When God gives you a promise, more than anything else, it is a promise that there is going to be a change. Look at your neighbor and say, “Especially me.”

He will allow just enough time to pass before that promise is fulfilled. He’ll allow just enough time (hallelujah) for that promise to be fulfilled to seriously make some changes in our lives. He will begin to challenge everything that we believe that we know about Him.

You see, in order to take us to another level (glory to God), we have got to make sure that what we already know about God is solid first. I’ve noticed that it always takes more faith to make it from the last promise to the next promise. In order to possess (glory to God) that what God has for us this time, it commands and demands more faith (glory to God) than the last time.

In Genesis chapter eighteen, verse nine through eleven, it said,

9. And they said unto him, Where is Sarah they wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.

10. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

11. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

When God begins to speak... Hallelujah. He speaks to us. Glory to God. And at the beginning of the word we begin to get excited. And we stay excited for a little while.

But then as it commands our patience to stay with that promise (hallelujah), we begin to get anxious. We begin to get a stirring on the inside. And it’s not the stirring of the Holy Ghost, somebody. It’s the stirring of anxiety that what God said is not going to happen. Hallelujah.

You see, everybody knows that when God says something He does it right then, right? Oh, hello, somebody. Sometimes it’s going to take a little time. Sometimes He’ll place you in the incubator because you just ain’t ready yet. Do you hear what I’m saying? Sometimes He’ll let you grow up a little bit more, a little while longer.

But as the time continues to tick, the clock ticks, we decide in our mind like Sarah did (glory to God) that we’re going to help God out. You see, that’s when we begin to make our mistakes.

Let me tell you something. He don’t need no help being God. The elements obey Him. He spoke it, and there it was. We start to try to help Him.

But when God plants a promise in your heart, this is what we have to do. No matter how long it takes, we’ve got to expect something to happen. You see, we fall from the mode of faith into hope.

Let me tell you something. Once I’m in faith I got to stay in faith. Faith is not going to build on hope. Faith builds on faith. Hallelujah.

We’re excited at first. And we believe at first that it’s going to happen. But when it takes a little longer than what we expected, we start hoping it’s going to happen. Who am I preaching to in this house? But I have to stay in a place of expectancy, no matter how long it takes the promise to happen, to come to pass.

You see, what He’s doing is, He’s not only bringing about the promise. He’s bringing about some serious changes. Let me tell you something. If you are going to get the promise of God, before you get that promise, there are going to be some serious changes made with you and the things that concern you.

But this is a mystery. Just like Paul talked about how he was granted the grace, in Ephesians chapter three, to preach to the Gentiles the mystery of Christ, the promises of God are a mystery. But all it requires is that my faith be at a certain level. Hallelujah. And all He requires of me is that I stay in a spirit of belief.

We have to learn how to begin to expand on some things. We have got to see it the way God sees it. We have got to understand. Remember we taught about time, that time is in God’s hands. And as long as I stay in His will and in His purpose, in His plan, whatever He said to me, He’s going to perform it.

The body of Christ, we have began to become anxious. We’re anxious for everything. The Bible says that he that endures to the end. We began to lack endurance. There is no elasticity to us. We become rigid. Oh, hallelujah, somebody.

We come to a point that instead of being able to be flexible (glory to God), we’re always broken. And I’m not talking about the good broken. I’m talking about the broken-ness that comes from a lack of faith and a lack of belief in what God said.

We have to be able to expand, to make room for God’s promise. You see, His... Listen. His promise is too big for you right now. See, He’s got to put some width about you. He’s to put some gulf about you, or else you cannot... Oh, my God. My God. You and I cannot contain what He has for us.

It’s a process. It’s not exciting. It’s not attractive. It’s painful. If somebody tells you it’s not painful, they’re lying to you.

There was a serious delay in that time that God had spoken that promise to Abraham and Sarah unto the day that Isaac was born. Wasn’t there? If it had been us, we would have never made it. Hello, somebody.

Our response to God’s greatest or most impossible promises for our lives is usually the same as Sarah’s. We immediately go into a spirit of doubt. Not only do we go into a spirit of doubt. We go into a spirit of fear. Fear is going to cancel out your faith. The Bible says that fear has torment. And while God is still trying to talk to you...

You see, when He tells you about the promise, He’s not finished talking to you. He’s not finished dealing with you yet. There’s a waiting period.

In Genesis chapter eighteen, verse ten through verse fifteen.

10. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

11. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

12. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

13. And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

14. Is any thing too hared for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

15. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was (what?) afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

She couldn’t believe God’s promise. She didn’t have the belief that she would become pregnant.

Let me tell you something. God is placing seed in every one of us. But as soon as fear comes in, spiritual birth control comes in. Do you hear what I’m saying?

You see, we as the body of Christ are the womb. And the seed, which is the Word of God is planted in the womb. The womb does not drop the seed. The womb... Listen to what I’m saying. The womb holds on to the seed. Because the seed is going to produce life on the inside of that womb.

But see, when I wear a spiritual contraceptive... Do you hear what I’m saying tonight? I block (Glory to God. Can I say this?) the sperm of the Word that’s trying to produce something in my life. It’s trying to cause the promises of God to come forth. Somebody’s ears might not be able to hear that. But you’ll be alright in a minute.

He wants us to be impregnated with what He said. You remember we talked about words? Jesus said, “My words are spirit and they are life.” In other words, His words are going to produce something. But if the body of Christ don’t prepare (hallelujah) to receive the seed of the Word, if we continue to reject the seed, then we’ll never be pregnant with the promise.

“Why are you saying this tonight, preacher?” Because many of you are pregnant.

When we look at some women, some don’t want to have babies. Some don’t want to have them because they’re concerned about their figure. Some don’t want to have them because they don’t want to get stretch marks.

But I wish somebody would talk about my body. It’s been stretched all out of shape. Because I contain what God has implanted on the inside of me. I’m going to eat what I need to eat, which is the Word of God. I’m going to make sure that fetus (oh, my God) on the inside of me grows.

And what I mean by that, I’m going to make sure I come to the place of maturity so that when the baby comes (oh, hallelujah) it won’t be deformed.

See, too many times words are preached from the pulpit. But they’re good words. And they get us excited.

I was talking to the Lord today. I said, “Lord, I don’t just want a good word to preach.” I said, “Lord, I want a move of God.” Do you hear what I’m saying? I can turn on TBN and get a good word. I want a move of God on the inside of me. Do you hear what I’m saying? Oh, hallelujah.

When the baby in Elizabeth’s womb heard about that Jesus, he leaped on the inside of her. I want a move of God on the inside of me. Oh, do you hear what I’m saying tonight? I need a move of God on the inside of me. Oh, Jesus.

He looks for barren places, to cause them to bring forth life. Sarah’s womb was barren. He looks... You may think otherwise, but He’ll look for a dry church. Do you hear what I’m saying? He’ll bring a word into that church. It’ll begin to stir up something in the Spirit. There’ll be some friction going on. Do you hear what I’m... Oh, you better open up your ears tonight. My God, my God. And He’ll cause life to be formed in that dry place, just like He did with Sarah.

See, too many times we think it’s over for certain churches. But they’re ripe for a miracle. Hallelujah, somebody.

See, you heard thus and so about so and so, didn’t you? But let me tell you something. God ain’t through with them yet.

Sarah couldn’t believe. She said, “Can I have pleasure, and my lord can he have pleasure since we’re so old?”

You see, so many of us have been in the body of Christ so long until we think that God can’t do nothing with us no more. But God wants to do something with you. Don’t be afraid. But let God do what He wants to do.

You know what He told the husband and the wife? He said, “Your body is not your own.” Didn’t he? You got to listen to this word tonight. See, her body belongs to me. And my body belongs to her.

This body belongs to Him. And He belongs to us. And He can do whatever He wants to do, whenever He wants to do it, however He wants to do it. Hallelujah.

She said, “Shall I have pleasure?” See, you’re supposed to be in the body of Christ. And you’re supposed to be happy. Happiness, peace, joy, in the who? Holy Ghost. You see, you’re not supposed to come to church all upset. You’re not supposed to come to church with a frown on your face. You’re not supposed to come to church all sad. I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.

We use spiritual birth control. Because we don’t want to be pregnant yet. Wouldn’t you rather be pregnant by Jesus?

What if when that angel came and spoke about Mary and told her that she was going to bear the Son of God, what if Mary, the mother of Jesus said, “I don’t want to be pregnant right now”? It’s too much embarrassment.

You see, when somebody gets pregnant they begin to change, don’t they? Not only physically. But they get a little irritable, don’t they? If you been a little irritable lately, God is doing something with you. Do you hear what I’m saying?

If you’ve been praying, you been spending time in your Bible, and you still a little bit irritated, and you feel a little like you’re not yourself (hallelujah) God is doing something with you. Don’t worry about it.

Sometimes as soon as we feel like we’re not ourselves, we think that there’s something wrong. But on the contrary, there might just be something right.

I heard Joyce Meyer say this, “We pray for spouses. We pray for husbands. We pray for wives, that God would do something with them, that God would deliver them, that God will, you know, change them and save them. And then they begin to get irritable. The spouse does, or whoever we’re praying for.”

You see, that’s when you know God is doing something. He’s chastening them. And how many of you know don’t nobody like to be chastened? Don’t nobody want no whipping. Let God whip them a little while. Don’t say God ain’t doing nothing. He’s working it out. He’s working it out.

We might as well accept our pregnancy tonight. I don’t care how old you are. You can have a baby. When Jesus was thirteen, He said, “I must be about My...” I don’t care how old you are. You can have a baby, a spiritual baby.

God is looking for a womb in the earth. And we are that womb. All we have to do is receive Him. Do you hear me? We can’t pick and choose like we do in the natural. He’s too tall. He’s too short. He’s too fat. He’s too skinny. Do you hear what I’m saying? He said, “I chose you first.” Now let’s stop rejecting Him. We’re so picky, aren’t we?

You’re pregnant. That problem you got, if you’re a real saint it’s there for a reason.

You know, the Lord began to deal with me today. I don’t like to see anybody sick. I don’t like to see anybody in any kind of warfare at all. And I’m always putting my two cents in and sticking my hand in there, trying to make it better. He began to deal with me today. And I got the revelation. I said, “God, You’re going to take care of them all by Yourself. You don’t need me to be the midwife. You’re the midwife.”

I said, “Lord, I’ve got Your revelation. You’re doing something with them. That’s what’s going on.” I said, “Lord, I’m going to take my hands off it. And I’m going to let You do it.” I said, “Lord, You’re bigger than me. You can keep them.”

He said, “I’m going to come back.” You see, after He told you about that baby, that wasn’t the end of it. Just like Sarah, He says, “I’m coming back.” He’s coming back to you at that appointed time. But while that cycle is going on...

You know how you get sick, nauseated, feet all swollen? Do you hear what I’m saying? In other words, there’s warfare on you. You’re going to give birth after a while.

You know how some women when they get to the end, and those contractions hit them... You see, at first you’re in a little pain and discomfort. But see, you know you’re at the end when you feel those contractions.

When that pain of what you’re going through begins to intensify a little bit more, a lot of people begin to say, “I don’t want this thing, and I’m giving up.” It’s too late now. You going to have it one way or the other. Hollering to the doctor, “Give me something for this pain.”

But when Jesus hung on the cross, they gave Him a cloth mingled with that medicine, and He refused it. See, you’re not going to have anything to ease that pain. You’re going to have that thing. It’s going to come forth.

So stop kicking and hollering. Because what’s on the inside of you is blessed. It’s blessed. Can’t nothing happen to it. It’s blessed. It’s ordained of God.

There’s fluid. And that fluid is the Holy Ghost. And He’s protecting what’s inside of you. Open up your ears and hear what I’m saying. I’m not just up here preaching this thing. I’m trying to give us a revelation that you’re going to come out of this thing that you’re in. But it’s only there to bring you to another level of maturity.

Accept that pregnancy. And when that baby comes out, don’t allow it to have the residue of yesterday. Let it have the residue of a newborn. Yesterday is dead. Yesterday is gone. That’s a new thing that’s coming out of you. And it had nothing to do with your past. But it has everything to do with your future.

The Holy Ghost is watching over you. There’s nothing that’s going to happen to what’s on the inside of you. But just believe that that promise that He made you is going to come to pass.

If He said it, ain’t no need in trying to fight it. You’re going to have that warfare. You’re going to have that pain, that discomfort that goes along with it. But when you birth that thing that God truly has for you, the Bible says a woman will forget about her sorrow. Oh, what a happy day when you see that thing that you went through all that pain for. Do you hear what I’m saying tonight?

It hurts right now. He knows. He knows. He knows you’re tired. He already knows. But He’s not going to get you out of it. This baby’s going to come to full term. There’ll be no abortion unless we get out of the will of God and stay out of the will of God, because we want our way.

You don’t want your way, do you? I mean, be honest with yourself. If you do, you need to tell Him. Say, “Lord, I want my way.” But then after that you need to say, “Lord, help me, because I really want Your way. But I got me in the way. Take me. Help me get out of the way, Lord. Help me, Lord. Help me get out of the way. Help me get out of the way, Jesus, that this promise will be fulfilled.”

That’s my heart’s desire, that all that He said will come to pass. That’s my heart’s desire. And through all the hurt and through all the pain I know He’s with me.

You’ve got to understand and realize that tonight, that no matter what you’re going through, no matter what you’ve been through, that He’s a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. He’ll never leave you nor forsake you. He’s right there to the very end.

That impossibility with Sarah, He made a possibility, didn’t He? That impossibility with us, He’ll make it a possibility. He makes all things possible. He’s that determining factor.

Lift up your hands to Him tonight and worship Him.