Do Not Fold!!!

MANIFESTATION OF HIS GLORY NETWORK, INC.

Sunday Morning Online Sanctuary

DO NOT FOLD!

Apostle Dr. G. Denise Gray

Lead Apostle & General Overseer

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Welcome to Manifestation of His Glory Network, Inc. and to our online sanctuary.

I am grateful that you are here today, because I believe with everything in me that God has a Word for somebody who opened this page.

I don't know where you are reading from today. I don't know what you have been facing. I don't know what has been challenging your faith, testing your patience, or causing you to question what God said.

But I do know what the Lord said to me.

Do not fold!

Listen to me clearly.

Last night, I saw myself holding cards in my hand. They were spread out before me like a fan, and I heard the Lord say so clearly:

“Do not fold.”

Immediately, I understood that this was bigger than a hand of cards.

God began dealing with me concerning what He places in our hands.

The promises.

The visions.

The dreams.

The assignments.

The instructions.

The things He showed you that nobody else saw.

The things He spoke to you that nobody else heard.

The things He promised you that may not make sense to anybody else.

And I heard the Lord saying, “What I placed in your hand, don't surrender because of what somebody else thinks about it. Don't give it away because pressure came. Don't abandon it because somebody else's life looks different from yours. Don't exchange My promise for something that looks like a better opportunity. If I did not tell you to release it, hold on to it.”

Do not fold!

Remember, we are an online sanctuary. I don't want to keep you all day, but I do want to give you something that you can carry after you close this page. I want this Word to meet you tomorrow morning. I want it to come back to your spirit when pressure shows up. I want you to remember it when somebody tries to convince you to abandon something God told you to protect.

Just because we are online does not limit the presence or the power of God!

The Holy Spirit can meet you right where you are.

My prayer remains the same.

That you log in one way and log out another!

Let's Pray

Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank You for this moment. We thank You for every man and woman who has entered this online sanctuary today.

Father, prepare our hearts to receive Your Word. Quiet every competing voice. Silence every distraction. Give us discernment to recognize what came from You and courage to hold on to everything You have spoken.

Strengthen the person whose hands have become tired. Encourage the person who has been waiting. Restore the faith of the person who has begun questioning the promise.

Let this Word penetrate our hearts, renew our minds, and strengthen our spirits. We declare that we will not leave this moment the same way we entered it.

In Jesus' name, Amen!

Now, let's get into the Word of God!

Hebrews 10:23 says:

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”

Hebrews 10:23, KJV

The Scripture doesn't just tell us to hold.

It tells us to hold fast.

Why?

Because He is faithful that promised!

Your confidence is not supposed to be in the circumstances surrounding the promise.

Your confidence is in the One who made the promise.

Follow me here.

When God gives you something to hold, there will be seasons when what you are holding doesn't look like what He promised.

There will be seasons when everybody around you appears to be moving while you are still waiting.

There will be moments when another opportunity presents itself and looks easier.

There will be people who tell you what they would do if they were you.

But they're not you!

They didn't hear what you heard.

They weren't there when God spoke to you.

They didn't receive your instructions.

They weren't given your assignment.

And they are not responsible for stewarding your promise.

You are!

Listen to me closely.

One of the most dangerous things you can do is compare what God placed in your hand with what He placed in somebody else's.

Their hand is not your hand.

Their assignment is not your assignment.

Their timing is not your timing.

Their promise is not your promise.

God can tell one person to move and tell another person to stay.

God can tell one person to build and tell another person to wait.

God can open a door for somebody else and tell you, “Don't touch it.”

That's why you have to know the voice of God for yourself!

Because everything that looks like an opportunity is not necessarily an instruction from God.

First John 4:1 tells us:

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.”

In other words, everything that presents itself to you must be tested.

Just because it looks good doesn't mean it is God.

Just because it pays more doesn't mean it is God.

Just because everybody else is doing it doesn't mean it is God.

Just because somebody tells you, “If I were you, I would take it,” doesn't mean it is God.

What did God say?

That's the question.

Because when you know what God said, you don't have to fold because something else showed up.

Hold What God Put in Your Hand

This brings me to my first point today, men and women of God.

Hold what God put in your hand!

Exodus 4:2 says:

“And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.”

Moses saw a rod.

God saw an instrument He could use.

What Moses had in his hand looked ordinary until God put His power on it.

And somebody needs to hear me today.

Stop undervaluing what God placed in your hand because it doesn't look impressive to somebody else!

You may call it a little idea.

God may call it an assignment.

You may call it a dream.

God may call it purpose.

You may call it something you've been working on.

God may call it preparation for what He is getting ready to entrust to you.

Listen to me clearly.

If God placed it in your hand, steward it!

Pray over it.

Protect it.

Develop it.

Work it.

Be faithful with it.

And stop handing people access to things God entrusted to you when they don't have the capacity to understand what you're carrying.

Some things God gives you need development before they need an audience.

Some promises need prayer before they need publicity.

Some visions need protection before they need exposure.

And some things God has spoken to you are not waiting for everybody else's agreement.

They're waiting for your obedience.

Habakkuk 2:2–3 says:

“Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time.”

There it is.

An appointed time.

That means everything God showed you doesn't have to happen today for it to still be God.

Everything God promised you doesn't have to manifest this week for the promise to still be alive.

The vision has an appointed time.

The promise has an appointed time.

And while you are waiting for the appointed time, your responsibility is not to fold.

Your responsibility is to remain faithful!

I know I am speaking to somebody in this online sanctuary today!

You have been holding something God told you for a long time.

And lately you have been wondering, “Father, did I hear You correctly?”

Yes, you heard Him.

But waiting will test what you heard.

Pressure will test what you heard.

Delay will test what you heard.

Comparison will test what you heard.

And sometimes an attractive alternative will test what you heard.

But hear me today.

Do not fold!

Stay with me here because we're going deeper.

Pressure Does Not Cancel the Promise

Galatians 6:9 says:

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Did you hear that?

If we faint not.

There is a due season attached to your faithfulness.

But you cannot abandon the field because you're tired before harvest arrives.

Somebody has been interpreting exhaustion as an instruction to quit.

No!

Sometimes you're tired because you've been carrying something valuable.

Rest if you need to rest.

Get quiet if you need to get quiet.

Pray.

Recover.

Replenish.

But don't confuse resting with folding.

There is a difference!

You can rest and still believe.

You can slow down and still obey.

You can sit still and still be in the will of God.

You can take care of yourself and still hold tightly to the promise.

Listen to me closely.

You do not have to destroy yourself to prove that you believe God.

But you also don't surrender what God said simply because the journey became uncomfortable.

Second Corinthians 1:20 says:

“For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen.”

God has not forgotten what He said.

God has not misplaced your promise.

God has not gotten confused about your address.

God did not accidentally bless everybody around you and overlook you.

Your promise is still in His hands while His promise is still in yours!

So stop measuring God's faithfulness by somebody else's timeline.

Stop looking at somebody else's hand and wondering why their cards look different from yours.

You don't know what God told them.

You don't know what their obedience required.

You don't know what their journey cost.

And they don't know everything God told you.

Hold your hand!

Guard what God gave you.

Protect your peace.

Protect the vision.

Protect the assignment.

Protect your obedience.

And don't allow comparison to make you fold a hand that God told you to hold.

Stay with me here.

Because there is another side of “Do Not Fold” that we have to deal with.

Don't Trade God's Promise for Another Route

This is where discernment becomes necessary.

Because sometimes what comes to test what God placed in your hands will not present itself as something obviously wrong.

Sometimes the test is whether you will remain committed to God's way of accomplishing what He has already spoken.

Look at Jesus in the wilderness.

Matthew 4:8–10 says:

“Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

Now follow me closely because we cannot miss what is happening here.

Satan is standing before Jesus trying to offer Him kingdoms.

But Jesus already knows who He is!

Jesus is not standing there wondering whether He has access to power.

Jesus is not searching for an identity.

Jesus is not trying to figure out His assignment.

And Jesus certainly does not need Satan to establish His authority.

John 1:3 tells us concerning Christ:

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

So think about the audacity of the temptation.

Satan is attempting to place before Jesus something that could never compare to what already belonged to Him through the Father's divine purpose.

The issue wasn't elevation.

The issue was compromise.

The temptation presented a way that would require Jesus to violate His allegiance to the Father.

And Jesus refused.

He did not negotiate.

He did not entertain it.

He did not ask whether there might be some benefit in it.

He answered with the Word:

“Get thee hence, Satan.”

Now bring that into your own life.

Sometimes the greatest test of what God placed in your hands is not whether you believe the promise.

It is whether you will remain obedient while you wait for God's way of bringing the promise to pass.

Because there may be another route.

There may be a quicker route.

There may be something placed before you that appears to accomplish the same objective.

But if getting there requires you to violate what God told you, that's not your route.

Do not fold.

Don't exchange obedience for speed.

Don't exchange conviction for convenience.

Don't exchange God's instructions for somebody else's strategy.

And don't allow impatience to make you reach for something God never told you to touch.

Jesus knew His assignment, and because He knew His assignment, He also knew what He could refuse.

Some of you need to become just as confident about saying no as you have been about saying yes.

No, because that's not what God told me.

No, because that's not how God told me to do it.

No, because although it may work for somebody else, that is not the instruction God gave me.

No, because I will not compromise what God placed in my hands just to arrive somewhere faster.

That's another dimension of Do Not Fold.

You are not only holding on to the promise.

You are holding on to the instructions that came with it.

Revelation 3:11 says:

“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”

Hold fast to what God gave you.

Hold fast to what God told you.

Hold fast to how God instructed you.

Because sometimes the real test is not whether you can hold the promise.

The real test is whether you can hold your position when another option is placed in front of you.

Men and women of God, I came into this online sanctuary today with one assignment.

Tell you not to fold!

Don't fold because it got hard.

Don't fold because they don't understand.

Don't fold because somebody else moved ahead.

Don't fold because the answer hasn't manifested yet.

Don't fold because another route looks easier.

Don't fold because you're tired.

Don't fold because the promise has taken longer than you expected.

If God said it, hold on to it!

If God showed it to you, guard it!

If God placed it in your hands, steward it!

If God told you to wait, wait!

If God told you to move, move!

But whatever you do, don't allow pressure to make you surrender something God told you to possess.

Listen

Those cards I saw in my hand represented something to me.

I am still holding what God said.

And somebody reading this needs to look at your own spiritual hands today.

The promise is still there.

The vision is still there.

The dream is still there.

The assignment is still there.

The Word God gave you is still there.

And if God hasn't told you to put it down, keep holding it!

Your hands may be tired, but keep holding.

You may have tears in your eyes, but keep holding.

You may not understand the timing, but keep holding.

You may not know how God is going to do it, but keep holding.

Because Hebrews 10:23 told us why:

“For he is faithful that promised.”

Not because you understand it.

Not because you can see it.

Not because everybody agrees with it.

Because He is faithful!

And if the One who promised is faithful, I have a reason to keep holding what He placed in my hands.

DO NOT FOLD!

Before We Leave This Online Sanctuary

I want to speak directly to the person who knows this Word found you today.

Maybe you were about to give up.

Maybe you were about to change your mind.

Maybe you were about to accept something simply because you were tired of waiting.

Maybe comparison had you questioning whether God was doing anything in your life at all.

Hear me.

Go back to what God said.

Not what fear said.

Not what frustration said.

Not what people said.

Not what social media made you feel.

What did God say?

And when you remember what He said, hold it again.

Pick the vision back up.

Pick the dream back up.

Pick the assignment back up.

Pick your faith back up.

And declare over yourself:

I will not fold!

I will not surrender what God placed in my hands.

I will not exchange God's promise for man's approval.

I will not compare my assignment with somebody else's.

I will not allow delay to make me doubt what God said.

I will not allow another route to pull me outside the will of God.

I will steward what God gave me.

I will protect what God entrusted to me.

I will obey what God instructed me to do.

And I will hold fast because He who promised is faithful!

An Invitation to Jesus Christ

Before we close, I never want anyone to enter this online sanctuary without being given an opportunity to know Jesus Christ.

You may have read this entire message and realized that you don't have a relationship with Him.

Or maybe you once walked closely with God, but life happened and you moved away.

Listen to me closely.

You can come home today.

Jesus Christ died for you.

He rose for you.

And He is calling you into relationship with Him.

Romans 10:9 says:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

You don't have to fix yourself first.

You don't have to become perfect first.

Come to Jesus.

If you're ready, pray with me.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I come to You just as I am. I acknowledge that I am a sinner and that I need a Savior. I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and that You raised Him from the dead. Forgive me. Cleanse me. Make me new. Jesus, I receive You as my Lord and Savior. Teach me Your Word. Order my steps. Lead my life, and help me to follow You from this day forward. Thank You for loving me. Thank You for forgiving me. Thank You for saving me.

In Jesus' name, Amen!

If you prayed that prayer and believed it in your heart, welcome to the family of God!

Get into the Word of God. Develop a prayer life. Connect yourself with a Bible believing church where you can be taught, strengthened, and grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

And know that we are rejoicing with you right here at Manifestation of His Glory Network, Inc.!

Let Me Pray for You

Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for every person reading this Word today.

Father, strengthen their hands.

Strengthen their faith.

Strengthen their resolve.

Remind them of every promise You have spoken over their lives.

Where discouragement has entered, restore hope.

Where comparison has entered, restore focus.

Where fear has entered, restore faith.

Where impatience has entered, restore endurance.

Give Your people discernment so they will recognize what comes from You and what merely looks good.

Father, teach us to be good stewards over everything You place in our hands.

Don't allow us to surrender Your promises because of pressure.

Don't allow us to move ahead of You because we are impatient.

And don't allow us to remain still when You have commanded us to move.

We declare today that we will hold fast.

We will trust You.

We will obey You.

And we will not fold!

In Jesus' name, Amen!

Worship Through Giving

Before we leave today, I want to give you an opportunity to worship the Lord through your giving.

If Manifestation of His Glory Network, Inc. has encouraged you, strengthened you, or helped you grow in your relationship with God, I invite you to partner with us as we continue sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and carrying this ministry assignment forward.

You may give through:

Give

PayPal

Cash App

Tithely

Give as the Lord leads you.

Your giving is an act of worship, and we thank God for every person who prays for this ministry, supports this ministry, shares these messages, and helps us continue reaching people with the Word of God.

Until We Meet Again

Men and women of God, thank you for joining me in the online sanctuary today.

I want you to carry three words with you this week:

DO NOT FOLD!

When pressure comes, do not fold.

When comparison comes, do not fold.

When another route presents itself but God didn't instruct you to take it, do not fold.

When you look around and everybody else's life seems to be moving faster than yours, do not fold.

When you cannot see how the promise is going to happen, do not fold.

Hold what God placed in your hands.

He gave it to you.

Be a good steward over it.

Protect it.

Pray over it.

Work what He told you to work.

Rest when you need to rest.

And trust the timing of the One who gave you the promise.

Because He is faithful that promised!

My prayer remains the same.

That you logged in one way and you are logging out another!

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He strengthen your hands, establish your steps, sharpen your discernment, and give you the courage to remain faithful to everything He has spoken over your life.

Go in faith.

Go in obedience.

Go knowing that what God placed in your hands is worth protecting.

And whatever you do:

DO NOT FOLD!

God bless you!

Apostle Dr. G. Denise Gray

Lead Apostle & General Overseer

Manifestation of His Glory Network, Inc.