.
Listen to me.
Your purpose is an answer to a problem.
There are some, my God, there are some problems that exist now that should no longer exist because you are in the world.
Your purpose is an answer to a problem.
See, I got to the point when my kids, for a long time I used to say, what do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you want to do when you grow up?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
But I had a mentor of mine, he said, quit asking your children, what do they want to be when they grow up?
I said, well, what do I ask him?
He said, start asking them, what problems do they want to solve?
Because when you, oh my God, when you discover something, a problem that you want to solve,
normally there's a passion that's connected to it.
And that passion is often an indication of your purpose.
Listen, I am not standing in front of almost 12,000 just human beings.
I'm standing in front of 12,000 answers that this earth needs.
I'm standing in front of 12,000, come on, problem solvers in the earth.
I'm standing in front of 12,000 solutions that people are looking for.
You are an arrow and you are an answer.
The Bible said this, that the cries in the book of Exodus,
the Bible said the cries of the children of Israel came up before God.
They were in oppression.
They were getting beaten.
They were getting tortured.
They were getting treated bad.
And the Bible said the cries of the children of Israel, they came up, watch this, to God.
When the cries came up, the scripture said God went down to Moses.
And he said to Moses, the cries of the children of Israel have come up to me.
And then he said, I've come down to you.
and I'm sending you, watch this,
to be the answer to their cry.
Isn't it funny that cries went up to God
and God came down the man
and God said, now I want to use that man, my God,
and his call to be an answer to their cry.
Can I tell you tonight that there are cries?
Can I preach it like this?
There are cries in this city
there are cries in our neighborhoods.
There are cries coming up to God from our communities.
Cries from our high schools.
Cries from our junior high.
Cries from your baseball team.
Cries from your football team.
Cries from your cheerleading squad.
Cries from your volleyball team.
Cries from your lacrosse team.
Cries from your soccer team.
Cries from the hood.
Cries from the ghetto.
Cries from the rich places.
Cries from the high places.
Cries coming from college campuses.
Cries in the government.
There are cries coming up all around us.
And what God is saying, I'm looking for a generation that realized that their calling was meant to be an answer to the cries in the world.
You have been called to be an answer to the cries.
Could, could, could the future president be in this room tonight?
Could the future billionaires be in this room tonight?
Could the future preachers and evangelists and teachers and coaches be in this room tonight?
I wonder what cry is God calling you to answer.
And I'm praying tonight by the spirit of God over this weekend that you just wouldn't hear sermon after sermon.
And have worship after worship.
But somewhere along the line.
This would be your burning bush experience.
This would be your Damascus road.
This would be your wrestling match like with Jacob.
That you come to understand.
That I've been created to do more than exist.
I've been created to do more than just live life.
My life has been created to be an answer.
Are you still with me tonight?
as arrows you have to have an attitude of any way what do you mean pastor javon mother teresa's
poem puts it best if you're an arrow you got to have an attitude of any way what does that mean
it says this people are illogical unreasonable and self-centered but you have to love them
anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of being selfish and have ulterior motives. Guess what?
But do good anyway. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies, but succeed
anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow, but do good anyway. The honesty
and frankness may make you vulnerable, but be honest and frank anyway. The biggest men and women
with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds
but I want you to dream big and think big anyway. People favor underdogs but only follow top dogs
but fight for a few underdogs anyway. What you spend years creating, building may be destroyed
overnight but create and build anyway. People really need help but may attack you if you do
help them but help people anyway give the world the best you have and it may never be enough but
give the world the best you have anyway and in the final analysis it is between you and god
it was never between you and them anyway we need to be a generation that has an attitude
of anyway. Can I preach to you now? I need some of you to say, I'm going to serve God anyway.
They talk about me, but I'm going to serve God anyway. They call me crazy, but I'm going to love
God anyway. They told me that I'm out of my mind, that I'm going to go to a weekend retreat in
Pigeon Forge with all the things you could be doing. What do you mean you're going to be in
service what do you mean you're going to be in preaching sessions what do you mean you're going
to be worshiping seeking God that's the stupidest thing I ever heard it might be stupid to you but
I'm going to worship anyway I'm going to seek God anyway I'm going to live God for him I might not
be popular I may not fit into the crowd I may not look good to everybody else but the last time I
check we only perform for an audience of one and his name is Jesus and we are going to serve God
anyway when you think about arrows arrows have to be assessed are you with me
what do you mean Pastor Javon
arrows have to be assessed
there's basically three parts to this arrow
there's the tip of it
there's the body of it
and there's what they call the fletching
arrow has to be assessed if it's going to be used
if you know the tip of the arrow
there could be different tips this tip can be interchanged
It can be swapped out.
But basically, depending on what it's called to do,
will determine what kind of tip that it has.
Because every tip represents a specific assignment.
Every arrow has a specific tip to accomplish a certain deed.
What do you mean?
In other words, the tip of the arrow, listen to what I'm saying,
it represents your gifts.
It represents your talents
It represents your abilities
It represents your uniqueness
In other words, arrows
God needs arrows to invade every area of society
In other words, all of us will not do the same thing
All of us will not be the same thing
Everybody in here will not be a preacher
Everyone in here will not be a teacher or an evangelist
Everyone in here may not be a bishop or overseer
And there's nothing wrong with that.
There's a, listen, there's nothing wrong with that.
But you got to understand that God is looking for arrows that he can send into every area of society.
He's looking for arrows, come on, in the business world.
He's looking for arrows that will be, come on, athletes who will give God glory and God praise.
He's looking for arrows that will go into arts and entertainment and the music industry and show the world that you can produce something that is godly, authentic, and honest.
And it don't have to be full of garbage and trash and sex and everything else that is debauchery and degrading.
He's looking for arrows.
Come on, somebody, that he can trust to be kingdom financers.
He's looking for arrows that he can trust.
Come on, to be school teachers and coaches.
He's looking for arrows.
I need some shouts in here.
Because some of you, I'm believing you're getting a picture of the arrow that you're supposed to be.
You've been chosen.
The Bible said you are a chosen generation.
You are a royal priesthood.
You have been elected as those who have been called out of darkness into his marvelous light to show praises to Jesus Christ.
And when you understand that you're chosen, you're chosen because of your uniqueness.
And because of your uniqueness, you don't need comparison.
Oh, can I preach this right now?
You don't need to look at another arrow and say, why don' I look like him?
Why don't I look like her?
Why don't I dress like him?
Why don't I dress like her?
Why don't I have lips like her?
Why don't I have hips like her?
I'm going to preach tonight.
Come on.
You can sit there all you want to, but I'm coming to where you live.
I don't have it like him.
I don't drive what they drive.
I don't live what they live.
I don't have what they have.
Let me tell you something.
When God made you, young person,
He did not make a mistake.
Psalms 139, he said, when I formed you, I saw you.
I saw you before everybody else seen you.
I even seen you before your mama seen you.
I seen you before your daddy seen you.
And the way I created you was unique because I knew what I was going to do with you.
And for you to desire to be anything else other than what God created you to be is an insult to God.
and to tell him he made a mistake.
But I'm telling you tonight,
I'm not standing in front of mistakes.
I'm not standing in front of mess ups.
God wants you, young lady and young man,
to embrace your uniqueness
and say, God, like Mary,
be it unto me according to my word.
I'm not looking at Snapchat trying to be like them.
I'm not looking at Instagram trying to be like them.
I'm not looking, come on, at Facebook, come on, and trying to be like them.
The only person I want to be like is Jesus Christ.
I want to be made in the image of the one who saved me.
Understand that arrows, are you with me?
They have tips that are specific.
And then there's the body of the arrow.
It's shaped and it's formed.
Listen to this.
When you think about the body of the arrow, it matters.
The body of the arrow represents character, represents lifestyle, represents values.
it represents your walk listen it takes strong shaped character watch this to undergird sharp
gifts and talents everybody want to be talented everybody want to be gifted but don't nobody want
character nobody wants integrity nobody wants to be honest come on your gifts and talents
will take you places but only your character can keep you no no no no i don't know i don't want to
know how good you can sing i want to know how faithful is your heart i don't know i says oh
come on somebody come on come on come on we're in a time where everybody's just about the gift
and the talent but the reality of it is do you have the character do everybody want to be nate
Diaz and sing songs and travel the world but do you have the character to carry that do you have
the integrity to keep it can God use you and you not think it's about you can God use you and you
not start taking credit can God send you places and the greater he uses you the more you fall on
your face and say to God be the glory for the things that he has done I gotta preach to you
yes you're gifted and yes you're talented and yes you're called but guess what character still
matters holiness still matters i said holiness still matters that's not a cuss word that's a
noun word that's a bible word the three hebrew boys in the book of daniel it proves to us
that holiness is still a possibility for a young generation.
These were three teenagers, four including Daniel,
who were put right in the middle of a Babylonian culture
that was anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-holiness, anti-righteousness,
anti-anything that rightly represent God.
Kind of like what we're living in today.
But the Bible said that in chapter one, those young men made up their mind that we understand who we were created by.
We understand who we were chosen by.
We understand who created us and set us apart in the beginning.
And they made a decision, the Bible said, to not to defile themselves with what everybody else was consuming.
And because they made a decision in chapter one, they was able to resist the devil in chapter three.
And what they're telling us that it's possible that no matter how bad the culture is, you can still live holy.
You don't have to be nobody's body count.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You don't have to be somebody's body count.
You don't have to be somebody's side piece.
You don't have to be jacked up with drugs and alcohol.
You don't need to walk around.
Come on, somebody.
Vake this and vape that.
Come on.
You don't have to be in a drunken stupor
finding yourselves in the backseat of somebody's car.
Come on.
That is not what you were created for.
You are an arrow, not a target.
You're better than that.
You're greater than that.
You're more than that.
That's so far beneath you.
Don't let the enemy lie to you and tell you that's how I feel loved and that's how I'm going to make it.
No, that's how you're going to live a life that is miserable.
That's how you live a life that will be, come on, in darkness and hurt and pain.
Somebody shout character.
Listen to me
I love
You got to realize
That Isaiah said this
He said
Notice he said
He said in the shadow of my hand
He has hidden me
And a polished arrow
He has made me
And hidden in his quiver
Are you still with me?
I want you to see something right now
do you understand he said in the shadow of his hand he has hidden me which means in the shadow
it was a dark time some of you have walked through dark times hard times struggling times
and you didn't understand why you were walking through and some of it was because of the decisions
that you made but even when it's the decisions that you made God is still good and God is still
faithful because watch this god is never intimidated by your darkness matter of fact
god does some of his greatest works in the dark he started in the dark in genesis 1 come on he
split the red sea in the dark come on it was at midnight that he sent an earthquake to a jail cell
with Paul and Silas.
God does some of his greatest works
in the dark.
But watch this.
He said he made me a sharp arrow.
Do you understand
that
this
look like this?
Oh, how do you get from there to there?
Isn't that something?
Everybody like this.
Nobody don't like this.
But you'll never get to here.
But right here starts right here.
Let me make it plain
because I got to hurry.
because see
there's only one way
that you're going to get
from here
to here
because see
this is what God sees you as
but this is what you're walking
through
because from here to here
it's called sanctification
and transformation
uh huh
Are you following me?
But see in order to get from here to here
what God has to do sometimes
is called pruning.
He has to start cutting some stuff off.
He starts eliminating some things.
He starts loosening some things off of your life.
Stuff you thought you needed.
People you thought you needed.
He start cutting on that attitude.
Cutting on that disobedience to your parents.
Cutting on that disrespect.
Come on.
Cutting on that cussing tongue.
Come on.
Cutting those fingers off that are clicking buttons on pornography.
And looking at things you shouldn't be looking at.
Come on.
He starts cutting some stuff.
And he starts pruning some stuff.
Because what you think, you're not being, watch this.
It feels like you're being cut off, but in reality you're being cut on.
Because as he's cutting on you, he's preparing you.
Because pruning, the Bible says, so you can bear more fruit.
I'm getting rid of stuff you thought you had to depend on.
I'm getting rid of people you thought you had to depend on.
I'm getting rid of mindsets and mentalities.
Let me give it to you like the Lord gave it to me.
Because see, arrows have to be mindful of their associations.
Arrows don't just run with everybody.
Some of the things that God is doing in your life right now is he's cutting off unhealthy associations.
People that you think you need to run with, you shouldn't be running with.
The Bible said this, that bad company corrupts good character.
The Bible said, watch this, the companion of fools leads to harm.
He didn't say you were a fool.
He said you hanging around fools.
And when you hang around fools, you'll end up in harm.
Do you know the scripture said that it was only when, listen to this,
when Lot separated, the Bible said when Lot separated from Abram,
The scripture said, then God said, and then God showed him the land.
God was silent until Lot left.
Do you know that Lot's name means veil?
A veil like covering your face?
So as long as Lot was in Abram's life, he had a veil over his face.
In other words, he couldn't see certain things because of who was in his life.
And only when, come on, he got rid of a lot that the veil was removed.
And God said, now see the potential.
See what I have for you.
I wonder what lot is in your life that needs to be removed.
What Jonah needs to be thrown out of your boat tonight.
Do you understand that that boat was calm until Jonah brought his dysfunction in?
And the Bible said they start throwing all their valuables overboard.
Because of his dysfunction.
I want to ask you tonight.
Who's in your life that's causing you to throw away your values?
Who's in your life that's causing you to compromise your standards?
Who's in your life that's encouraging you to do things that you know you shouldn't do?
Some of you, God brought you here this weekend to remind you,
you're not just a target of another boyfriend and a target of another girlfriend.
You are an arrow and it's time to let Lot go and throw Jonah from the boat.
Oh God, I'm going to preach right now.
No, I don't care how cute they are.
I don't care how handsome he is.
Are they saved?
Do they know Jesus for real?
I don't even care if they go to church.
The devil goes to church.
What does their life look like?
What does their walk look like?
Do they read their Bible?
Come on, somebody.
They need more than good looks.
They need more than muscles.
They need more than pretty eyes.
They need more than a big butt.
They need the Holy Ghost.
They need Jesus Christ to mold them and shape them
Inform them because you understand
I'm just not another target of a one night stand.
I'm an arrow for purpose.
I got to hurry.
And I'm going to wrap it up.
And some of you,
Pastor Juan,
I want to share this.
Well, who's the right person?
When can I get with the right person?
And it's, what are you rushing?
What are you rushing?
I had this conversation with my daughter.
She was getting frustrated.
She said, Dad, why am I in a relationship yet?
Why haven't I found that person yet?
All of my other friends are with their,
they got boyfriends and some of them are even ready to get married.
And she said, why don't I have one yet?
And daddy didn't have a whole lot of answers.
And then she said, what's wrong with me?
What's wrong with me?
Because she said, daddy, all I hear in my school is just other dudes talking about how many girls they screwed.
I'm preaching real to you.
And all I hear is girls talking about how many dudes they slept with.
And she said, I don't have time for that.
That is not who I am.
And she said, what's wrong with me?
And I said, baby, there's nothing wrong with you.
Because this is the lie of the enemy.
The enemy wants to tell a generation that there is something wrong with living right.
You are not wrong for living right.
You are not wrong for saying, I'm going to keep my body until I'm married.
You're not wrong for saying alcohol won't touch my lips.
You're not wrong for saying get your hands away from my pants.
You're not wrong for not going to the party.
You're not wrong for not trying to be in the in crowd.
You're not wrong for wanting to live right.
And God, I was praying for my daughter.
I said, God, what do I tell her?
and I remember it was clear.
I heard him in my spirit.
He said, tell her.
This is a word,
and I believe it was a word for a young generation too.
He said, tell your daughter,
because she said this to me.
She said, I feel like I'm being punished,
and the Lord spoke to my spirit and said,
you tell her, your daughter,
tell her, don't confuse.
Here it is, being punished with being preserved.
Oh, God.
oh God
don't you confuse
being punished
with being preserved
you're not being punished young lady
you're not being punished young man
but you are being preserved
for a purpose for God
don't you get weary
don't you get tired of doing good
God is preserving you
for the right person
with the right people
at the right time
do not confuse being preserved
with being punished
my last thing
I'm out of time
the arrow has
on the rear of it
it's called fletching
and fletching is part of its flight path
not only is fletching part of its flight path
there's something called an archer's paradox
and an archer's paradox
listen to what I'm about to share really quick
it means that the archer
when he puts it in the bow
So he knows that there's certain amount of wobble or wiggle in that arrow when he pulls it back to shoot it towards its target.
And he knows how to compensate for the wobble.
He knows how to turn it or guide it just enough to compensate for the wobble.
They call it archer's paradox.
But the Bible calls it grace.
Because the archer.
Because Jesus.
He's the ultimate archer.
He says I know sometimes we'll wobble a little bit.
I know sometimes he'll make a mistake.
I know sometimes you'll find yourself doing what you said you'd never do.
But come on.
He's the ultimate.
Here's the ultimate archer's paradox.
Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more.
He says, I got grace for your wobble.
I got grace for your stagger.
I got grace for your mess ups.
Come on somebody.
Oh my Lord.
That's what sin is.
Sin is an archer's term.
It means missing the mark.
But what archer throws away every arrow that misses the mark?
They don't.
They go back and retrieve those arrows and they come back together because that's what grace does.
Grace fills the gap between missing the mark and the archer and it brings them back together.
And he said, let's do this again.
Amen.
Somebody say fletching.
The reason why they put fletching on it
is almost like, do I got any quarterbacks in here?
Any football players, quarterbacks, wannabe quarterbacks, anybody?
Do I have any in here? There's probably somebody.
Do I have any receivers in here?
Tight ends.
Okay, there we go.
They know the importance of receiving a ball with a tight sparrow.
That's what fletching does.
It puts a sparrow.
Am I saying that right?
Spiral.
A sparrow.
That's a bird.
Forgive me.
A sparrow on the arrow.
and it impacts its velocity
and its impact on the target
that is designed to hit.
They call it fletching,
but the Bible calls it filling.
The fletching is a scripture.
It's the filling of the Holy Ghost.
It's what, come on somebody,
he knows how to put the spiral
on your life, come on,
that you can hit the target
you were destined for because without the feeling of the holy ghost you will not reach your
destination you will not reach your fullest potential it's only when the feeling of the
spirit of god comes upon your life there's a velocity that gets upon you the bible said you
will come on destroy your enemy at the gate you know what the gates are your eye gates your ear
gates, your mouth gates
and the only way that you're going to have
power over the gates of your
soul, it comes to
the power of the Holy
Ghost. I don't just need
character. I don't just need
integrity. I don't just need
gifting. I need, come on
somebody, the feeling and
the empowering of the Holy
Ghost to God, my life
to destiny.
so stand on your feet tonight
my last thing I want to say
because I believe tonight my prayer
is that God is going to touch
hundreds of thousands
because some of you came in here
the devil has convinced you you're just a target but you heard a word tonight that i'm not a target
i'm an arrow tonight is your night i believe some of you gonna get your fletching tonight
i said some of you are gonna get your fletching tonight some of you out of the love of god come on
he's severing some stuff tonight right now some of you already got come on they're already coming
I ain't even got to give an altar call. Come on. Look at the Lord. Come on. Come on. That's it. Come on. Come on down. Come on. Come on. Come on. If you say I'm called to be an arrow and not a target. Come on down. That's it. Come
I've been carrying people that I shouldn't be carrying.
And tonight I realize that I'm an arrow and not a target.
And I'm not going to let depression keep holding me back.
I'm not going to let fear keep holding me back.
I'm not going to let shame and condemnation holding me back.
Tonight is the night that I lay down the targets and pick up my call to be an arrow.
Because I want God to shoot me toward my purpose.
Shoot me toward my destiny.
shoot me toward my kingdom call
come on that's it come
come come
if you can get in here come
come
thank you Jesus
thank you Jesus
thank you Jesus
let me tell you something
this is why all of this is going to be possible
where's Nate is he coming up
come on up Nate buddy
whatever the Lord lays on your heart tonight.
But I want to show you why this is possible.
Look up here really quick.
You see this target
and you see those stripes.
Watch this.
Jesus Christ
became the target
so that you and I can become the arrows.
He said,
I knew you were going to miss the mark.
That's why I took the marks in my body.
When he hung on the cross,
he became the target.
When they stretched him wide,
he became the target.
I'll be the target for your depression.
I'll be the target for your sins.
I'll be the target for your transgressions.
Watch this.
And by His stripes, we are healed.
The stripes that He took in His back is what bring healing.
He became the target so that you and I can become the arrow.
It wasn't nothing you did.
It was everything that he did.
He who knew no sin became sin.
That we might become the righteous arrows of God.
He that was rich but became poor.
That we, come on, might become rich.
He took our sickness and gave healing.
He took our brokenness and gave, come on, wholeness.
He took pain and fear and gave comfort and tranquility.
And tonight, not because of Javon, not because of a conference, not because of a preacher.
And I love him not because of Nate, but only because of Jesus Christ.
You can go from a target to an arrow.
So throw your hand up right now and say, Lord, Lord, I lay down everything.
tonight
that has made me feel like a target.
Some of you, I want you to declare
I'm laying it down.
Nate, whatever you feel on your heart to go with,
brother, I'm going to turn it over to you. We're just going to worship
and let God be God. Amen?
But listen to me, young people.
Some of you,
you need to lay relationships down
tonight. You came up
here with so-called friends.
You're not going back to them.
Some of you
need to go ahead and text some folk before you
get back home.
And all you need to do is text
and say, I'm sorry
I'm no longer a target.
I'm an arrow.
You ain't got to explain it.
That's all you need to send.
Matter of fact, if there's an arrow emoji
just send them that emoji
and say I'm gone.
Because I'm gone to greater. I'm gone to bigger.
So lift your hands up right now.
Father, in the name of Jesus
I declare tonight by the power of the word of God, by the blood of Jesus and the Holy Ghost,
even now I declare that everything that has tried to cause this generation to be a target,
tonight it breaks, tonight it falls, tonight it looses.
In Jesus' name.