The Faithfulness Behind the Cut

Sunday October 11, 2026 (Guest Speaker Special Edition)

We are blessed to hear from our Apostle every Sunday, and it’s even more of a privilege to hear him minister at other places, where the word is just as powerful! 

Before our service at Zadok, Apostle was the surprise special guest speaker at the Appreciation Service for Lady Moore of New Beginnings Full Gospel Ministries (The Judah House). 

He gracefully gave Lady Moore her well-deserved flowers, and—like only he can do—dropped a heavy, life-altering word on the entire house.

He started with the story of Elisha in 2 Kings 2:14. Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion—an inheritance reserved strictly for a firstborn son. But when Elisha faced the Jordan River, he didn't call on the God of his own history; he called on the God of Elijah.

Why? Because when you honor a spiritual gift, you gain access to the authority and power they fought, wept, and suffered to build. Honor makes room for you long before your talent, skill, or hustle ever could. Elisha served Elijah faithfully until the end, and because he honored the mantle, he inherited the power.

You cannot access spiritual power without true, authentic honor—and true honor opens the door to a deeper, unshakeable relationship with God. If you truly understand how honor works vertically and horizontally, it leads you to a radical question: Are you actually a friend of God, or are you just a fan?

Don’t worry, Aposlte uncovered a facet of friendship with God that will help all of us answer this question for ourselves.  

“And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.” — James 2:23 (NKJV)

We love to sing catchy worship songs about God being our friend, but Abraham wasn't called God’s friend just because he showed up to service. Abraham’s friendship was built on absolute, unreserved trust.

“You can praise God for what He’s done, but can you trust Him when you don’t understand what He’s doing?” — M.G. Lewis Jr.

Real trust requires you to surrender your obsession with needing an explanation for everything God does.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;” — Proverbs 3:5 (NKJV). 

Faith doesn't demand that God explain every step—it simply requires us to trust that He orders them.

So…are you a fake friend to God? We love Him as our Savior, our Healer, our Deliverer, and the Lord of the Breakthrough. But what happens when the friendship requires honest, uncomfortable confrontation? 

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” — Proverbs 27:6 (NKJV)

“God is too faithful to leave you unchanged.” — M.G. Lewis Jr.

A fake friend tells you what feels good to keep you happy. A real friend tells you the truth to keep you from destroying yourself. God loves you way too much to let you remain dysfunctional to your destiny.

Sometimes, in His divine faithfulness, God has to allow us to get fractured.

“It hurt me, but God is not going to allow it to destroy me.” — M.G. Lewis Jr.

Think about a patient who goes into surgery to have a life-threatening mass removed. They wake up post-op in extreme pain, frustrated because they feel worse after the procedure than they did before it. But when they run back to the emergency room, the surgeon has to remind them: "The thing growing inside of you was going to kill you. The incision hurt, but it saved your life."

“The cut that saved my life is the truth.” — M.G. Lewis Jr.

Isn't it profound that the exact same hands responsible for your healing are the hands that have to make the incision? Sometimes the evidence of your healing looks identical to the evidence of your hurting.

You might be sitting there assuming your current pain is punishment for something you did wrong. But you’re misreading the situation—your Friend cut you. 

He noticed an infection of pride, compromise, or bitterness growing in your spirit that was going to ruin your future, and because He loves you, He cut it out.

“Faithfulness isn’t always measured by how good something feels, but by the integrity of the intentions behind it.” — M.G. Lewis Jr.

Stop holding God hostage over how a season made you feel. If you spend all your time complaining about the incision, you’ll never get to the recovery. 

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” — Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV)

His wounds bring our healing. 

“His faithfulness is greater than your feelings.” — M.G. Lewis Jr.

“Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.” — Lamentations 3:22 (NKJV)

God isn't putting a band-aid on what needs to be surgically removed. You can't pray it out, sing it out, or speak in tongues to bypass it—it has to be cut.

Here’s where so many believers get confused: the cut isn't always punishment; sometimes it's pruning.

Jesus told us in John 15 that He is the Vine and we are the branches. The Father cuts away the branches that don't produce, but He also prunes the branches that are bearing fruit so they can produce even more.

Getting cut doesn't mean you failed.

“Pruning is not rejection, it’s reduction.” — M.G. Lewis Jr.

“Don’t mistake the pruning for punishment, because sometimes He’ll reduce what you have so that He can increase what you’ll produce.” — M.G. Lewis Jr.

You’re not being cut off; you’re being cultivated. God isn't impressed with the three little grapes you're showing off when He knows your branch is capable of producing an entire vineyard.

“Don’t confuse the incident with the outcome.” — M.G. Lewis Jr.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” — Romans 8:28 (NIV)

Romans 8:28 promises that all things work together for good. It doesn't say all things feel good. So we have to stop judging the entire story by one painful chapter.

When God takes you through a cutting season, you don't need a praise team to hype you up—you worship because you survived the operating table. 

We all know the song:

“When I think of the goodness of Jesus

And all He’s done for me,

My soul cries out, ‘Hallelujah!’

Thank God for saving me!”

When you’ve endured and come through that kind of long suffering, even the unhealed parts of you know how to give Him glory!

Look at Jacob in Genesis 32. He spent his entire life hustling, tricking people, and running away from his problems (the ones he created). But when he reached the river Jabbok, God met him in a wrestle and dislocated his hip.

God blessed Jacob by wounding him. That limp slowed Jacob down so he could no longer run away from his reality. The wound forced him to walk upright into his new identity as Israel.

“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” — 1 Peter 5:10 (NKJV)

Notice that being perfected (brought to total maturity), established (built on a firm foundation), strengthened (developed where you were weak), and settled (stabilized) only comes after you have suffered a while.

Suffering is part of the process, but it doesn't get the final word—God's grace does. And God will never cut you without His grace.

We are all in spiritual triage with God right now. Pre-op appointments have been scheduled, and Heaven is calling for heart transfusions. We cannot keep living lukewarm lives while expecting God to be pleased with our output.

“A real friend is concerned about who you’re becoming, not about how you feel.” — M.G. Lewis Jr.

“The truth will not only check you, it’ll check on you.” — M.G. Lewis Jr.

Think about Jesus cursing the fig tree—it was cursed for two reasons: a lack of production altogether, or trying to look leafy and fruit-bearing before its actual season. We can fool each other with churchy phrases and performative postures, but we cannot fool the Vine.

This is a season to produce or sit down.

The cut wasn't meant to destroy you—it was designed to grow you. The wound is not your conclusion, and the cut is not your cancellation. 

You survived the procedure, you're connected to the Vine, and your greatest season of fruitfulness is officially on the other side of the incision.

You can watch the full message here (sermon begins at 100:05).