Embracing Donkey Missions for Spiritual Growth

1. "And a donkey mission are the things that are happening in our life on a daily basis. And if we're not asking God to participate in those with us, we may be missing out. We may be missing out on the harvest that he has right before our eyes. Amen? And it's our day-to-day things. And if we don't let God work, he's not part of what's happening in that moment. We're trying to do it all ourself and make it happen ourself. Amen? And that's what a donkey mission is. And they're so important for you in your life." [24:56] (30 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "They're so important is because God takes you on a journey through these things. And this is how he gets you to grow. Church, are you hearing me? He's going to grow us and stretch us when he sends us on these different donkey missions. And there's many times that we don't even stop to recognize that God's involved in everything that we're doing on a regular basis. When you got up this morning and we're thinking about getting ready to go to church or maybe thinking about, maybe I'm not going to go to church today, but you decided to go anyways, there's a donkey mission happening right inside that moment where God wants to grow you and stretch you and show you something. Amen?" [26:02] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "Because if I choose not to forgive somebody, I'm not really walking in God's will. And I sure am not thanking him for forgiving me for all my stuff. If I can't forgive somebody else. Amen. And so it's a donkey mission. And you and I, we need to pause and ponder the word of God and let it get soaked into us. We don't read the Bible as a book, right? We read it to receive and understand. And those are donkey. Spiritual donkey missions that God will take you on through the truth of his word. Amen." [27:05] (39 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "Some of you need to hear this because that's exactly what you need to maybe move forward. Because the truth about donkey missions is they build your character and who you are in Christ. And not just how you see yourself, but how others see you actually is how they mature you and help you grow. This is powerful. If you grab hold of this, and here's the truth. You're already on a donkey mission right now. You are on a donkey. You're on a donkey mission. Listen to me. Talk about you being on donkey missions. Because you're sitting there going, I'm not on a donkey mission. No, I'm not." [27:50] (38 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "And let me tell you something about donkey missions. They're not always glamorous. It's a donkey mission, not a black Arabian stallion mission. It's a donkey mission, right? It's something that maybe God just wants to do in you. You might be saying, okay, Pastor David Tripp, you must, man, you give us the word of God every week, and it's so powerful, and it's so strong. Well, let me tell you all something. It took me a while to get to where I'm at in my walk. I just didn't start the first time I preached the message, and I knew where I was going to go and what I was going to do, and that God was speaking to me in that moment, and God has grown me and moved me along." [28:24] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6. "And the way you're gonna find out your value is that you are willing to go on donkeys. If you can go on a couple donkeys mission, you are willing to go on革 combinations to bite a dog. It gonna hurt you, Take your hat off, take your shoes off, get ready to shoot and you're gonna be a say, and double option breathing. because I'm glad he taught me. before I share anything else today, I need you to get one thing very clear in your mind and believe it with all your heart that you are special." [38:10] (55 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7. "And when you know who you are and whom you are, it matters a lot, church. It matters because your identity is going to shape your trajectory. You understanding your identity is going to shape your trajectory. In the way that you go. Example, if you're a pig, you're heading for slop. If you're a prince or a princess, you're heading for inheritance. Amen? If you believe that you're not good enough, it's going to send you on a trajectory in a certain direction, just as much as you believe in your child of God will send you on a different trajectory." [39:49] (50 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8. "And you cannot quit on the very thing God's trying to use to shape your character in Christ. You can't quit on it. You can, but he's just going to bring it back to you again and just in a different form, because it's the same thing you've got to learn to get a breakthrough. And it just keeps coming. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? Have you experienced that before? Because God wants to move you forward. See, donkey missions happen in obscurity. There's no fanfare when the donkey mission is taking place. Nobody's around you to celebrate. It's you walking through and learning. It's you growing and what God wants to mature you in." [52:59] (43 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


9. "And don't misunderstand what I just said. I believe in mentoring and coming alongside one another. I'm just saying in a donkey mission, there's some times where you've got to be alone with God so he can show you what needs to happen. You don't need somebody else's answer. You need the answer from God. Now, I want you to remember this. See, in the Bible, it says that God can make donkeys talk. And so don't get yourself in a situation. Where you're not close enough to God to where he has to use a donkey to talk to you versus him to get your attention. I can't hear from God. Well, I'll make this donkey talk and maybe that will get your attention and make you feel like I'm really real." [53:57] (42 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


10. "And so let's pray. I want to pray over you. And we're going to start by just surrendering. Surrendering some things of the Lord in our prayer. And then I'll pray for you to have this relationship with Jesus. I want to ask outside of the worship team to quickly move in this direction, but then I want everyone else to remain silent so that we can focus. Because I want to have, I want to invite you into an account, an encounter with the Lord right here. And so if you all just close your eyes and just, and this is what I want you to do. I want you to think about a person that comes, comes to mind that's hurt you. Or maybe you have a little bit of hate towards them. Or maybe you're just frustrated with them or angry with them. Are there something you, you, you know what that thing is, but find that maybe that person's God. Maybe you're angry with God. Maybe you think that God's not fair in a certain situation. I want you to find that person and we're going to pray." [01:12:29] (72 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)