The Power Of A Little Further | Jentezen Franklin

0:00 Hello, this is Jensen Franklin, and thank you so much for joining us for this week's podcast. Our goal is to provide you with biblically-based teachings that will challenge, inspire, and equip you to live for Jesus. If you haven't already, I'd love for you to go ahead and subscribe today to this podcast so you can get the latest updates from us and you don't ever have to miss a new message. Let's go right into the service. Record it at Free Chapel. I believe it's going to bless you today.

0:33 Praise the Lord. How many of you helped me preach a little bit this morning? That means you've got to say at least one amen and one hallelujah and one thank you, Jesus. Don't waste it. I haven't started preaching yet. Mark chapter 14. I'll begin reading with verse 32. Then they came in a place which was called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, sit here while I pray. And he took Peter, James, and John with him. And he began to be troubled, deeply distressed. Then he said to them, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. Stay here and watch. This is what I want to preach about. And he went a little further. And he fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.

1:32 Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but your will. I love that verse 35, the first part, he went a little further. And then to give a little more detail in the book of Luke 22 and verse 41, It gives a little more description. When he came to the place, which means it was a comfortable place and a normal place and a place in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Garden of Gethsemane, I've been there many times, is on the Mount of Olive, and that's a big, big place. Acres and acres. And so there was a specific place that they were used to getting to and stopping. How many of you understand that, you know, like this was, they liked this area. It must have had shade and it's just perfect for what they wanted to do to camp and to stay.

2:28 And often you read that they came there and it's called the place. So it's a specific place. And he said to them, pray that you not enter into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw. And he knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. He withdrew. He went a little further, the account of Mark says. This says he went a stone's throw away. And I looked that up, and one translation said it would be like the pitch, having a stone, and pitching like you would pitch a softball in one of those softball leagues, a pitch.

3:24 He went beyond the comfortable, the normal, where they had been so many times and even knew that when we get here, we can kind of kick back because this is our place, the place. When he went a little further, a stone throws away. Then he was met by God at a powerful and perhaps the most powerful moment that could happen in that garden. I want to preach for just a few moments on the subject of going a little further. The power of going a little further. The power of going a little further. he went a little further.

4:22 He went a stone's throw away. Jesus often waits for his disciples' response before he performed miracles in the Bible. The Bible tells us that when he came walking on the water in Mark, the sixth chapter, when he came walking on the water, the scripture said, the storm was raging and the disciples were perishing and suddenly Jesus comes walking on the water and then there's this little phrase that says, and he would have passed them by. I marvel at that, that he would have passed them by, but they compelled him. They began to cry out. They began to say, Lord, please come. He would have passed them by and they began to cry out to him. And when they began to cry out to him, he turned and came back to them, got on their boat and delivered them.

5:21 And the scripture said because they decided that they couldn't let him pass by without having an urgency and a passion to cry out for him, that Jesus came to them and he went to them in the ship. The wind ceased and they were amazed and wondered. I want you to get the point that it wasn't until they went, he tested them. He would have passed them by and they were in a storm and he knew how bad they needed his help. But he was testing them. Will they go a little further and cry out to me?

6:04 And then I think it's important to remember the story of blind Bartimaeus. The Bible says in Mark chapter 10, it says that Jesus entered into Jericho. But nobody cried out. Nobody reached out. Nobody went further than just being in his presence. You can be in his presence, but it wasn't until you go a little further that miracles began to happen for people's lives. They were in his presence. He came into Jericho. He walked through Jericho, and we have no account of one person being healed, helped, or ministered to by Jesus, even though His presence was there. No one cried out. No one reached. No one threw a stone a little bit further. It's not far, but sometimes Jesus tests us to see, do you have desire? Do you have the hunger?

7:02 Are you willing to reach out beyond just where you normally go and get? Because, please understand, they were in the garden to pray, but just because you're in the place of prayer doesn't mean you're praying. Just because you're in the place of worship doesn't mean you're worshiping. They were there in the place very comfortable, but he went a little further. And we ought to follow Jesus wherever He goes, beyond our comfort zone. And then the Scripture said after He went into Jericho, no one cried out. After He walked through Jericho, no one reaching, no one asking, pray for my son, pray for my daughter, set me free, heal me. No one.

7:54 He gets on the other side, outside of the city of Jericho. and there's a blind man named Blind Bartimaeus and he starts crying out with a loud voice, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. And the disciples said, don't bother the master. And he cried the louder, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Now, what did he do? He went a little further than anybody did. The miracle worker just walked through the whole city and not one person healed. And here's a blind man and he went a little further than anyone else. And Jesus healed his blinded eyes.

8:35 Two men were walking on the road to Emmaus after Jesus rose from the dead. And Jesus joined himself to them. This is found in the book of Luke chapter 24. He joined himself to them and he disguised himself so that they did not recognize it was Jesus. And he began to teach them all the scriptures and all the law. He taught them every type, every symbol, how that Moses and all that he did and how he was the type, Christ was the type. And they marveled and they said, did not our heart burn within us as he spoke? They were so moved. And when they walked miles and miles and miles together, not knowing it was Jesus, they get to their homes and they turn and they say, Lord, come in and dwell with us. The evening is late and you need some food and come in with us.

9:30 And there's this little phrase that is pretty amazing. It says in the scripture that, and when Jesus made as though he would have gone further, he was testing them. When they said, come with us, he said, oh no, I've got to keep going. I've got appointments. Basically, this is what he was. He made as though he had to go somewhere else, testing them to see if they would go a little bit further in their desire for him. He doesn't need us to. I'm not preaching today on the power of trying harder. I'm not preaching today in your own strength. All we need is Jesus. So this thing has to be about my passion for Him, my going a little bit further.

10:25 Sometimes we need to throw a stone out of our comfort zone and throw it and say, I'm going to do what I normally don't do. That's why this is a church that is here because we kept going a little bit further. We just kept, we want revival. We want a move of God. We want miracles. We want to see the goodness of the Lord. We want to see our city saved. Let's keep throwing a stone. Let's never get to the place and say, look at us. We have arrived. God wants people. I think he's testing this church. Have you got any stones to throw? Can you get out of them? You think where you are is great, but I've got so much more out there. I just want you to want it. and the Bible said that when they constrained him these two men no then he came and that's when he revealed himself he broke the bread and when he broke the bread he revealed himself and they realized oh it is Jesus the risen one he is with us and he just vanishes away and their hearts burned within them.

11:41 They would have missed that moment had they not constrained him, had they not gone a little bit further. They constrained him. I need you to get in my boat, Jesus. I need you to heal my blind eyes, Jesus. I need you to come into my house. Zacchaeus, when he got outside of Jericho, there's another guy who went a little bit further. He climbed up above the crowd that had assembled. Again, you can be in a crowd and be in Jesus' presence, but it's when you go a little bit farther that you can touch him. And they were in his presence, but he climbed up that tree. He did a little bit more than anybody else because he wanted to see Jesus. And Jesus saw all these thousands of people, and he said, I'm coming to that man's house today. and everything changed in his life.

12:41 Go further than you've ever gone before. I believe even today the Lord is saying, I want a church that has that spiritual attitude. What would happen if his disciples would have said when they went to the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus went a little further of stones thrown away? What would have happened if every one of them who were in their comfortable place? See, I believe everybody has a comfortable place in worship. Meaning, okay, when I first came to Free Chapel, I thought y'all were crazy.

13:18 But now, you might have been a Baptist. You might have been a Methodist. You might have been this. You might have been that. Who cares? We're here worshiping Jesus. And some of you had never raised your hand. and you got to the half mask. You are there right now, which is a miracle and praise God for that. And some of you are actually tapping your toes, whereas before you were just standing. But there's a comfortable place we get. As men, there's a comfortable place. As people come into church, as Christians, this is where we've always gone. It's not a bad place. And it's not even that the Lord is disappointed, but I do believe He tests us sometimes. What if those disciples had said, oh, you're going further? We're going further. Oh, you're going to give a little more? I'm going to give of myself a little more.

14:11 If you're going beyond the comfortable place and that's where you're going to be, that's where we're going to be. We don't want to settle and just get used to being in this place and looking at our phone when we should be in the house of worship. just like to throw that in If you're not staying in the comfortable place, if you're going beyond where you always go, I want to go with you. This is an hour and a time when we need to go further than we've ever gone before. It's time to take a stone's throw and say, Lord, I want to break out of the limitations that I put you in, the box that I put you in. I want to go a little bit further.

15:04 That's why we pray. That's why we fast around here. That's why we're going a little bit further. And God blesses people and gives breakthroughs and miracles when people give it a little bit. It's not a long, you know, if you throw a rock, like a pitch in it, I might could make it because I have an exceptional arm. I might could make it all the way back to that camera, but it's not that far. I wonder how many near misses we've had in services. I wonder how many near misses of storms being calmed and families forever being changed and bondages being broken and addictions. We were right at the gate, right at the door. Wonder how close, how many near misses have we had? Because we just didn't go a little bit further. I'm not talking about trying harder.

15:57 I love the fact that when he told the worship leaders in the Old Testament, one of the laws was that the priest who would lead in worship could not wear wool because wool makes you sweat. God doesn't want us trying harder and hyping. all he wants is a heart that whatever you're singing man your heart is whether it's fast whether it's slow whatever it is it's in your heart because again the bottom line is his presence If something is driving you, Lord, I want to go further in our consecration, in our love, in our desire for him. Every one of us have a favorite place, and then we like to stop.

16:57 But I want you to hear me when I tell you that the Bible is full of examples. I think of the 10 lepers in Luke chapter 17. And the scripture said that 10 of them were told by Jesus, go show yourself to the priest and you'll be healed. And I love the fact that if you haven't been healed instantly, you don't quit and you don't give up. Why didn't he heal them instantly? None of them were healed instantly. Sometimes he did in scripture, sometimes he didn't. In this case, he said, you go show yourself to the priest. It was a good little distance. They had to walk. And as they went on what he said, they were somewhere in that journey. Ooh, I felt something. I've got my toes back.

17:49 I've got my fingers back. Healing was a progressive thing. And the Bible said that only one of them, ten of them, got a miraculous miracle. Their life handed back on a silver platter. Their families restored. But only one of them turned back. And with a loud voice, the Greek word there, mega voice, he said, thank you, thank you, thank you. Jesus didn't command them to come back. But notice Jesus' question. He said, where are the nine? Were there not ten of you? Where are the rest? He was shocked. He didn't tell them to come back, but he was shocked that they didn't understand the power of going a little bit further. They got healed, but then he turned to that man, and he said, be thou made whole.

18:45 What they got was seen on the outside. What he got, the man who came back and went a little further, was inner healing of emotions and trauma and all kinds of issues that that disease had triggered in his life. He looked good outwardly and inwardly he was made whole. All because he went a little bit further. Two more and I'll be done.

19:22 It's a beautiful story of a woman named Naomi in the book of Esther. and the scripture said that, I should say, in the book of Ruth, chapter 2, and Naomi's husband died in a famine. They were in Moab, and her husband died. And then her son died, son number one, son number two died. And so she's a widow, and her husband's wife is named Orpah. And then there is another wife that is a widow named Ruth. And this woman says to her daughter-in-laws, Naomi says to her daughter-in-laws, I'm going home to Israel.

20:14 I'm going back to my hometown of Bethlehem, which means house of bread. Judea, which is from the word Judah, which means in Hebrew praise. I'm going back to the place of bread. I'm going back to the place of praise.

20:35 And Ruth, who was a Moabite, she had worshipped nothing but idols her whole life. She saw God in her mother-in-law, and the other woman was a Moabite also and she kissed her mother-in-law on the cheek and said, bye, I'm not going with you. But there's a difference between kissing and cleaving. And the scripture said that the daughter grabbed daughter-in-law, grabbed her mother-in-law and she said to her, and treat me not to leave you. Where you go, I will go. This is Ruth. And your people will be my people and your God will be my God. I'm not letting you go.

21:28 If you're going a little bit further, I'm going with you. I'm not just going to kiss you and let you go in the hard times. I'm going to cleave to you more in the famine than I've ever cleaved to you before. And so they cross the border. they leave Moab and they go instantly to the place of bread, Bethlehem, Judea, the place of praise. And when they get there, the Bible said she happened, she happened to go into a field to glean. Glean was the leftovers of the crop that were left on purpose for the poor people to have something to eat. and this single woman who had lost her husband, and I love the fact that Naomi said to her, you don't need to follow me.

22:22 I can't promise you a husband. I can't promise you a life. I can't promise you a house and clothes and provision. I'm just going back potentially to die in the place that I was born and raised. I can't promise you anything. and that didn't deter Ruth. She held on even tighter. See, when you get to that place with God where you're not serving Him for what He can give you and what He can get you out of and what He can do for you, but you're serving Him because you love Him and you're willing to go as far as He wants you to go. And she's out there in her raggedy clothes, starving and getting leftovers and putting them in a basket and the owner of the field, whose name was Boaz, sees her. He's super wealthy.

23:16 He's super blessed. He's got in a way that we can't even imagine. And he doesn't know that she's watching. She's being watched by him. And he rides up and he says, first after he saw her, He called his team in and he said, now, when she's going to be working around to the other corner of the field, and I want you guys to go back over there and I want you to leave handfuls on purpose because I like her. She's amazing. And I want you to leave it and then I want you all to get out of here. And he rode over. She's picking up those leftovers. And he began to say, who are you? And nice to meet you. And can I get you an email or something? I don't know.

24:09 And some of y'all need to learn how to do this. Let me preach to all the boys out here. Get off, get out of the basement, get off the internet, and go out into the field and ask somebody out for a date. not with you want to follow each other no i don't want to follow you i want to go out with you learn how to be a man lord have mercy I don't understand these men today, these boys. And you ask. You pursue.

24:53 And if you get rejected, get over it. Okay, back to the sermon. The older I get, the more I want to pry in those areas. There's a shortage of real men, godly men. There's a shortage of men who are looking for one life, four lives, to have a bunch of babies and build a house. And that's what we're here for. I don't know where this is coming from. But it's the truth. All right, before I get in trouble, so watch this. So I like him because he let her know, I like you.

25:47 I want to know you. I want to get to know you. I really care about you. She goes home and she tells Naomi, home was probably a homeless tent, for real. and she says to her mother-in-law, I met this guy and he's Prince Charming. He had a white horse and everything. I'm adding a little bit.

26:13 His name is Boaz. He sounds like a cowboy or something, doesn't he? And I preached on that one time and got in a lot of trouble and I'm not touching that. So just relax. Went viral on that one. So I'm leaving millions. and now you go on your phone and your tire's going to be flat in Jesus' name. I'm preaching right now. But listen to this. Listen to this. I love what her mother-in-law said to her. She said, girl, you can read it. I'm summing it up. But she said, you've got to fix up a little bit. You've got to dress for where you're going, not where you are. So let's go down to Target. Let's find a... You know, you don't have to have a lot of money to look sharp. You don't have to have, it don't take being rich. Just make sure you're good and clean and kept and everything's looking good and put a little paint on the barn and whatever you need.

27:13 You know, fix up a little bit, girl. This man, this is your moment. And boy, she went saw Shea in there. next time he saw her she was picking up that fruit just scooping down y'all know how y'all do it don't take all that to get to your seat it doesn't take all of that but that's okay we like that But she was putting it on. I mean, she was putting it on out there. I don't know what she was doing, but I guarantee you she's getting his attention. And if he's a man, he's a man. What is going on?

28:06 All right, let me finish this sermon. And sure enough, he fell in love with her. Listen to this statement. And she married him because he asked her to marry him. And she went from leftovers in the field to owning the field. Listen, because she went a little further, she married him.

28:35 You've got to understand, if you're just dating Jesus, if you're seeing him once a week pretty much at church and that's it, you'll never enter into the field of grace that God has for you. You'll never know. But when you stop dating Him and you marry Him,

28:59 I conclude with this. One more story of the power. of a little further. It's just a stone's throw. You're so close. And that's when the enemy comes to discourage you and says, Just settle for where you are. It's how it is. Accept it. No. No. The power of the little father. The story is told in the book of Esther of Esther. of how that Mordecai was going to kill all the Jews and she was a Jew and the king didn't know she was a Jew but she had won a beauty contest and she was the queen.

29:55 And Mordecai went to the queen who was, he was her uncle and he said to her, listen to these words, if you think because you're in the king's palace you will escape the annihilation of your people. Just because you're in the king's house doesn't mean you're exempt from trouble, serious trouble. I just want to confirm to some people who are walking through the trial of a lifetime, it's not because you're not in the king's house. The devil puts a target on everyone who's in the king's house that is a child of God. And tribulation, it's through much tribulation, much, you shall enter the kingdom of heaven. Lord, I hope they didn't hurt themselves in Jesus' name.

30:55 But listen to me now. Esther says, I tell you what, you're right. I've got to go further. I'm going to go into the king and I'm going to talk to him on behalf of my people. But there was a law. It was not just, it was a law. It was commanded that if you entered into the presence of the king, he was so powerful that if he did not extend the sepulcher, you would be put to death for violating that throne zone.

31:34 And the scripture said, she said, fast for me three days and I'll fast and have all of Israel fast, call a fast for three days, going a little bit further, stone's throw. We're going to fast for three days for deliverance. And the scripture said that after they fasted three days,

31:57 that she... You talk about fixing up. I preached a whole sermon on it one time. She went through preparation like you wouldn't believe. She bathed in oil. She did olive oil. She did everything you can. You ought to read the story of Esther and how she fixed up and what the attire she wore and how many attendants she had just for one moment. She actually prepared for six months. They had to go in. There's a story of Esther. I'm talking about during the beauty contest after she won it, before she could go in, she had to prepare six months. And so here she goes, and she looks stunning. And she starts approaching the throne.

32:52 And when the king saw her, he held out the sepulcher. And he said, come in. I don't know. She must have been a knockout. Because when he saw her, your Bible said, he said, this is crazy. I mean, guys are crazy. And he looked at her, and just looking at her, he said, what do you want, Esther?

33:15 I'll give anything to you, you ask me, up to half the kingdom. Diamonds, rubies, golden chariots, homes. What do you need? You know what she said? I want to prepare you a meal, and I want to have communion with you, King. Oh my God, she could have had 10,000 acres. She could have had anything she wanted. And all she wants is a dinner date? I want you. I want to say something strong right here. What she needed, half the kingdom was not enough for her. Sometimes money and material things are not enough.

34:10 She needed the king's authority, the king's favor, the king's power. active against her enemy. He goes the next night. She prepared a feast. She prepared a table and they had a meal together and it was so enjoyable to the king. Think about this, that at the end of that night, he looked at her and he said, I said it before, but I really mean it this time. What do you want? Name it and you can have it up to half the kingdom. And she said a second time tomorrow night, could we just have communion together? Could I prepare another meal? And would you come? I want to be with you. More than half the kingdom, I want to be with you.

35:05 All these other things shall be added unto you. See first the King. And when she went a little bit further, and a second time turned down half the kingdom, wealth and riches we can't even imagine, for the presence of the king, and a communion meal together, it so won the king's heart that when he heard about Haman and his decree to kill the Jews, he hung him and destroyed him and elevated Esther like never before. All because she went after the king and didn't settle for half the kingdom.

36:10 Will you go a little bit further this morning? will you go beyond being in a good church and god's here and i feel his presence and he's doing a work but will you enter a meal of communion with him this morning will you take that communion set that you were given to and get it in your hand and i'm going to ask you and for some of you going a little bit further would be to stay through an altar call Amen. I wonder how many things we've missed because we've rushed out of God's presence and didn't go just a little bit further in our worship and adoration and passion for Jesus.

37:05 I want you to stand to your feet, please. I want everyone who has communion, before we take it, I want us to pray and repent, confess Jesus is Lord over our lives. If you're lost, if you're a backslider, if you know you're far from God's presence, I want you to get one of these communion sets. Raise your hand. If you'd say, Pastor, I need one of those and you don't have one, raise it up. I want you to get it because he's inviting you to that meal right here, right now.

37:45 I know all of you were given one when you came in, but there may be a few. But look at me now. I feel this. if you don't know you're right with God, God brought you here, but this service has been good and all of that. But the most important part of this service is your response to God. He's testing you.

38:08 He can calm your sea. He can do miracles. He can provide. He can meet every need, but it's not about that. You've got to have a pure love for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and have communion with Him. It's not about religion. It's about Him. Do you know Him? Do you love Him? Is He first in your life? pray this prayer everybody listen there's a reason why we do these things and it's sometimes we need to take a moment and explain it whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved so we're going to use the name of Jesus so that people can be saved from their sins secondly the book of Romans says that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart So why are we saying what we're about to pray?

39:06 I'm confessing Christ with my mouth. I believe it in my heart that he died and rose from the dead. I believe that and I confess it. And by faith, I receive him as my savior. And if I call on his name in faith, he forgives me. His blood cleanses me. His body heals me. And I receive it today. So pray this prayer. Say, Jesus, I believe you are the one who bled and died on the cross for me. And I believe that you rose from the dead for me. And today I go a little bit further. I believe what I preached. And I'm constraining you.

39:59 I'm calling on you. I'm crying out to you. I'm asking you, save me. Heal me. Help me. Deliver me. You are my Savior. And I put all of my faith in you. I want the King. I choose you, Jesus, to be my King. Jesus said it. I like how Matthew or Mark chapter 14 says it in the scripture. And I want to read it right out of the text, right before the text that I used to preach from. It says this in verse 22. And as they were eating, Jesus took the bread and blessed it, and he broke it, and he gave it to them, and he said, take, eat this, is my body.

40:55 now I want you to see it I'm taking his body symbolically into my body I'm taking the stripes that he bore from my healing in his body into my body and by his stripes I am healed emotionally, spiritually, mentally physically, relationally financially He is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord that heals thee. so let's not just take communion let's go a little bit further and put significance to it this very moment as often as you do this you do this in remembrance of what I did on the cross for you and if you take this meal it's the meal that heals it's the meal that feels it's the meal that thrills it's the meal that gives you life and life more abundantly so take eat this dude in remembrance of me.

42:01 and then in verse 24 23 he took the cup take the cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them and they drank from it and he said to them this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many.

42:34 Assuredly I say unto you of this cup I will not drink of the fruit of the wine until the day that I drink it in the new kingdom of God. And I love the next part of the verse. It says, and when they had sung a hymn, they went out. So we're going to sing this song one more time after we take this sip. of his blood is getting into my blood and my bloodline and my family and my children's my children's children is blessed because his blood's coming in contact cleansing my blood take drink this do in remembrance of me I really want to say thank you for joining us this week. If you haven't already, make sure you click on the subscription button and leave us a review. It helps this podcast reach even more people when you comment, when you give us your feedback.

43:34 For more messages and inspirational materials, download the Jensen Franklin app. Or you can head over to jensenfranklin.org. I want to thank all of you who give generously to help us produce weekly content like this to reach the world with the message of Jesus. God bless you and we'll...