The Way Church Podcast

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Judges, Chapter number four, verse four. Now, Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lapidoth, was leading Israel at the time. She held court under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. Verse 6. She sent for Barak, son of Abonam from Kadesh in Naphtali, and said to him, the Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, go.

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Take with you 10,000 men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. Verse 7. I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon river and give him into your hands. Verse 8. Barak said to her, if you go with me, I will go, but if you don't go with me, I won't go.

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Verse 9. Certainly I will go with you, said Deborah. But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into your hands of a woman. So Deborah went with Barak to Kadesh. There, Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and 10,000 men went up under his command.

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Deborah also went up with him. Family, this morning I want to use for a subject.

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Don't let the apron fool you.

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As you take your seats, just tell the person next to you, don't let the apron fool you. Don't let the apron fool you.

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Family, today on Mother's Day, nationally, we pause to honor and celebrate women, women who wear many hats, some literally and some symbolically. We celebrate the strength and sacrifice and spirit of the woman who has carried families, who have held communities together, who have stood in the gap when no one else would. We celebrate them today. But today we must also confront a dangerous myth, this idea that a woman's softness cancels out her strength, that just because you are nurturing, it makes you neutral in warfare. Because she knows how to throw down in the kitchen, she's not also called to the battlefield.

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Society has a tendency to limit a woman's influence to the domestic sphere, as if her influence is less impactful because it happens behind the scenes. But I came to announce this morning, heaven sees it differently. Look at somebody and say, heaven sees differently. In fact, heaven sees a woman who prays with power and fights in faith and builds legacy through obedience. Heaven sees those type of women as.

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As warriors. And I only need about 25 women, mothers, on the onset of this message who believe this to shout, I'm a warrior. Oh, you didn't shout A shout. I'm a warrior. So today's message is a declaration and a challenge.

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Don't let the apron fool you. The apron may symbolize nurturing, but it does not cancel out authority. It just covers a warrior spirit. It reminds us that strength and softness can live in the same woman. And that a praying mother is just as dangerous to the enemy as a sword bearing male counterpart.

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Look at somebody and say, don't let the apron fool you. And nowhere in scripture is this more clearly seen than in the life of Deborah, who did not just manage homes, but she managed armies. She was a wife, a prophetess, a judge and a warrior. She was wise and warm. She was strategic and spiritual.

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And she shows us what it means to be both gentle and bold, nurturing and anointed, feminine and fierce. You may look in the mirror and you see a mom, a wife, a teacher or a nurse, but God sees a soldier. And sometimes you might feel overlooked and you might feel outnumbered. But I came to let you know today that you are not outmatched. Why?

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Because heaven's got your back. Yeah, heaven's got your back. And today, family, as we look at Deborah, not as just a historical figure, but as a spiritual template. Her life is proof that you don't need to be loud to be strong, that you don't always need to be seen to have significance, that you don't need to fight with a sword to lead change. It was her obedience and her insight and her courage that made her a force in the spirit realm.

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So as we examine her story today in Judges, chapter number four, we will see what it means to be birth. Built for birth and for battle. Built for birth and for battle. The first thing that the text poses us to understand family is that number one, her position was divine number not by default.

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Verse four says, now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lapidoth, was leading Israel at that time. Watch it. Deborah did not step into leadership because there wasn't a man available. She stepped into it because God appointed her for it. She wasn't a placeholder.

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She was a purpose keep carrier. She was a first choice leader with a divine assignment. She wasn't just a wife and wasn't just a prophet and wasn't just a judge and a warrior. She was unapologetically all of them tell somebody, I'm not this or that, I'm this and that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:07:15
Some woman tells somebody else, I'm not this or that on this and that. Titus 2, 3, 5 tells us women are called to both teach and to model Strength and spiritual maturity. Deborah didn't inherit authority. She embodied authority. In other words, this woman wasn't waiting for permission to leave.

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She was already in position. Deborah's authority didn't come from what the people had given her, a title or a position or an elevation that they had given her. She was in position from the calling God placed on her life. And what she shows us is that leadership is not about position. Leadership is about posture.

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And this is a word for some of you that are waiting for a platform to step into what God has called you to do. But it's not about a platform. It's about purpose. Her husband is named in the text, but her position and her calling has nothing to do with her husband. It's not explained by his relationship with her.

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It stands on its own. She wasn't just in the kitchen. She was law born and called to lead a country. You're about to catch me in a minute. Because sometimes God raises up leaders in unexpected packages.

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And that's where true authority comes from. Being aligned with heaven, not being affirmed by people. See, we want people to affirm us. And somebody said, I just want God to affirm me. As long as God puts his hand on me, people don't have to give me no affirmation.

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Because God doesn't call leaders based on tradition. He calls based on alignment. And sometimes what looks like a surprise choice is actually God's strategy to shift a nation or to shift an organization or to shift a culture. And God sent me to tell spirit, some mother, some woman, some man, stop downplaying your gift because of other people's discomfort. Oh, you didn't hear what I said.
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Tell somebody. He said, stop downplaying your gift because of other people's discomfort. See, you waiting for other people to be comfortable to do what God called you to do. But God says, don't. Don't let the apron fool you.

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Do what I called you to do. Whether or not they are comfortable or discomforting, I don't care. I'm gonna do what God has called me to do.

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In a society where women are often asked to choose between home and leadership, Deborah teaches us you can do both. Here's what I'm trying to tell you. Embrace all the facets of your identity. Stop letting people limit you. You can be who, whatever God has called you to be.

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You can be a mother. You can be an entrepreneur. You can be a mentor. You can be a student. Whatever God assigns you, you can be that.

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Stop disqualifying yourself from leadership because you are nurturing. Somebody else. That is a part of leadership.

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What role are you shrinking away from? Because others don't expect you to leave. You have to embrace the space that God is calling you, even if it make other people uncomfortable. Somebody say, embrace the space. Embrace the space.

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What we also can learn from Deborah is this. Number two. Her discernment was her weapon. Her discernment was her weapon. In Judges, chapter number four, verse six, she sent for Barak and said unto him, the Lord, the God of Israel, commands you.

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At the time of Deborah's leadership, Israel was under severe opposition by Jabin, King of Canaan, and his military commander, Cicera. For 20 years. Somebody say 20 years. For 20 years, the Israelites were paralyzed by fear.

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They lacked courage and clarity to take any action. There was no momentum. There was no movement, just spiritual and political stagnation. I'm talking to some people this morning, and you feel like you are in a season of stagnation. You feel like there is no movement.

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There is no. No progression, that things aren't moving on in your life and on your behalf. But then Deborah enters the picture. While others were overwhelmed and scared by the external threats, Deborah. Deborah had internal clarity.

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She heard from God when everybody else was just hearing fear. Nudge your neighbor and say, what are you hearing? What are you hearing? Are you hearing God? Are you hearing fear?

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She discerned divine timing and called for baric, not as a reaction to pressure, but in response to prophetic instruction. This was not a political move. This was a prophetic mission. Her discernment was evident in three ways. It was.

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It was evident in the timing. Somebody say timing. In other words, she knew when to act, and she didn't rush ahead, nor did she delay behind. It was evident in strategy. Somebody say strategy.

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Strategy. She knew what had to be done and who was supposed to do was evident in the calling, because she called for Barak by name and declared God's command with authority, reminding him what his role was in God's plan. In other words, Deborah was tapped in. She didn't just have a title, she had a word from the Lord. And she knew what others could not know and what others could not see.

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She heard because she was tuned in to God's voice. And this family is the power of discernment. Not just knowing what to do, but knowing how to do it. And here is why this matters. This matters in spiritual warfare.

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I told you last week. In ephesians, chapter number six and verse 12, Paul reminds us that our struggle, our battle, is not with flesh and blood. And many times Our battles are invisible before they are visible. And this is where discernment becomes our weapon. Because you cannot defeat what you refuse to identify.

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If you keep rationalizing the situation, you will never be able to rebuke the spirit that you are trying to get rid of.

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This is why Deborah didn't need a sword. Because she had insight. She wasn't loud, but she was laser focused. She heard what heaven was saying, which lets us know, you don't need to be the loudest voice when you can be the clearest one. Yeah, when you're the clearest one, you don't have to be the loudest.

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Every day I have to ask God help me to. To see what other people are missing and help me to hear what heaven is saying. Because this discernment is often the difference between a delayed breakthrough and a divine moment. When you can't discern what God is telling you to do and how he's telling you to do it, it will be the difference between a divine delayed breakthrough and a divine moment. And when any mother, any leader, or any believer operates in discernment, they become the spirit spiritual architect, designing what others are too distracted to discern.

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Hear me. We live in a world of trending opinions and viral voices. But can I tell you that discernment is your superpower. I don't have to post. I don't have to be heard.

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Just give me discernment, Lord, show me the steps I'm supposed to take that will become the superpower that you need.

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Culture may call it intuition, but heaven calls it strategy. Culture tries to tell you this is all you need. But God said, let me give you some strategy. Let me show you how to do things in the midst of. Of chaos, when everybody else is looking, saying, what are we going to do?

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But you have a plan. Why? Because you got design, discernment from God. You got divine discernment. And you know what to do.

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That's how everybody can be on the job, losing it, throwing in the towel, but you walking calm, cool and collected because you not worried. Because you know. But my God shall supply all of my needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus, you know that this sickness is not unto death. Why? Because you have divine discernment.

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Somebody say, I hear you. Watch it. Here's the other thing that we see. We see that her strength was in her stand. Her strength was in her stand.

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She said in verse nine. She said, certainly I will go with you. Certainly I'll go with you. Barak hesitated. He knew the command.

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He was called but he didn't have courage.

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He got the prophecy fell out in the spirit. Know that God was speaking to you, but did not have the courage. And while other people debated and delayed, Deborah stood firm. And that's the difference between Deborah and a lot of us. She didn't just deliver the word.

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She walked out the word. There's a whole lot of people that want to tell you what to do and tell you how to do it, and they have an answer. And I comment for everything. But let me ask you, can you walk the talk that you're talking? Let me see you do it before you try to teach me how to do it.

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Oh, my God. And that is the difference. She walked it out. She said, I'll go with you. Not to prove anything.

00:19:02
Not because I want to get in the spotlight, not because I want people to call my name. But she said, I'm gonna do it to show a nation what faith in motion really looks like. Deborah didn't stay on the sidelines of a battle that she was called to lead.

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She said, if you too afraid to go, I'll go with you. Her strength wasn't just in her words. It was in her willingness to lead the people that she was called to lead. Can I tell you, when a mother stands in faith, the whole house can feel it. When a spiritual prayer warrior stands in faith, everybody around will get the reverberation of that spirit.

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Because I know that it is the power and the obedience and the consent of consistency of a powerful woman. God doesn't measure strength by volume. He measures it by the clarity and the courage that's in somebody's heart.

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And Deborah reminds us that true power moves in quiet obedience. She didn't flinch when she was asked to step. Step into danger. She didn't need a sword to be strong. Her presence was enough to steady the uncertain silence of the enemy.

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She didn't raise her voice, but she raised the standard. And there are moments in all of our lives when anxiety is rising and fear overwhelms us. But. But a spiritually grounded woman, whether a mom or a wife or a friend, can walk into a situation and speak with such clarity and immediately shift the atmosphere. Because her trust in God knows how to realign every situation and everybody around her.

00:21:16
While the whole family is worried about the medical diagnosis, a mom that has been praying, remind everybody, we gonna trust God no matter what. Yeah, I know it looks bad, but we gonna trust God. We gonna believe what God is saying. Because fear will begin to lose its grip no matter what the situation. Is.

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Is there anybody in this house know what I'm talking about?

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Her presence isn't about perfection. It was about peace. There is a peace that you can walk in, that nothing will throw you off your course when you have the peace of God. She doesn't need to fix everything to carry authority. But when she stands in faith, the very presence that she has becomes the spiritual strategy that I can be at peace in the midst of all situations.

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In other words, what she was saying right in the enemy's face. I can do all things through Christ. That strengtheneth me. What she was saying is that I can be a pillar of calm in the midst of this storm. That I don't care what's going on on the outside, what's going on on the inside.

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Greater is he that is within me than he that is within the world. Can I get about 30 people to stand up and give God a praise that you know that the greater one lives on the inside of you?

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Because you may be seated. Thank you. True strength is not in the show, but it's in your steadiness.

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How steady can you be when all hell breaks loose?

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How steady can you be when the result is not what you thought it was going to be? God does not need you to feel strong. He needs you to stand strong in his strength.

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That's how godly mothers always show up. She may cry in private, but she shows up in public. Stronger than she feels, but she gonna show up strong. Are there any mothers in here that know what I'm talking about? Sometimes you might have to encourage yourself.

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And you say, if God is for me, he can handle what's in front of me. She might be stretched thin, but she's rooted deep. And she will stand in the strength of God. Because God equips his daughters to nurture and to war.

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True spiritual maturity. Hear me. True spiritual maturity is being able to balance both grace, grit.

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You don't have to choose between soft and strong. But you can be the kind of mother that can hug their child and rebuke the devil in the same breath. In the same breath I can love you. And I'm gonna rebuke the devil. At the same time, I'm gonna defy that enemy in the same breath.

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Hear me. Hear me.

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The world needs more Deborahs.

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Women who will not apologize for their strength, but know how to weld it with wisdom as well.

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Look at the last thing that we see from Deborah, and I'm done. We see fourthly. Her faith created a legacy. Her faith created a legacy. I like this because in Judges, chapter number five and verse seven, it says, village life in Israel ceased until I, Deborah, arose.

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Did you catch that?

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Village life in Israel ceased until I, Deborah, arose. Deborah's obedience shifted the atmosphere of an entire nation.

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She didn't just win a battle, she reawakened a people. When Deborah stood up, everything changed. The economy changed. The morale changed. The nation shifted.

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One woman's rise disrupted a national stalemate. Are you catching this? It is said that a nation can rise no higher than its woman. Before Deborah arose, life was stuck. The streets were empty.

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The. The hope was hollow and. And progress had paused. But then Deborah said yes to God. I wonder, do we have any mothers, any women that will say yes to God, that have decision?

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I don't know who else is saying yes, but I'm going to say yes to God.
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When Deborah said yes to God, she rose up in faith and things started moving again. Can I tell you, that's not just Deborah's story. That's your story, too. And your story too, and your story, too, because there are mothers raising families in dry seasons today. There are women that are standing between chaos and breakthrough.

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There are wives and grandmothers and aunties and bonus moms and spiritual moms who are. Who are quietly holding things together while they're birthing something greater.

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Deborah's leadership was not just political, it was prophetic motherhood.

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Jimmy. It wasn't just political, it was prophetic motherhood. Here's what I'm saying. She never called herself. Read the text, read judges.

00:28:33
She never called herself a warrior. She never called herself a judge. She never called herself a boss. But here's what she did say in verse number seven, she says, I, Deborah, arose a mother in Israel. Of all of the titles that she could have resonated with and identified with, the one title that she announced over her life, she says, I, Deborah, arose a mother in Israel not because she gave birth biologically, but because she birthed spiritually an entire nation to where God wanted them to be.

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What am I trying to tell you? She nurtured destiny, and she nurtured and protected a promise and awakened the courage of her people. Because she said yes to God. Trying to encourage some mothers today, because she created space for others to rise. And mothers today do the same thing.

00:29:55
Every time you show up when it's hard, remember you're building legacy. Every prayer that you pray over your family, over your children, know that it's prophetic intercession. Every meal that you make, every carpool that you drive, every I love you that you whisper under your breath. It is ministry, not just motherhood.

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You are raising more than children.

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Some are raising disciples, some are raising leaders. Some are raising world changers. Some are raising chain breakers.

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What God bursts through you may be the answer to somebody else's prayer.

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You may not know it. Deborah didn't just war. She changed a generation. I love Proverbs 31:25 through 26. We talk about this all the time.

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The Proverbs 31, woman. She is clothed with strength and dignity. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. Legacy isn't just what you leave behind.

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It's what you build while you're still standing.

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And Deborah teaches us that you don't need to birth a child to birth a movement.

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You can raise up a generation by what you model, not just what you say. I know everybody has their social media pages and everybody has an opinion and everybody likes to oppose. But hear me. Legacy is not about what you you post.

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Legacy is about what your children repeat when you're not in the room.

00:32:05
Legacy is about how your children act when you're not there.

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There are some mothers in here, and I know I'm right about it. You see me, you see my brothers in ministry. You see Bishop sitting over there watching the fruit of her labor. Her prayers for her grandchildren were her greatest inheritance.

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My mother sitting there who first taught us Christian values before we could ever read the Bible. She may not go viral, but her values will outlive her voice.

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Because when you create a legacy, it continues on. Are you hearing me? Mothers don't just raise children. They raise culture shapers and cycle breakers. What she birthed in faith will bless people that she'll never meet.

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Can I ask you a question? What kind of spiritual atmosphere are you creating in your home? What kind of spiritual atmosphere are you creating on the workplace, in the community? What is your faith assignment that God has called you to? It doesn't matter that you did not birth them or what is God calling you to?

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Is it parenting? Is it mentoring? Is it ministry? Is it leadership? What is God asking you to rise up in?

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She said, I, Deborah, arose. Mothers today, keep speaking life over your children. Keep speaking life over your spiritual sons and daughters, even when you don't feel like it.

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Begin to live out your obedience, knowing that you are blessing a generation to come.

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Legacy is not found in your titles or applause. Legacy is found in what your children will carry. It's who you raised, who you mentored. It's who you believed in, who you prayed for. Deborah didn't just show up for battle.

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She showed up for a generation.

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Today you have to decide to lead a life that will minister to the next generation.

00:35:01
You can do both.

00:35:04
Don't let the apron fool you.

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The woman who prays quietly serves faithfully, who leads with wisdom and walks in strength. She's not just surviving, but she is warring and discerning and breaking chains.

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The woman who nurtures by day is the same woman who wars by night. Stand with me all over this building. The world sees her as just a mom, just a woman, just a helper. But heaven sees her as a warrior.

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Deborah was not the exception. She was the example.

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And to every woman, every mother, you are not overlooked. You are not underestimated. You are not unarmed, but you are backed by heaven, being able to birth and battle some mother. Lift your hands all over this building. Make this declaration.

00:36:28
I may cook in an apron.

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I may cook in an apron, but I wore in armor. I may be gentle, but I'm fierce in the spirit called. I'm covered. I'm confident. Please don't let the apron fool you.

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I was built for this. I was made for both motherhood and mission. Say, lord, help me to walk like Deborah, with clarity, with courage and confidence.

00:37:13
To every mother in this room, every sister, every aunt, every grandmother, every spiritual mother, don't let the apron fool you. I know culture says that a woman's place is in the home. But God says that your base is the home. But your place is wherever I anoint you and assign you to.

00:37:48
Don't forget, you were made to both birth and battle.