We all have voices that try to keep us from fulfilling our potential. Sometimes it’s individuals telling us what we can’t become and how we’ll never achieve our goals. This can cause anxiety and concern, as people wonder, “What will happen?” Words are similar to seeds. If you think about them enough, they will take root and become a reality. The good news is that you get to choose what goes into your soil.

There was a man in the bible, his name was Jabez in the book of 1 Chronicles chapter 4. “At this point in time, Jabez was the most honourable of his brothers. The reason his mother chose to give him the name Jabez was “Because I bore him in pain.”Then Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, saying, “Oh, that You would bless me and increase the size of my territory!”I pray that Your hand will be with me and that it will protect me from harm so that I may be free from suffering. The request that Jabez made was granted by God.”

But look at what his life was. He did not start good because his name was Pain. Ang pangalan nya ay ‘hapdi’, ‘kirot’ halos kulang na lang ipangalan sa kanya ay Salot. Imagine everytime, he was at school or playground, his playmates will call him, “here is Pain”. Maybe everyday, he hears people, “good morning, Pain”, “Can I have that ketchup, Pain.” This word Pain became engrain into his heart that he never had the audacity to contradict it any longer because his mommy puts in his birth certificate that his name is “Baby Pain”.

Some of you may have started badly or was a victim of wrong relationships and had a bad past. I want you to ask God to remove that negative label off you, instead of pain, instead of defeat, instead of lack, pray to God that He gives happiness, victory, prosperity. God is able to finish what He started. He has a wonderful plan for you. When you ask, you shall receive. Receiving is only available to those who is asking.

God may use setbacks in life as a prelude to blessing. Jabez resisted talking about his suffering, unlike the majority of others. He avoided acting the victim. He made a blessings prayer. Stay away from your discomfort. Think about His promise! God will help you endure your suffering! God can still bless you even if the suffering remains. Even when you’re in suffering, He can still bless you. Your life does not have to be dictated by pain. Jabez’s name was not changed by God, but his future was. “Lord, I don’t believe the meaning of my name. Please don’t let my label, my name, be my legacy,” Jabez prayed.

Words are like seeds. If you think about them long enough, they will become real. The good news is that you can decide what goes into your soil. Warren Buffet said: “You will continue to suffer if you always have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you.”

The Bible says to keep your mind safe – protect it from the nay sayers and toxic people. That means: Don’t just let any seed in there, be picky. If that seed is negative, depressing, scary, or makes you feel bad, don’t accept it. You can say: “I’m not going to let that loss take root in me.” Don’t let other people’s doubts stop you from reaching your goals. You have the right to refuse all the bad words like “can’t,” “not able,” and “never going to happen.” You don’t have to listen to what they say, even if they say it. If you don’t think about what they said, they won’t have any effect on you.

Don’t agree with the bad things that people say about you. What they say is their opinion about you but where you are is not where you will end. Kahit sabihin na hindi ka magtatagumpay dahil ganito ganyan, but nosi ba lasi? Sino ba sila magsabi ng iyong bukas. It’s not them to say who you are, Psalm 139:14. You are who God says you are! Even though the doctor says you won’t get better, you will. You are the one who will break the poverty and will take your family to a new level, and see favour like no one could have imagined. When these bad words come, it’s easy to turn them down, don’t think about them, don’t talk about them, and don’t start to expect them to happen. Think about things that are good, hopeful, and full of faith.

Goliath made fun of the Israelites when David was 17 years old. This giant was over nine feet tall, and he was the leader of the army of the Philistines. No Israelite was brave enough to face him. When he came out and yelled threats, everyone ran away and hid. David was only half as tall as Goliath, and he had never trained or worn armour. Still, he went to King Saul and said he wanted to fight Goliath. In 1 Samuel 17:33, Saul told David, “Don’t be a fool. You’re just a boy. Since he was young, he has been a fighter. “David, what are you thinking?” he asked. You don’t have a chance. You’re not big enough. You’re not ready. This is way too hard for you.” When you’re about to move up to the next level, bad words, the enemy will try to stop you.

David had a choice: he could let those words, “I’m just a boy, I’m not good enough, I can’t do this,” take root, or he could protect his mind and not let the doubt, inferiority, and Saul’s opinion talk him out of his destiny. This was a defining moment. David could have left and returned home. If he had not learned this principle, he might have missed out on who God created him to be. We view David’s defeat of Goliath as the greatest victory because that was when God elevated him to a new level, but the real triumph occurred when he refused to be deterred by Saul’s demeaning words. If he had not rejected the negative words, he would never have defeated Goliath. The devil knows to put you down, when he knows you are about to experience the best days of your life.

Before you defeat your giant or hit a new level, there will be a Saul trying to bring you down. This Saul will say things like, “Hindi mo kaya ‘yan, hindi ka na gagaling, you can’t start a business dahil wala ka alam, wala ka pinag-aralan, hindi makakatapos mga anak mo, laos ka na, and you’ll never meet the right person.” Your real win is when you don’t give in to doubt or what people who don’t believe in you. Before you can beat your giant, you have to win the fight in your mind. If they listen to Saul, too many people never get to see their Goliath defeated. Ok sana kung si King Saul ay supportive kay David to fight Goliath who had been making fun of the Israelites for 40 days, but this young man, David, was brave enough to stand up to him. Saul could say, “David, that’s great. You can make it work. We’re all on your side.” But sadly, no. Don’t expect everyone to cheer you on. God has put His greatness, His DNA on you for you to win.

But when God puts big things on your heart, you can’t expect everyone to cheer you on. Don’t assume that everyone in your family and circle of friends will support you and tell you how great you are. Then the Sauls will show up. These are people who plant bad seeds, spread negativity and try to make you doubt yourself, discredit you, and make you feel small and remind you why you don’t have what it takes to succeed. Don’t let those seeds take root. People don’t decide your fate, God does. When he called you, he didn’t check with anyone else first. He did not ask your friends, coworkers, boss, family, or enemies, “Are you big enough? Do you think you have enough knowledge? “Enough talent?”

Nagbigay ang Panginoon sa iyo ng mga kakayahan na hindi alam ng marami. Don’t get upset with them, if they think you can’t do it, “You’re just a boy. You don’t come from the right family”, “Mababa ang iyong pinag aralan”. They’re looking at the outside. They’re judging from a human point of view, but God has put things in you that will defy the odds. His favor on your life will cause you to go places you could never go on your own. Saul thought, “David, all you have is a slingshot. You don’t have a chance“. What people can’t is that slingshot with the blessing of God will bring down giants. “Well, you’re just a boy”. Yes, but a boy with the favor of God can become the king of Israel.

God wouldn’t have let the giant exist if you couldn’t beat him. The Lord will equip to triumph. The giant means that there will soon be a new level. But here’s the key: King Saul will show up before that. The real test is not Goliath; it’s Saul, who uses negative words, doubt, fear, and nervousness to try to make you doubt yourself, doubt that you really heard God, and doubt that you have what it takes. Get rid of the question. Don’t let those bad things grow. You’re about to make a big choice. You’re about to move up to a new level and see God do something you’ve never seen before. Are you going to give up and let other people talk you out of it? Are you going to let doubt and fear take hold? Or you can be like David and just forget about it and have faith in the great things God has in store for you.

My brother Lyndon was said to be a graduate of a small, unheard college in Baguio -it was called a Baguio Colleges Foundation (University of the Cordilleras) in the Philippines. People told him, that he could not make it because not much finish well in that school. He was not an honor student nor a Dean’s Listers. He was an ordinary student. But he prayed and asked God to bless him. He did not allow negative words to take root. When he took the CPA exam for Accountants, he failed. And again failed. People said: “Lyndon, maybe you can work in a small accounting firm to be a clerk.” But my brother said ‘no’ I don’t accept it. “What if you failed again?” I know I can make in Jesus name. He passed the exam. He became a professor of Dela Salle Taft and Pamantasan ng Maynila. He became one of the head of top banks in Qatar and in Dubai. Now he is on the top officers of all the CPAs in UAE, own a hotel and real estate properties in the Philippines.

The enemy loves to bring up what-ifs, and they are always the worst-case scenarios. What if the pain you have is caused by cancer? What if your boss fires you and you can’t pay your rent? What will happen if your child fails that class? These bad words can make you so worried and stressed out that you can’t enjoy life. Instead of letting the “what-ifs” take root, why not think about the best-case scenarios? Think about something that gives you hope and builds your faith. “What if you fail? You have the right to say: “What if I made it? What if I succeed?” Rather than you listen to what they say: “You cannot do it…” Respond: “I can do all things through Christ…” If they say, “It is impossible”, you can reply: “With God all things are possible.” Stop letting bad things play in your head. You decide what seeds go into your soil.

When I was in college, I joined a debating society but they told me, I cannot be a part of the debating society because my reasoning was elementary and I am not a lawyer material. Then when I graduated, my first boss in Manila told me that I cannot succeed because I have a speech problem – my tongue was short and my words are not understandable. My mom was a midwife and my dad in those days had no high-paying job. Sinabi ng aming mga kapitbahay na hindi ako makakapag-aral dahil mahirap lang kami. These words hurt me. It was as if I was shot down with a gun. I refused to accept those negative words to take root. When I heard that I felt so small. I felt so down and I felt that they were right. I thought that I did not what it takes to become who I wanted to be. I did not have money, I am not intelligent. You have no idea what God put inside of me. When he made me in my mother’s belly, you weren’t there. You weren’t there when he called me, gave me tools, and gave me a blessing. You weren’t there when he gave me his crown of approval. You might not think I can do it, but that doesn’t matter. You think I’m not good enough because I’m just a boy, but there’s a catapault you can’t see. There’s a Goliath, a giant about to fall down because the Lord is with me.” My parents pushed me to dream big dreams. I have become a trial attorney in the UK where I have been helping many people fighting for their legal cases. To God be all the glory and praise!

I was in my defining moment. If I had let those native words to grow, I would have learned not to do it. If I had kept thinking about that, I would have said, “You’re not gonna make it” I wouldn’t be a fully qualified solicitor and attorney in the UK today. I was about to start a new part of my life. The real battle wasn’t passing the bar exams in the UK or paying my tuition fees in the law school. The real battle was not letting those people tell me that I would not make it. Now that I look back, I wonder, “Why I did not allow those negative words put me down?” I wasn’t sure of myself at all, but God’s kindness will always be there to help you in those fateful times. “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God will put up a wall,” says the Bible.

Don’t believe these false things. Do the opposite and say what God says about you. When your mind tells you na: “tapos na ang maliligayang araw mo” But you can say, “Lord, you said that my last days would be better than my first. You said, “My best day is yet to come.”

One day, Lazarus died and Jesus was told to come back for funeral service. According to the tradition of Jewish people, the soul of the dead is still at the place of death within few days.

The event of Lazarus death is recorded in John chapter 11. In verse 6 we read that he stayed two days where he was, after learning of his death. “So when He heard that he was sick, He remained where He was two more days. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.” John 11:6 NASB. From verse 17 we discern that the journey to Bethany was two days , so Jesus arrived four days after the death of Lazarus. ” When Jesus arrived, He found that he had been in the tomb four days already.” John 1:17 NASB

People could be talking that Lazarus is already dead but Jesus said, let’s wake him up. He is only sleeping. John 11:11-19 CEV Then he told them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, and I am going there to wake him up.” People must be laughing “hahaha” because they all knew Lazarus was dead for days. But Jesus did not allow those negative talkers to discourage Him.

Some things in your life may seem dead. Every situation says, “It’s too late, you’ll never get well, you’ll never reach your dream, and your family will never be whole again,” but God has the last word. If you believe, you can do anything. Don’t let those bad things take root in your life. When you’re in a battle or up against giants, you need to know that God is bigger, that he’s fighting your fights, and that he’s making ways where you don’t see any.

In the book of St. John 11:21-45 ERV- Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” but Marta was wrong, Lazarus got back to life. “David, you’re just a boy, you can’t defeat Goliath,” Saul declared, but Saul was mistaken; David won those battles. Sabi ng mga kapitbahay, hindi kami makakatapos ng pag-aaral dahil mahirap kami, but they were wrong; here I am. My dad was informed she had stroke and will be forever bedridden and could not walk, but they were mistaken. She is still alive after 42 years. People told us we’d never start a church in London because nobody will be a member, but they were incorrect.

Here’s my point: in each of these cases, if we had allowed the bad words to germinate, the other saying would have been correct. David would not have been able to defeat Goliath. Lazarus would have remained dead. My dad would not have recovered. I never would have been an attorney. The deciding factor was not what other people said, but whether we allowed it to take root. We have authority over what we allow on our land. I’m asking you to reject the bad seeds, the doubt, the fear, and the constraints that others place on you.

My dad was told that he will die soon because of stroke and further medical complications. He was told by people around in the village that the barong will be worn for his casket. But my dad said, I will live more years and will not die. I refuse to have it. Now, my father travels the world and in various churches wearing barong tagalog in preaching the Word of God, after he was diagnosed of stroke. He could walk properly, eat properly.

It’s amazing what God can do if you don’t let negative words to take root. People look at medical report, facts, figures, and what is expected to happen, but God transcends regular logic. He splits the Red Sea, resurrects dead Lazarus, and transforms a shepherd boy David into the greatest king of Israel. You haven’t seen, heard, or imagined what wonderful things God has for you. You might not understand how it might happen, but all you have to do is believe, and God will make the odds work in your favour.

Your future is being hampered by our negative seeds. Take a look at what’s growing in your soil. Some things may need to be removed. Pwedeng bawasan mo ang pakikisalamuha sa mga negative na tao na walang gagawin kundi pahinain ka. God can still fulfil his promise, but you must first reach an agreement with him. Before you advance to the next level, there will be Sauls to try to tell you negative words, seeds of doubt, seeds of “You can’t do it”, seeds of “You won’t get well”, seeds of “You’ll never defeat Goliath”, seeds of “You can’t get up in front of those people”.

But you are in your defining moments will occur. What you do with those words you hear will determine whether you walk into your greatness or retreat in fear. You can use their negativity as either your stumbling blocks or a stepping stone.

Do this: refuse to allow negative words to take root and put you down. Don’t let what others say about you dictate your future. Don’t let your own thinking convince you otherwise; believe God’s report. He would not have placed you in that situation unless you were already equipped, enabled, and anointed. You are courageous, blessed, and healthy. You are qualified, useful, and victorious. Now, protect your thoughts and your dreams from bashers. I declare that you will be like David, will defeat giants. God, like Lazarus, will bring you back to life from dead.