summarized: Head Winds x Sarah Jakes Roberts

• What happens in the house of God flows into the homes of its members. 
• God uses our brokenness. Only the Potter can put you back together again. 

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There’s a heart positioning we have to have for our lives to be changed. We have to bring our hearts into alignment with Him. 

“While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.” Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, “Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come?” And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.””

Acts 10:19-22 NKJV

(Jesus has already ascended to heaven, and Peter is on a mission to go to all the parts of the world. Cornelius is a Gentile, so Peter, as a Jew, would not usually interact with him, but God has given him a commandment to go outside of his comfort zone.)

Headwind is when a plane is taking off, but the wind is against it. There are people in the church who feel like life has been a whirlwind of one thing after another, but when a whirlwind hits a mighty rushing wind, takeoff is inevitable. God is creating wind in our lives so that when His Spirit hits us, we’ll recognize that He was propelling us towards our promises. 

Headwinds can be problematic because of the resistance. It becomes difficult to move forward, right until takeoff. So you have to be intentional and realize that you’re not going against it, because you’re covered in such a way that when wind comes in your direction, all it can do is take you off into another dimension of who God has called you to be. Don’t be afraid of the wind; recognize that you can make it work for your favor. 

In the text, God is creating winds. But they don’t look like winds, they look like issues. There are times when, even though we trust God, we want a preview of what He’s doing. 

Cornelius was a God fearing man, but he was a Roman soldier. An oxymoron. He wasn’t exactly Roman because he didn’t serve the same gods the Romans served, but he wasn’t exactly Jewish because even though he served their God, he couldn’t be accepted into their faith. He had to become comfortable living his life on a bubble, because his environment wasn’t conducive to what was in his heart. There was no support. Still, Cornelius managed to be in the world, but not of the world. An angel visited Cornelius and told him that God had seen his works, his loyalty. After receiving his vision, Cornelius has to wait. There had to be a space between what God said would happen and it’s manifestation. 

That waiting period determines whether or not we deserve what we pray for. God gave Cornelius something he hadn’t even been praying for, and once God puts something on your heart, you can’t just shake it off. We’ll still have to play the waiting game. It’ll make you insecure, it’ll make you question yourself, it’ll make you wonder if you have what it takes. But while you wait, keep your heart in the same place it was when you received that Word. A heart that can receive a Word can operate in it. Don’t let the enemy use your insecurities, your fear, your circumstances, the rumors, the opinions, don’t let him use anything to make you think you should give up. Is God a man that He should lie? If He said something, it’s going to come to pass. Have enough faith to tell the enemy that he can’t have what God’s given you just because you’re still waiting on it. Stay hopeful, stay prayerful, stay faithful. You didn’t even want it until God said you could have it, but now that He’s said you could have it, you have to wait on it. Don’t give up, it doesn’t matter what your bank account says, it doesn’t matter what statistics say. Know that restoration is a part of your destiny. Don’t let your faith dwindle.

What you’re waiting on, eyes haven’t seen, so man can’t give it to you. Don’t let anything distract you. Look back on your life and realize that God has a track record of coming through, even if He doesn’t do it when you want Him to. Start owning the things He tells you are yours, even before you have them, so you’re equipped when people start trying to discourage you. 

There’s a mindset shift. Cornelius is preparing for an importation of the Holy Spirit, but before God could do it, He had to change his mind. God didn’t not bring you here to find a routine. You’re not gonna live your life on autopilot. God’s ability to move in your life means that your faith will need something to work with. Don’t give up on the dreams and visions for your life because you have to wait. Waiting doesn’t disqualify you, waiting doesn’t mean you’re not capable. God needs you to see what He sees in you and for you to be the person who’s willing to have faith in crazy dreams.

The angel comes to Cornelius while he’s waiting and tells him to send for Peter, so Cornelius has to figure out who he can trust with the vision. He chooses a soldier and two servants. They had to be people who knew how to handle his vision. Some of us are so excited to have a vision that we let anyone handle it. Don’t let the people infect your vision before God can even handle it and help us pursue it. Don’t post about it, pray about it. Your need to be validated and accepted will make you abort your vision. Don’t let other people miscarriage your destiny. Not everyone will know how to cover you, how to pour into you, how to esteem you wisely. We have to be selective like Cornelius was. Figure out who your people are.

What Cornelius had to do was dangerous. Gentiles and Jews didn’t congregate; it was considered unclean. Sometimes you’ll have to go up against institutions and mentalities to do what God has called you to do. But He’ll still position you, not because you did everything the right way, but because you had the right heart. 

Peter didn’t know what’s next for him, but he was living off the high of his last miracle. In order to get to the next miracle, you have to become vulnerable again, you have to feel inadequate again. It hurts to start wanting something again. Why quit your miracle job to start a business you don’t have the resources for? When you get comfortable in your last miracle, in your “good Christian life”, you start pointing fingers at others, even though Jesus isn’t finished with you. Never get so comfortable with Him that you stop finding and giving Him access to places to work in your life. When’s the last time you said “search me”? Realize if you feel like He’s not working on you. Ask Him to open your heart, to work on your attitude, to show you how to forgive. Let Him touch you. We want to go to church and shout, but He wants us to go and have our lives changed. 

God will use those who invite Him, even if they’re broken. Peter offered his mind up to God. He wanted it to be renewed. Don’t be unwilling to have your mind changed. Let Him show you things His way. If He can’t change your mind, He can’t change your world, your relationships, your finances, any of the things you’re praying for. We want God to bless us the way we want Him to bless us, not realizing the blessing He has for us require us to change our ideas of the way He’ll do it. He won’t battle with us. If He can’t change our minds, He’ll watch us do it our way, until we’re broken in such a way that we start saying crazy things like “not my way, but Your will be done”. Allow Him to change your mind, realize that you need Him to. Pray for  change. Let your mindset be renewed so that the Spirit can move; don’t let your mind be a jail. Changing your mind takes work. Let Him strip you. From generational mentalities, generational struggles. He is a Potter, let Him remold you. 

Cornelius was in a tormenting position. All he could do was wait and wonder if what God had told him would manifest, but the thoughts of Peter were what mattered to God while Cornelius was waiting. Peter needed to be prepared for the revelation that was coming. All things working doesn’t mean everything’s working at the same time. Preparations have to be made on the other side so that when you walk through a door, you can be received properly. You might be wait for the spouse you’re praying for because they’re not ready, they’re not complete yet. You may have to wait for a job or an opportunity because it doesn’t exist yet. While you wait, He works. Keep your heart in the right place while He makes the crooked path straight for you. Let Him clean things up for you so you don’t have to get your hands dirty. You’ve had to wait before, but you got stronger while you waited. You’re gonna need that strength. Realize you might not be able to handle the things you want yet. We don’t have an instant gratification God. We cherish the things we have to wait for. We take care of the blessings we have to wait for. But we have to know that we wouldn’t have them if He hadn’t given them to us. 

There’s a way we’re supposed to move when the Spirit breathes on us. Peter was still trying to figure out what to do when the Spirit started to speak, so Peter had to stop everything to receive the message. There’s no debating with the Spirit. Don’t speak when the Spirit speaks. Bring your mind and thoughts into alignment with what the Spirit is saying in that moment. We live in a world of distractions, and distractions can keep you from receiving what the Spirit is saying. Let It interrupt your thoughts, not vice versa. Don’t doubt God, don’t let suspicion cloud your judgement and close your heart. Don’t think that He would break you and leave you broken. The wind He creates will make you feel a little dizzy, but they’ll help you take off. They’re mighty, they’re rushing. 

Cornelius’ messengers knew how to represent him. They knew that him being a Roman centurion would make him problematic. Do your people know how to talk about you? Do they see you properly? Can they represent you? Would they let people talk about you? Your people should be able to end discussions about the person you used to be because they know the person you are now. If a person can’t see how God has changed you, you need to leave their life. Choose Him over them. When you start to see yourself properly, you won’t accept anyone who doesn’t see you clearly as well. People can’t just treat royalty any kind of way. If you know who you are, Whose you are, it won’t matter what anyone else says about you. If people can’t accept your growth, if they can’t grow, you need to let them go. If your people can’t grow with you, you’ll grow away from them. God needs to change your mind, but He also needs to change the minds of those who are going to be around you. If they’re not going where you’re going, they need to be removed. Don’t get so hurt that you can’t realize it’s for the best. 

I can’t handle distractions. Either you’re for me, or against me.

God changing your mind will kick up dust in your life. People prefer you drunk, high, ignorant; you’re more fun that way. So when you start setting up boundaries, issues will abound. Don’t shrink to make people comfortable. Figure out who you are. Some people want you to walk with your head held down so they don’t have to look you in the eyes, but when you let them know that they’ll have to come correct if they want to be in your life, they’ll realize that they’ll have to invest in you. You’re a good investment. You live for a King, so when they invest in you, they invest in a Kingdom. A Kingdom where weapons don’t prosper, a Kingdom where our King goes to battle for us. 

More than anything, we should allow the Spirit to have full liberty in our lives. Trust God more than you trust yourself. Know that He wouldn’t remove things from your life and not multiply. 

That same Spirit that was resting on Peter is always being multiplied. Receive your portion. Let it come in and change you, don’t ignore it. God can still reach you, God can still touch you. Some are successful like Peter, some are just starting off like Cornelius, but all can be touched. 

Realize that God also has to multiply the wind around you to make your takeoff more comfortable. The touch of God doesn’t just remind you that you’re alive. It reminds you that you can have hope. Let go of the mindsets and the shackles you’ve inherited. You need to clear room to give the Spirit access to your mind. Change the parts of your mind that talk bad about you. Tell the enemy that he cannot have your mind any longer, don’t be at battle within yourself, receive the authority to cast and bind the negative thoughts that exalt themselves over Him. Use your faith to overcome your fear. You carry the glory of God. Darkness moves back from anything you enter. You have to welcome God into your life for yourself. Tell Him you need Him, tell Him you trust Him. He knows what you’ve gone through, just ask Him to show you how to deal with it. Ask Him to create the wind that’ll help you takeoff. Know how to match the headwinds so that you can be elevated. Through your pain, your anxiety, your depression, your suicidal thoughts, through everything you struggle with, realize that you need Him. Worship Him. Ask Him to help you see things the way He does. He’ll meet you where you are, but He won’t leave you that way.