Hey, this is Pastor John Ryan Cantu from PNEUMA Church in Houston, Texas.

Thank you for listening to the message today.

I hope that it blesses you and all those.

That you share it with, God bless you.

Power of God is real.

Real.

We happy to be in the house of God this morning.

I know, I know maybe some of us are tired getting to the end of this of this year, but I just want you to be strengthened by by the Lord.

Because something is coming.

I feel it, man.

I feel We've been blessed.

God is God is good.

God is good.

Got nothing to complain about.

But I feel over this house Uh a shift.

Just a different type of shift.

We have seen the hand of God.

We have seen Two hundred and forty salvations this year.

We have seen we have seen growth on growth on growth.

And I know when we get to December, you know, some of that some of that falls off.

So tell somebody if you don't see them at church today, hey, don't forget about Jesus.

But I believe that something is coming in 2026, and I'm I'm gonna stand on that declaration.

And I'm gonna I want to ask you to stand on it with me.

We believe Stop hoping.

I hope.

I hope it'll be okay.

Let's believe and let's let's act and walk like we've already got the victory.

Let's walk in confidence into every room that we enter, knowing that the Holy Spirit goes with us as children of God.

And every endeavor that the Holy Spirit puts on our hearts, let's do it with confidence.

Confidence knowing that if God called us to it, he will provide everything that we can't even see in the moment.

I declare 2026 For you, for your home, and for your family, it's gonna be a year of blessing and abundance And I'm we're not we're not prosperity preachers.

We don't do we we don't do prosperity gospel, but the gospel is prosperous The gospel is victorious.

And those of us who stand on the rock that is Jesus, moving in his will, staying faithful against every attack that comes our way.

We will we will have the victory because he already has it.

How many believe that?

Give God some praise.

Give him some glory.

Amen This this Sunday we have uh we have an awesome woman of God uh bringing uh a just a fire word.

I haven't even heard it yet.

I just know it's I know it's there.

I know it's a fire word.

Um, you can tell just by the way that she worships.

Uh, she has a heart and a passion for God, and she blessed us last week at the serve conference.

For instance, so uh I don't want to take any more time.

Sister Dulce, will you come and and share what the Lord has on your heart?

God bless you, church.

God bless you, church.

God bless you, church.

God is good.

God is good If you've heard me preach before, you know me.

I might sound like a broken record to you because my go-to phrase for everything is: God is good.

So much so that when people, you know, that have known me for a while, they see me and they haven't seen me for a while, they'll be like, Dul, say, God is good all the time It became almost like a slogan in my life, you know, and it was kind of a bit of a joke for a while because they already knew, hey, that's what she's gonna say.

God is good, and we already know how to reply.

But you see, the truth is, it's not just a slogan, and it's not just a phrase, and it's just it's not just something I like to say.

This is the stance of my heart This is the stance of my faith.

This is what I believe.

God is good.

It's not just when we're on mountains high.

It's not when we're in valley low.

It's not when we're going through the blessings or we're going through the Struggle, it's in every single aspect, in every season, God is good Some people might be Republican, some people might be Democratic, and you'll say that's my political stance.

You see, my stance in life, the one that matters, is to say, God is good.

And let me make it really clear to you, okay?

I don't just say God is good because I'm feeling it all the time.

If there's something I have learned in my faith is that there are seasons where I'm not feeling nothing There are seasons when I'm feeling all the contrary.

There are seasons where I feel like my heart is sh Shattering, it is breaking, but in those moments I have taught myself to say that God is good See, sometimes you gotta condition your heart.

You gotta condition your heart Because you see, your heart does not have the condition to say God is good.

Your heart has the condition to say that everything is bad.

Everything is going against me.

Everything wants to kill me.

Everything is shattering and everything is breaking.

That's the condition of your natural heart.

But God says that when you come to Him He will give you a brand new heart, a heart made of flesh and not of stone.

And the condition of that new heart is one that knows how to say, God is good.

Even if I'm not feeling it, even if everything around me doesn't look like it, even if it feels like the weight is heavy Even if it feels like we're being crushed and persecuted, and it feels like everything says the quite opposite, I've conditioned myself to say God is good Because when you condition yourself to say that God is good, you're gonna declare that in every season.

You're gonna declare that in every stance.

And you know what happens?

Every single time you say God is good, the enemy gets a blow.

Every time you say God is good.

You hit the enemy one more time.

Every time you say God is good, the enemy starts to lose more of his strength.

Every time you say God is good, you are causing the enemy to Stumble and fall.

Every time you say God is good, you are declaring that He is greater than the one that comes against me.

He is good.

He is good.

He is good.

God is good.

Can you tell somebody right next to you, God is good?

All the time.

And all the time, God is good.

I have to preface you with this Because in order to get into the message that we have today, you have to keep remembering that God is good.

In order to talk about the message You need to keep in mind and in your heart that God is good.

Okay?

Because not always does it feel like it Sometimes it feels like quite the opposite.

But this morning, we're gonna release a word in here that says God is good.

And in this season of my life, we might be feeling the groaning pains, but soon hereafter comes the labor and the birth of a great Big miracle.

We might be going through the process of labor right now, but the miracle of birth and of life is coming.

We might be going through it right now, but Something good is coming.

Tell somebody we're going from groaning to glory.

Groaning to glory Because something good is about to be born.

Groaning to glory because something good is about to be born.

You gotta say it like you believe it.

We are going from groaning to glory because something good is about to be born.

I know we're in Advent Christmas season, and we're excited and in anticipation to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

What is Christmas about?

It's about the birth of Jesus.

But sometimes you gotta remember that in order for you to have the birth of Jesus, you have to have the tears of Mary.

In order for you to celebrate the miracle of life, there were groaning pains that somebody went through.

We acknowledge the birth of Jesus.

But don't forget that in order for you to have the birth of Jesus, you had to have the labor of Mary.

You cannot see the miracle if you haven't gone through the labor.

You cannot get to the miracle if you haven't endured through the labor.

You cannot get to the miracle if you haven't had faith through the labor.

You see, in order to go and get the miracle, in order to reach the miracle, in order to receive the miracle, there is a process called labor that we have to go through.

And labor is hard.

Can you go with me to Luke chapter 1?

We're gonna get into the word here.

Luke chapter 1, verse 26 27.

I'm gonna scatter around a little bit in that those next coming verses so just flow with me.

Luke chapter 1, verse 26 to 27.

And the word of God says, like this: In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth.

To a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph of the house of David.

The virgin's name was Mary.

Now listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son.

Down to verse 31.

Now listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus.

Verse 34 says, Mary asked the angel, How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?

35.

The angel replied to her: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

Therefore, the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

Verse 38 says, I am the Lord's slave, said Mary.

May it be done to me according to your word.

Then the angel left her.

Go ahead and go to Luke chapter 2, verse 6.

We're gonna finish here.

And the verse says, while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

Amen.

Can let's bow our heads.

God, we thank you this morning.

We ask, Lord, that you open our minds and our hearts to be able to hear.

And to be able to accept and digest the word that's going to be spoken this morning.

God, I pray that you open up our ears to hear what you want to speak That you encourage our hearts, Lord, to know that you are still there.

You are near, you are holding us steadfast through it all.

God, I pray that this morning we are able to be encouraged Reminded, challenged even God, to know that you have everything under your control, that your plans are far greater than anything we could have ever imagined, and that every single thing that is coming to pass is a realignment to your will and to your glory.

We thank you, Jesus, and we all say, amen.

I want to paint the image for you very quickly because it's a story I know that you know.

We have a young woman, her name is Mary.

Mary, in this time, she's very young Okay, and as a young woman, she's got dreams, she's got plans, she's got a vision because she is engaged to be married.

And as a woman who is about to get married, I can assure you that she had all these great plans.

Listen, when my husband proposed to me, I told him when we first met, I said, You got two years to decide if you want to marry me or not.

Okay?

Because in two years you should have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.

You know what it's gonna be like already.

You can decide if you want to marry or not.

Anybody in here that's dating longer than two years, I'm sorry.

Okay I said it'll give you two years, and then there better be a ring on this finger, or we're done, okay?

I'm not wasting time.

A little directa, but that's okay.

Anyway, he fulfilled, okay?

Two years in, where my graduation from Bible school and my husband, boyfriend then, pops the question and proposes.

And I tell him, honey, yes, we can get married tomorrow because I've been planning this wedding for the last two years.

My Pinterest board has the colors, the bridesmaids, the venue, the food, the caterer.

I got it all planned out because I was excited for this.

I've been looking forward to this.

I was ready for this.

I'm in anticipation for this.

And if you know me, I got a little bit of ADHD.

I'm like go go go go And I'm a planner.

I got one through ten.

A through Z.

I got all the plans made.

I thrive in this environment of making plans.

I get paid for it.

Okay?

I get paid to coordinate.

I get paid to have a plan.

So I'm always planning ahead.

I always got plan A, B, C, and D.

And D fails, I got all the way through Z.

That's the way my mind works and I can picture Mary with all the plans but then something happens You see, she wasn't planning to have a child before she got married.

She had the plans of the greatest day of her life, but then an interruption happened.

She probably wasn't even praying for a miracle.

She wasn't praying for a breakthrough.

She wasn't praying. even for a visitation that night, yet she got one.

In her plans was the greatest day of her life, but in God's plans was the greatest gift for the whole world She had a plan for a beautiful wedding, and God said, I got a plan that's greater than that.

I don't just want you to have a lovely wedding, I want you to take part in the plan that's gonna bring salvation to an entire world.

Can I just tell you something before we get in?

Sometimes an interruption in your life feels like it's coming in to stop. or to be a challenge or to derail your plans.

You see interruptions in your life, they are not to derail you.

They're to realign you to the plan and the purpose that God has already decided for you.

Interruptions are not bad.

Interruptions are realignments.

So she's realigned.

And God tells her, You are gonna conceive a child.

And you're gonna name him Jesus.

And she poses the question, how is this gonna be if I haven't known a man yet?

And the angel replies to her and says, You see what you are about to carry, it has no explanation in woman in your own words.

It has no explanation in human terms.

What you're about to carry is something that only God can do.

The child that's gonna be concerned Within you is gonna be the Son of God.

There is no science that can explain it.

There are no terms that can describe it.

What you're about to carry is a heavenly thing It's coming from God.

You see, there is something that God is putting right within you.

He's preparing you for it.

And there's no explanation.

That's why you don't understand it yet.

There's no way to describe it.

That's why you don't understand it yet.

You think an interruption happened, but God said, I'm realigning you to the plan that I have for your life.

You don't get it yet, but I'm in control.

You don't understand You won't be able to describe it, but he knows it.

Mary says something that was very, very, very key.

She responds and she says, I am a servant of God.

Let it be done unto me however you want.

In other words, here's what Mary is saying.

Look, I don't understand it.

I don't get it.

I've never seen anything like this before.

I can't comprehend it, but I'm ready to obey it.

You see, one thing that I've turned my whole life around was the moment I realized that my understanding is not necessary for my obedience.

I don't need to understand it in order for me to obey Better yet, your understanding is not a requirement for obedience.

You don't need to know it for you to say, Yes, God.

You don't need to see the last picture, the way that it's gonna end, for you to say, God, I surrender and I submit.

Mary said, let it be done unto me, like how you're saying it's gonna be.

I'm gonna say yes, even though I don't know what it's gonna consist of.

You see, the number one thing you need to understand about labor is that labor requires obedience.

Labor requires obedience.

In the practical side, if you are in a if you're in a birthing room ever If you're a mama in this place, you'll understand.

If you're a dad in this place, you'll be like, I remember those days.

Okay.

But when you are in a labor and delivery room, Obedience becomes practical and crucial.

They'll tell you push, wait.

Push, wait One more, keep going, and all you're doing is laying there listening to the word and you're doing.

You don't even understand that you don't want to.

Some of the sometimes you're feeling like you can't, but they say push and you gotta push You know that as a mom, when you're ready to give birth, if they say push, you better push.

If they say keep going, you keep going.

And if they say wait, you need to wait.

Obedience is crucial in the season of labor.

You don't understand it, but you gotta abide by it.

Because you see, God is not telling you, I you need to understand my plan.

He says, I just need you to obey my plan.

I don't understand sometimes what God is trying to do.

But I'm gonna say yes Lord.

I don't get what it's gonna look like, but yes, Lord.

I don't know what it is that you're doing, but yes, Lord.

I don't know where we're going, but yes, Lord.

I've shared it with people that when we moved to Houston It was sight unseen.

I had no idea what God was gonna do here.

And let me tell you, if I did know, I would have said no.

Okay?

Because I don't like humidity.

I don't like mosquitoes.

I don't like hurricanes.

I don't like getting a warning that there might be a freeze tonight.

I don't like uncertainty and Houston is uncertainty.

I'm like, Lord, if you would have given me some details, I would have said no.

And God says that's exactly why I don't tell you what's gonna happen.

Because if I gave you all the details, you run the danger of saying no.

If I told you what it was gonna look like, what it was gonna require what you were gonna go through, you would have said no because the fear of the unknown is so great and when the fear of difficulty comes in, you are ready to say no.

But God says if you say no, the danger is so much greater.

You see, even if you don't get it Just say yes because whatever it is that you're about to go through, you're not gonna do it on your own.

When you walk in obedience, even when it gets hard Even when it gets tough, you know that the Lord of Lords, your great I am, is the one that's holding you through.

He says, Don't look.

You don't gotta see.

You don't gotta know it.

You just gotta keep following my voice.

The word says that the sheep.

They know the shepherd's voice.

Whenever the shepherd calls out, they turn, they look, and they follow the shepherd.

All you gotta know is the voice of your shepherd and keep going.

You don't get it, you don't understand that that's all right.

God says I don't need you to understand it because what you're carrying, what God is depositing in you.

Is something that you won't be able to explain.

You won't be able to comprehend it.

You won't be able to describe it because what he's deposited in you is something directly from the hand of God.

It is something heavenly and divine.

So all you gotta say is.

Yes, Lord.

Mary says yes.

Okay.

Time passes.

Obviously, some things happened.

Joseph was like, I don't know about this anymore.

Something a little bit awkward is happening.

Then he gets on board.

They make their journey.

And then we know that when the time came, they had to go to Bethlehem for a census to get killed.

And when they're there, they can't find a place at the inn.

And yet the time came.

The verse in Luke 2. 6 says, the time came There was no place, there was no pretty room, there was no epidural, there was no medical team.

But the time came.

You see, sometimes the time arrives when you least expect Expect it when you least want it to, and when it's the least comfortable for you.

But the time came.

One thing, second thing about labor Is that labor requires endurance?

You see, sometimes we think that labor is saying, do more work.

But in the situation of giving birth, labor is not do more work, it's resisting.

It's persisting.

It's endurance.

You are laying in a bed the whole time.

You're not moving.

You're laying there and you're persisting. through you're enduring through because labor doesn't require more work it requires endurance sometimes you think that I gotta do more In order to get more from God, and he says you don't need to do more, because every time you do more, in Okay, let me translate that for you.

I don't know how to translate that for you.

But here's an illustration.

Okay, one time I asked my mom, how can I make some orange rice, Mexican rice?

Okay, I was dating my husband at the time.

I went to meet his parents for the first time, and they're Salvadorian, and my suegro loves Mexican rice.

Okay And since I'm yo soy mexicana, he says, Mija, do you know how to make that orange Spanish rice?

Of course.

We're dating, okay?

My husband at this point in time.

And it's the first time I'm meeting that in laws.

I know how to do it all.

You want that?

I I can make it.

Yes, of course.

Easy peasy.

Ask me how many times I had made rice before in my life.

Nunca.

Not once He asks me, can you do it?

Of course.

So I get invited to make rice for them.

And the good thing is they left me a key and nobody was home.

So I get in the kitchen, and the first thing I do is I call my mom.

I'm like, mom, como agua ros, how do I make some rice?

And she's like, when did you get in the kitchen?

And I said, listen, times are changing.

I need to make some rice.

Don't ask questions.

Just tell me how to do it.

Okay.

Long story short, she said, okay, take out your rice, fry the rice.

In your blender, you put your tomatoes, your onion, your garlic, ponle un poquito de nord, add all of your seasonings in there.

Once the rice is nice and browned, you're gonna pour everything from your blender Turn up the heat a little bit.

As soon as it starts to want to boil, you're gonna turn it back down, cover it, and don't touch it.

And I said, okay, I did all the things.

And I covered it, turned it down low, and I'm like, okay, don't touch it.

And I'm staring at it, and like five minutes pass and I said, nope, some of them out, it's gonna burn.

We wanna uncover it and I'm gonna mix it up just a little bit.

Then time passes, I uncover it and I mix it again.

And then I'm like, I'm standing there, it's been 10-15 minutes by this point in time, and I'm like Uh-uh, it's gonna get stuck to the bottom of the pot.

There I go and I mix it again.

All of those that are saying no, the women are like, oh my goodness, and the guys are like, what was this guy thinking?

Okay What do you think I had at the end?

Mush.

Sopa de pericos, I say.

Why?

Because I touched it.

Cause I dropped my spoon where I wasn't supposed to.

In other words, I got into something I wasn't didn't need me.

My mom said, Don't touch it Leave it.

Let it cook.

It's gonna do its thing.

You did your part of the process.

Now it's time for it to cook.

Let it do its thing.

Let the heat do its thing.

Let it boil.

Let it go through the process.

Let it do its thing.

It's gonna be okay.

Just don't touch it.

And what did I do?

Uh-uh, it's gonna burn.

It needs my help.

She don't know what she's talking about.

Let me do it again.

Yes, she's made rice her whole life, and this is the first time I'm in the kitchen and I'm in here thinking that I know how to do things better than the one who's giving me the instructions.

You see what I'm telling you is that labor requires endurance.

I'm not telling you go do more work.

Get your hands out of the equation.

Let it cook, let it boil, let it go through the process.

Because the one who gave you the instruction said, just go through it, just endure.

Okay?

I'm telling you, I got an issue with just standing still, and sometimes I gotta say, endure it.

I want to move, I want to act, I want to do, and God says, just wait, just endure everything you're feeling that desperation to go and do.

Just wait Labor isn't about all the work you're doing.

It's about endurance.

It's about resisting.

It's about persisting.

It's about wading it through.

Because the one who's giving you the instructions, the one you chose to be.

Obedient to said just wait.

Just endure.

I'm working, I'm doing.

You don't need to get back into the equation.

Just endure Good thing is, I had enough time to dump out that first pot of rice.

Double bagged it Tossed it in the trash.

I don't take out trash, okay?

In my in my marriage now, I have one role at home.

I don't I don't take out the trash.

My husband does so and my sons do.

I got two boys, they take care of it.

But that day I took out the trash real quick.

Double bagged it, double-knotted it, put it in a black bag that you couldn't see through, and I took it all the way outside.

I even pulled the trash can to the edge, you know, because whenever the trash guy was gonna pass by And then I went for round two.

This time I didn't touch it.

And this time it came out really good.

To the point that when my suegro came, he said, Mija, you make great rice.

Yes, suegero, anytime.

You got it.

You see, when you learn to endure, which means to just wait it out, just persist, just resist.

God's got it because obedience doesn't always require for you to do.

Sometimes we think if I'm gonna be obedient, I gotta go do more.

He says, Nope, in this season, be obedient and endure.

Be obedient and wait.

Be obedient and trust me.

I got it.

I'm working.

Remember that I told you.

That's what you're about to give birth to is not something that you can explain, it's not something that's from human hands, it's coming from God, and the things that come from God don't require your help He's invited you to be a participant of it, a recipient of it, but he doesn't need your help.

He already designed it.

He already did it.

Mary did not produce the miracle.

She just carried it.

It wasn't her making it.

She was just the vessel used to carry it.

You see, you're not the one designing your calling.

You're just invited to carry it.

Okay, youth, one last point before we switch gears a little bit.

Last thing I want to share with you about labor is that labor requires faith.

You see, a woman who's in labor hasn't seen her child yet.

You don't know what that child is gonna look like, but you have faith that that birth is coming.

You have faith that it's gonna happen.

You have faith that God's gonna see it through.

You're laying there in bed.

You're being obedient, you're enduring because you have the faith that the end result is gonna be something Precious.

You have faith that it's gonna be beautiful, that it's going to be good, that it's going to be great.

And labor requires faith because it is un Known.

It is a time where you don't know.

You haven't experienced.

You feel like there's so much uncertainty.

But in this, God says, just have faith.

Just trust me.

Okay, in order you obey, and then in order for you to endure, you gotta have faith.

You gotta trust that the one who is calling you to it is gonna see you through it.

The scripture says that he is not gonna have something be formed.

And not be born.

He's not gonna make you carry it to abort it.

He's gonna design it.

He's gonna deposit it.

He's gonna carry you through it and he's gonna produce it for you.

He will not get make you conceive something. that he's not gonna bring forth.

You just gotta have faith.

You see I know that women have great faith when you and this is not a woman service, don't get me wrong.

But women have strong faith that whatever they gave birth to is gonna be great.

And that it's good.

You know how I know?

Because babies are quite ugly when they're born.

And yet we look at that child and we say, how beautiful.

So precious.

Handsome.

Looks just like his dad.

He looks like an alien.

Edmosa!

So swollen I can't really figure it out.

Quite clearly I was not I'm not very, you know, on the on the on the cutesy side.

But you see, you have faith to see what nobody else is seeing.

You have faith to claim what everybody else is wondering Okay.

I sometimes I wonder, was it the the the drugs?

Was it the epidural too strong?

What are we seeing?

See, you're crow you're declaring something you haven't seen yet.

That's what faith does.

You cry out, you call out, you declare, even though you haven't seen it yet.

Labor requires faith.

Three things.

Labor requires obedience.

Labor requires endurance.

And labor requires faith.

But you see, there's a portion of labor.

There's a time.

And they call it the ring of fire.

Okay.

For the men who haven't gone through labor, and maybe the women who haven't either It might sound like a foreign term, but if you have gone through this, you know what I'm talking about.

The time of the ring of fire, it's the most excruciating pain that there is in childbirth.

It's the moment when you feel like you're ready to give up.

Clinically and scientifically, medically, the ring of fire is the moment of the most excruciating pain that a woman will have to go through in order to give birth.

And in medical terms it's called crowning.

It's the moment when that head of the baby is ready to come out.

It's right, right at the crown.

You can see their heads, but they're not fully out yet.

And this is the moment that is called the ring of fire because a woman's body feels like it is on fire because the pain is so excruciating.

Then this is the moment where most women want to give up.

This is when the medical team says, Don't give up, keep pushing, hold on, you're almost there.

But they're saying, No, I hate you.

You did this to me to their husband.

They're feeling the pain.

Because it's excruciating, and at that moment you're ready to give up.

At that moment, you're ready to call it quit.

But the doctor says, Don't you dare call it quit because the baby's already crowning.

I can See that child's dead.

Keep pushing.

But see, most of the time, when you're going through a ring of fire, it's really hard to hear and it's really hard to see what's happening.

Because pain does that to you.

Pain has a way of distorting your vision.

It has a way of distorting what you hear.

And I know this quite well.

I got engaged on my graduation night from Bible school And I told y'all my Pinterest board was ready, was ready to get married tomorrow.

In two weeks, we had a venue.

Caterers, videographer, photographer, and my bridesmaids were already selected.

To be truthful, I sent them a box with their dress.

I was that ready, okay?

Kind of crazy.

You're gonna be like, poor husband, but no, he's great.

It was an exciting time.

My parents came.

My parents had moved to Mexico when I graduated high school.

And they They retired from living in the United States and my dad went and opened a church in Michoacán.

Um they're right along the coast border Colima with Michoacan.

If you are anywhere right now on the news and you You type in Michwakan, all those bombs that you've seen that have exploded, the shootings that are going on, they're exactly right there where he's at.

And they retired a church plant.

But they had flown back for my graduation night.

We got engaged.

It was an exciting time.

And that summer My family always grew up working in the fields.

We worked in the cherry fields.

All my life.

I never knew what a summer was of summer vacation from school.

I I only knew what it meant that school is done and the cherries begin.

And I know what date they begin because they always kicked off on my birthday.

June 14th was inaugurating day for the cherry season, and that's my birthday.

So I spent every single birthday growing up in the cherry fields And that summer after I got engaged, I told my fiancé, I said, listen, we're young in love and we're broke.

So we're gonna need some money.

And if there's something I know is that it's sucky work.

But you can make good money.

Said, I'm gonna go work the cherries with my family this summer.

It'll help us build up some money.

My dad had finished the business already, so he passed it on to my brother.

And that summer my mom said, you know what, I'll come join you guys.

I'll help you this summer because it was the first summer my brother was taking over the business instead of my dad.

So we make our way to Washington and we kick off the season.

And I remember about a week and a half in, my mom began to complain of some pain in her arm.

And I told her like mom, it's probably you're you're you're feeling the weight of the work.

You know, we put on, it's a bucket you put in the front, why the time you fill it up, it's about 34 to 38 pounds of cherries And on your shoulder, you're carrying a 12-foot steel ladder.

And yes, I'm this big, but we carry that thing, okay?

And you know, you're probably feeling el cansancious, you're tired.

She said, no, this pain feels different.

We took her to a couple medical exams and they said take some pain medicine, maybe a muscle relaxant, go home, come back in a month.

Well, things started to get worse and worse.

To advance the story, she ended up going back to Mexico about two weeks later and she said, I need to go get this checked out.

Three weeks later, we got a diagnosis.

It wasn't tiredness, it wasn't a strain, it was cancer.

And it was stage four, meaning that at this point in time it's so advanced that really any possibility of treatment is minimal to none.

Her cancer was stage four breast cancer and it was metastatic, which means it had originated as breast cancer, but it had already spread and it developed a tumor under her clavicular bone that was the size of an orange.

They went into surgery right away, but from the surgery then after it just fastened and quickened the process, everything spread My mom comes back to the U.

S. to start getting her treatments.

My dad was going back and forth, attending the church in Michoacan. on a Sunday flying back Monday morning.

We would go through the treatments throughout the week and then he would fly back on a Friday to preach again Sunday to fly back.

It was an excruciating, financially draining season.

I was in California in the middle of all my plans of getting married.

And I remember I told John, that's my husband's name, I said, listen, I don't think I have a mind to get married.

Can we put a pause on our plans?

If you want to stick around, great.

But if you don't, I get it.

But right now I need to go back to Arizona.

We were in LA, that's where I was at school.

I said, but I need to go back to Arizona.

That's where mom is, and I need to be with my mom.

He said, that's okay, take your time, don't worry.

You know, he wasn't gonna let me get away, by the way.

Said, oh wait, I got you.

The months kept getting worse and worse.

After a couple months, my mom said, Mika, you should get married.

Because you either get the opportunity to have me there, or it's going to be a picture of me there, and I'd rather be there in person Quickly we got wedding plans back on.

We got married.

My mom was there.

But the day before my wedding, I was in the hospital and I was waiting to see if I would have surgery or not.

We talk about uninter or interrupted plans.

It was one after the other after the other.

Since I was 15, I was told I wouldn't be able to have kids.

There was a problem with my tubes, my ovaries, my womb.

And medically speaking, I wouldn't be able to have children.

I knew this since I was 15.

The day before my wedding, I'm in major pain, and I'm in a hospital room, and they're waiting to see if I will have surgery.

And the doctor comes in and he says, I don't know if you've ever been told this.

It's not easy to say, but did you know you won't be able to have children?

And since you won't be able to have children, my recommendation is that we remove all of your reproductive system, your womb, let's move remove your uterus, let's remove All of that because there is more chance of this developing in a wrongful way than for the good.

You're not going to be able to have kids anyway.

John and I had always talked about that.

We wanted a five-six, a hokey net, we wanted a soccer team.

I walked out of there.

And I told my mom, I said, Mom, doctor's saying I won't be able to have children.

And my mom looked at me, and at this point in time, her hair had all fallen off.

She had lost so much weight.

And she looks at me and she says, Miha.

She's like, when you were eight years old, a word was prophesied over you.

And the word was that you would become a mother of nations.

She said, so even if they're saying it's a barren womb, I am speaking life over your body.

Even in the bearing, God will produce life.

Because what God is gonna per Conceive in you.

It's not something that can be medically explained.

It's not something that scientifically can be produced.

Your womb is gonna give birth to is a calling that God has already deposited in you.

So even if they're calling you, Bear it, I am reminding you that the word over your life is life.

You will be a mother to generations and to multiple nations, so do not go through with the surgery.

That point she said, Don't do it.

There's a promise over your life, and we're gonna see it through.

I didn't get the surgery.

I went in and I told the doctor, I said, My mom said no.

He's looking at me like a grown woman, and my mom said no, so the answer is no.

I said, I'm gonna go get married tomorrow.

I'm going on my honeymoon, I'll talk to you in a couple of weeks.

But the answer is no, I'm not gonna get a surgery simply because your medical History and knowledge says it's impossible.

My mom said there's a word over my life, and I'm gonna trust the word that comes from God more than what science can explain.

Weeks continued to pass, and my mother continued to deteriorate.

And every single day it looked worse and worse.

And if I can be very raw with y'all, most of the time when cancer happens, the deterioration is internal.

In her scenario, we saw it all happening externally.

Literally, we watched the way that her arm was decaying, the way that her flesh was Rotting, we were witnessing it all happen.

I was watching her die in front of me.

I could smell the smell of death in the room, and every time I'd walk into her room, I would hear her pray and she would say, God, give life.

God, give life.

God, the breath of life.

And I would stand there next to her and I would say, Yes, God, give life.

Yes, God, breathe life.

Yes, God.

We need the wind of life and Thinking this whole entire time that she is praying for a miracle over her life.

She was not.

She was praying for a miracle in here.

You see, as we started getting further along, they told us there's nothing else we can do for your mom.

And I would hear her say, God is bringing life.

God is breathing life.

You might not see it, but God is breathing life.

He is doing it already.

I'm looking at her and I'm saying, But mom, how can you say that you are dying each and every day?

Every single minute that passes, you're getting worse.

And she said, But God is bringing life.

See, I couldn't see it because I was in pain.

But she could see the miracle that God was working because two weeks later I woke up feeling really sick.

And I woke up and then I felt really nauseous, and then I got near my husband and I couldn't stand his smell.

And I said, Did you shower?

What is it?

What are you wearing?

Your cologne stinks, your deodorant stinks, something's wrong.

It makes me want to vomit.

I didn't know it.

I couldn't perceive it because the pain was blurring my vision.

But there was life that was Forming in a barren place.

You see, my mom could see what I couldn't see.

I went to take a test, and guess what?

There was that little cross on there that forms to say a positive Life was forming, life was being produced.

I couldn't see it because I was in pain.

But life was there.

We gave the news that we were pregnant My son was born in August.

His name is Caleb.

And I tell him, Mijo, your name is Caleb because you come to represent that God is greater.

Than my biggest fears that when even the giants stood against us and it looked like it was not possible, God said it would be done, and it was so.

Your name is Caleb for that reason.

It was born in August.

And in October, the doctors released my mom to hospice.

She wanted to go back to Mexico, so we took her back.

And the night before my mom passed to land it here, I was angry.

I was frustrated.

I was hurt And I audibly said out loud, God, I need a sign that you're real because right now I don't know if I still believe.

Child in hands.

Miracle in my hands.

The pain was so loud.

And I couldn't see what I was holding.

My mom had stopped talking about a month before.

It had been a month that I hadn't heard her voice.

I didn't know what she looked like when she smiled anymore.

And it was hard even to recall the color of her eyes.

She had lost all mobility in her right arm.

Her arm just kind of dangled there.

But she couldn't move it.

Physically, that arm didn't work And her hospital bed was in the living room, and I'm on the couch, and I'm crying, I'm in tears, I'm in pain, I'm groaning in pain.

And I said, God, I need a sign that you are real because right now I don't believe.

And just a few moments later, the woman I hadn't heard speak in over a month And I hadn't been able to move her hand in over two years.

She stretched out her arms straight up high.

And my immediate reaction was to go catch her arm and be like, you know, it's gonna fall, you're gonna get hurt.

And she looked at me and she said, Dulce, no me thinks this.

She said, Dulce, don't touch me She said, it's because tomorrow I'm leaving.

Many boy.

And I said, where are we going?

Where do you want to go?

I'll take you anywhere you want to go.

Let's go.

I'll take you.

She said, no, no, not you.

Tomorrow I'm leaving.

And can't you see?

It's glorious and they're waiting for me and it's beautiful A woman I hadn't heard speak in over a month was seeing the glory of God and she was telling me dulse The groaning now, but the glory later!

It's groaning now, but it's glory later.

You can stand to your feet with me.

She then told me words that I will never forget.

She said, Dulce.

Don't ever become too blind that you can't see.

Or become too deaf that you can't hear.

You see, because pain and labor makes you blind, makes you deaf.

It distorts your vision, it distorts your sound.

Pain does that.

But the groaning is momentary, the glory is eternal.

The labor is momentary.

The miracle is eternal.

Groaning to glory labor to the birth of life it's a season it's a process It might feel like it's breaking you as you're going through it.

But all groaning comes to an end.

And glory is gonna be eternal.

You see, what I'm telling you is that something good is coming.

You might be feeling the pressure and the piercing right now.

Just be obedient.

I don't see it, I don't get it, I don't understand it.

Just say yes.

I want to do no, just endure.

I don't know, just have faith.

Because when the labor ends, when the tears of pain cease.

You hear the cry of a newborn child, and scripture says that a woman who goes through labor, she might feel the pain, but as soon as that child is born, she won't even remember what she went through.

Through because the joy of something greater comes to fill the room.

Glory, glory.

We're going on a path of glory.

Groaning to glory makes us something great is coming.

I don't know where you're at this morning.

Maybe it's been a piercing season.

Maybe it's been a crushing season.

Maybe it's been a season of interruptions.

You had certain plans prepared, and then something happened that Altered your plans and an interruption happened and now you're stumbling and you're wondering and you're overthinking and it's becoming overbearing and it's starting to shake you and you feel like you want to stumble, but God says From groaning to glory, just keep holding on.

You're almost there.

You might be in the ring of fire right now, but I can see the child about to be born.

When it's the highest season of pain, it's not because things are getting worse.

It's because you're that much closer to breakthrough.

If you're in the season of feeling like, I don't know if I can keep going, I'm reminding you this morning, if you're feeling it heavier and heavier, it's because you're that much closer to breakthrough.

Groaning to glory for an open up this altar And I know we're coming to a closing end of our year.

But I believe what Pastor is declaring That we're coming into a season of something good, of something great, of something miraculous, of the abundance of God, of the provision of our Heavenly Father.

I believe it, I declare it.

Know it, I can see it.

But I also know that if that's what we're declaring, we need to be ready for the labor that's required before the birthing of something new.

So we're gonna open this altar.

I want to pray with you.

They're ready to pray over you.

If you're in a season where you feel like the groaning has been day and night, let's pray.

Because you're that much closer to breakthrough.

We don't want you to stop now.

We want you to go until it breaks through.

If you're in a season of waiting, We want to pray with you so that you can continue to endure.

If you're in a season of wondering, I don't know, I don't understand it, I don't get it.

I want to pray with you so that your obedience can be louder.

Than the uncertainty.

Because we're gonna prepare the way for something good.

So, God, we thank you this morning.

We thank you for your grace, we thank you for your mercy, we thank you for your wonderful plan.

We thank you because you are the one who creates the miracle.

You are the one who created it.

You're the one who invites us to it.

God, we're in anticipation for all the goodness that you have in store.

But we are a That there is no miracle without the labor.

And God, this morning, we want to prepare ourselves to be able to go through the season of labor, to go through the season of hurt, to go.

Through the season of pain and to still be able to say that you are good.

To still be able to declare that you are working.

I can't see it, but God, you are doing it.

I can't feel it, but God.

I know that you are near.

God, you might be going through the fire.

But if you're in the fire with me, God, I know. we will make it through.

So God, this morning we come before you.

We cry out to you, God, we seek you.

We surrender our plans. our thoughts and our seasons to you God groaning to glory father groaning to glory father because something great is coming Yes, me.

Thanks for listening.

If you'd like some more information on PNEUMA Church, visit us on our website at mypneumachurch. org.

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Thanks again and God bless