EP: 19 Under Construction God’s Not Finished Yet

Some of you feel like you should be further along

In life
In your finances
In your business
In your purpose

And you’ve been asking God for more

But what if… you’re not behind

What if you’re being built

In this episode of Life, Finance, & Real Estate, Kirby shares a powerful conversation and insight inspired by Jeffrey C. Jasper Sr., Pastor of Harvest Outreach and author of Under Construction God’s Not Finished Yet

This message is for anyone who feels stuck, delayed, or frustrated with where they are right now

Because the truth is…

What feels like delay
What feels like pressure
What feels like it’s not working

👉 Might actually be construction

In this episode we talk about
• Feeling stuck when you’re really in process
• Wanting more but not understanding the development required
• Misinterpreting pressure as punishment instead of preparation
• Why everything you’re asking for requires a version of you that’s still being built

This episode will challenge your perspective and remind you that

👉 You’re not stuck
👉 You’re under construction
👉 And God is not finished yet

🎯 TAKEAWAYS

• Your current season may be preparation, not delay
• Growth often feels uncomfortable because it’s building you
• What you’re asking for requires development
• Trust the process even when you don’t understand it

📝 THIS WEEK’S ASSIGNMENT

Ask yourself

What is God building in me right now

Then instead of resisting the process

Lean into it

Stay consistent
Stay disciplined
Stay committed

📻 LISTEN LIVE

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🔑 FINAL WORD

Own your life
so you can own a piece of America 🇺🇸

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Life, Finance and Real Estate, where we discuss how to make smart money moves, the ever-changing real estate market, and of course, things going on in life. And here to talk about it more with you is your host, Kirby Lor.

SPEAKER_04 0:18

Stay down camera. Stay down cable. Let me tell you about it.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Welcome back to Life Finance and Real Estate with your girl Kirby the Realtor. Listen, before we jump in to today's conversation, I want to take a moment to recap last week's conversations for our new listeners that are listening in for the very first time. And to our listeners that's been with me, I want to thank y'all for sticking with me week by week. Um last week we talked about something that really challenged us. Um, and it was, are you prepared for what you've been asking God for? Not asking for more, but being ready to handle more. A lot of times, y'all, we talked last week about people saying, God, give me more, give me more, give me more. But the truth is, do you really have the capacity for more? We talked about how a lot of people won't increase, but they haven't built the discipline, they haven't built the structure, they haven't built the mindset to sustain it. Because it's one thing to receive something, but it's another thing to manage it. We also talked about getting organized for what we pray for, not waiting until it shows up, but preparing like it's already on the way. Because if you're praying for opportunities and you're not ready when they come, you're gonna miss what you ask for. It's gonna slip right through your fingers. And that's what leads us to today's conversation. Because let me tell y'all, the truth is a lot of us are in a season or have been in a season where we're growing, we're stretching, and we're trying to become something more, something better, something different, but it doesn't always feel good. The process doesn't feel good, it doesn't look good, it looks messy and it's unfinished. Sometimes it feels like it's just too much weight for you to carry. Sometimes it feels like you're not where you need to be. You feel a delay, and sometimes it feels like we are we should already be further along. And I say that a lot of times when I recap my life and when I look at where I want to be and where I'm going, I'm just like, man, I'm 41. I should have been here, should have been there already. And I'm always reminded that you're right where God wants you to be. But listen, I want you to think about this. You know, we say that a lot, but what if you're not behind? What if you're just under construction? You know, I have a special guest with me that talks about this, but what if we're we're just under construction? Because listen, Rome wasn't built in a day. Preparation doesn't just happen overnight, it happens in the process, it happens in your waiting, it happens in the building process, and when you really think about it, that applies in every area of life, your personal growth, your finances, and even real estate. You can't build anything solid without a process, and that's why today's conversation I feel is going to be so impactful and it's gonna help you out a lot. Today, I have the honor of talking with the pastor Jeffrey Jasper, the pastor of Harvest Outreach and the author of Under Construction, God's Not Finish Yet. And we're going to talk about life, growth, faith, and what it really means to trust the process while God is building you. Because, y'all, what we talk about today is not just about where you are, it's it's about who you are becoming. So let's get into it. Pastor Jasper, thank you. Thank you so much for being here with us today. Um, we're gonna start with a few questions, but first I want you to just give them a brief, just introduce yourself and then we'll start with some questions, okay?

SPEAKER_02 5:04

Okay, thank you. Uh thank you, Carolyn. Uh as Carolina said, I'm uh Pastor Jeffrey C. Jasper Senior of Armbizon Research here in Hansburg. Uh been here about going on 20 years, and it's been a great place to live. And uh it's been been very well. Um been in community, uh working in community as a youth football coach as well as uh ministering for like the past 18 years. So it's been a challenging, challenging walk with God.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

Well, that's real. A lot of people are afraid to admit such because we try to live what we call a perfect life, huh? Yeah. Okay, so let's get to your book, Dr. Jasper, because I believe this book uh can help change a lot of lives and give people a different perspective um on what it even just means under construction. What inspired you to write this book under construction guys not finished yet?

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Um, honestly, it was just life, life inspired me. Um my wife and family. Um, we went through a season where everything I thought was set, had settled and got shaken, but it got shaken. Ministry, relationships, personal loss. I lost my father. I walked through a painful transition in ministry. I found myself in a place where I had to had to decide. I had to decide whether I would believe God still was building me or whether he was uh had abandoned the project. Um so the book really came in a tedious moment of my life when uh it was a seven-week series that God had gave me on last year during uh during the transition of my father. After the transition of my father out. And I wrote it in the middle of that process and it was it was pretty hit on.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

That's powerful. I think a lot of people they don't even realize they're in a process, they just kind of feel stuck. So um, can you tell us what it means to you under construction in life, especially for someone trying to grow spiritually and practically? Like what does that mean?

SPEAKER_02 7:24

To be honest, construction it means you're not finished. And that's not a bad thing. A lot of people think that it's a bad thing, but uh when you see a construction site, it looks chaotic, it looks messy, and it looks incomplete. But there's a there's always a blueprint, and there's always an architect, there's always a plan. Uh too many people look at their lives and see fascinating, the myths, the negatives, and they never see the positive. And they think something went wrong. But I'm the conversion believe God is actively working. The mess is not the message, the mess is the myth.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

So the myth the M-E-T-H-O-D, y'all. The mess, the M E S S is the M-E-T-H-O-D. That's all right. The mess. That's a message. Did you have you preached that sermon yet?

unknown 8:17

Uh no, I'm done.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

Well, so let's talk about what does real transformation look like beyond just surface level change? Like, can you tell us what you think real transformation looked like?

SPEAKER_02 8:34

Uh, real transformation. Um I have to say it's an internal, internal um, before it ever gets visible. Um, circle level changes, behavior modification. You stop doing certain things because you around certain people.

unknown 8:52

But real transformation is when you your thinking changes. Your thinking changes.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

When I see yourself changes, when you stop leaving external validation because you know who you are in God. And if you if you know your Bible, you know, Romans 12 and 2. Be transformed by the renewal of your mind. It starts in the mind, not in the mirror. It starts in the mind. Everything that we have starts in our mind.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Can you share a um personal experience where you realize God was developing you in a difficult season? Because I'm sure there's some listeners right now are in a difficult season, and they just don't understand why. But could you share a personal without getting you know too personal, but where you realize God was developing you in that difficult season?

SPEAKER_02 9:50

Um, I would have to say I started out on the church, but when we were playing Harvest Outridge, and we started from scratch with little or nothing in a season where I uh post-COVID, and uh my dad got sick in the midst of it, and once my dad got sick, he had a burning bleed, and I had to trust God. Um it was very painful. God could not take me where I was thinking he was gonna take me because I was being, I was holding back because I was too busy looking at my dad and still trying to be him, and it really was painful. Um that pain that rooted was the beginning of the most purposeful chapter of my life though, because I learned how to press on even in the midst of the pain, knowing that it was part of the process.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

So, um, I know I probably hadn't sent you this question, but while you were you were talking, I was trying to think, you know, you dealing with your father and trying to create a ministry. Um how did you know that God was like actually using you in still in that season? Like how how do you know when God's using you?

SPEAKER_02 11:12

The way I find it to be was is that I couldn't find no answer from nobody else. And I just had to trust God and I begin to see the little small things happen around me.

unknown 11:31

And I kept pressing.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

I preached through depression, I cried, and I just kept trusting God. And it was in that moment I saw my dad slipping away, and I began to trust God even more, and I began to see God really raise him up from his deathbed, and it that that quick to me, saying, Hey, you're in this for a reason.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Okay. So, how can the message of under construction God's not finished yet? How can the message of this book be applied to everyday life, including our finances, our careers, and our personal goals?

SPEAKER_02 12:16

Oh man, that's a good one. Uh the possibility is the same in every every aspect of everybody's lives. We're all in the process, and the process requires patience and our participation. In your finances, you may not be where you want to be. I've been there, but you are doing the work. In your career, you may not have the title yet, but you are developing the skill. God needs discipline. He doesn't just drop finished products. That's the thing that we got to understand. He don't just drop finished products, he partners with people who are willing to be built. Under construction, is not just an excuse to stay stagnant. It's real invitation to keep building.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

Just because it says under description, under construction, don't mean you just stay like that, because you want to see the finished pride product, right? So that's why you put underneath that God is not finished. You may see me right now. I'm currently building, I'm currently under construction, but just know God's not done yet. Um, what would you say to someone who is praying for more, but they're not seeing the results yet? Um what would you say to someone? They keep praying for more. We kind of talked about it last week on our show, but then you know, they're not seeing the results. They're not seeing the work like progress. I guess sometimes when you're building people like you can see the progress and then they stop because they can't visualize how it's gonna look when it's finished if they don't have a plan. But anyway, what would you say to someone who's praying for more but not seeing results yet?

SPEAKER_02 14:10

Make sure your partners are connected to your participation. Simply say, the Bible says faithful that works is dead. Beyond that, I would have to check what you're doing simply because with what we you already have. And if you know Luke 10, 16 and 10 says that if you are faithful with a few things, God will make you rule over much more. Um sometimes the breakthrough is not it's not the delay because God is with is withholding. And as uh I've always heard um a Godfather preached message, he said uh it's delayed but not denied. Uh and you got to understand if God delayed it, he's waiting on you to steal what he's already gave you in your hands. And you gotta be faithful with the small stuff before he trusts you with the big things.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

I was reading, I think in your book, like chapter 14, it says the black-in phase. I like how you you label your chapters like a true, you know, construction site, or when they're doing new construction or demolition.

SPEAKER_03 15:25

Yes, indeed.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

But I read one part where it says God works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure, he's changing your desires and empowering your obedience. This divine partnership, God initiating and and you cooperating in what makes the Christian life worse. Um, you know, the name of our show is Life Finance Real Estate. So we don't just talk about houses and land and deeds and keys or just finances, or you know, we talk about life too, and I felt like your book under construction, um, it kind of covers it covers life to me. You know? Um, so what mindset shifts are necessary you feel that are necessary for someone who wants to grow but they feel stuck?

SPEAKER_02 16:15

Um I would say that three steps that you have to take. I'm not gonna say three steps, three shifts. Um, the first one I have to say, I have to stop seeing the process as punishment. Uh being in the process is not a function, it's a privilege. And we have to understand how to work with life negatives to get the bigger picture. Um, the second one we're gonna have to say is stop comparing your construction site to someone else's finished building. Oftentimes we start comparing our chapter three to someone else's chapter 20. We have to make sure we keep our eye on what God has us to focus on and not just focusing on somebody else. Because, you know, we're living in this era now of social media where compassion is killing us, and we're always trying to compare ourselves to someone else, and we're trying to microwave everything. And we got to stay steady course and focus on what we have. Um, the third and final one I would have to say is start seeing obstacles as material.

unknown 17:20

Start seeing the obstacles as material. Because every challenge you face is not a wall.

SPEAKER_02 17:26

It's a brick that God is built, is building you with, he's handing to you to deal with. The ship is from victim to builder. From victim to builder.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

So don't be a victim, be the builder. So we should see our challenges in life if we're comparing it to a construction site, those obstacles and challenges, we should see them as the bricks, you know, the materials, the the two by fours, the four by sixes, and everything. We should we should be seeing them like that versus, you know, as a always.

SPEAKER_02 18:07

And you know, since we since you went that live on the uh construction phase, you got to understand that even it's in the book as well, but sometimes people like to skip phases. And one of the most important phases in the construction site is the black-in phase, it's called the weather, the weather type phase. You you take it, you cover up the inside, you fixing everything, and make sure that the weather does not beat up against the the main source of the whole structure. Because a lot of us, our insides are not right because we just let little be said in things mess us up.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

Right. Right. What why do you think um people resist the process of growth?

SPEAKER_03 18:55

Why do they resist it?

SPEAKER_02 18:57

Because it's uncomfortable and the outcome is uncertain. People people are controlled. We are why the way we are have been wired is for comfort and we want guaranteed results. But both does not come with that guaranteed card.

SPEAKER_03 19:19

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

It comes with a call to trust God. I I hate to laugh about it, but I'm thinking about myself because you know people also resist the process because it requires it requires them to uh to conquer things, confront things, they would rather avoid. You know, growth will surface stuff that you don't want to be surfaced. And some people would rather stay stuck than faced with the process, with the process that God put them in is asking them to deal with.

SPEAKER_01 19:58

So, what transformation do you hope when you were writing this book? What was your hope for readers experience after reading the under construction? God is not uh finished yet.

SPEAKER_02 20:12

I'm hoping, it's not pride update, they find the permission to be in the process. The permission to be finished. I mean, the permission not to be finished, I'm excuse me. Um, too many people are carrying weights of what they haven't arrived yet, and it's crushing them. And I really want people to start exhaling like I had to. Look at that life and say, God is still building me still. He hasn't abandoned me, I'm not behind, I'm under construction. It's not too late. He's building something great within my life.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Is there a specific message in your book that you feel that's needed in today's world, like the most needed message, like for our world, the state you know we're currently in, is there a specific message in your book that you feel that's most needed?

SPEAKER_02 21:19

Um, the best way I can say it is incompleteness is not failure. I stated earlier we live in a world of instant everything, instant results, instant gratification, instant validation, and when life does not cooperate with that pace that people have, and people conclude that something is wrong with that. The message that the world needs is that the most significant things God builds takes time. You're not a microwave moment, you are a masterpiece in the progress.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

I know um a few weeks ago I shared and you know we hear that term all the time wrong wasn't built in a day, you know? So a lot that microwave, we be we be wanting to come right then, right there, and it's like wrong wasn't built in a day. Um and I've experienced, you know, in the last few years, sometimes it feels like things that we're going through, those stumbling blocks, those things that we see as, you know, uh setbacks, it's just material that God was giving you to build something greater. But it's hard to see that when you're going through that process. Um, but I did have a question from someone not long ago, and they were asking about being disciplined and consistent. So while you were writing your book, what helped you stay, you know, disciplined and consistent while you were in the process? Like what helped you stay on track?

SPEAKER_02 22:55

Uh I would I like to say I had to give it to my wife. Um, she she really pushed me in many ways uh to stay consistent not only that. Um just remembering my dad. And it kept me, it comforted me while I was right. Um I really did it within two months, um, but it really comforted me. And it pushed me to a different level because uh man, it's just alone and trying not to cry.

SPEAKER_01 23:41

Things take time and we we here with you.

SPEAKER_02 23:46

Yeah, my my dad had always had a way to push me to that next level. And uh even in death he found a way to push me to do something that I never thought I would be able to do, and that's write a book. And uh, you know, it it just meant a lot to then have my wife and family with that with me. Uh meant a lot. And the main thing was God was right there with me. Yeah. And it was real, it was comfortable to me and building me. And I saw things come out of me that I never thought would would come out of me to encourage me.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

That's good. That's good. Um how let me ask you this. How do you think people should handle um criticism or judgment while they're still growing? And um did we did we talk about that already? Yeah, I didn't check it off. I don't think we did. You know, you're being criticized when you get ready to open your church, or even if you told people you're getting you getting ready to write this book, right? I'm finna open a church, I'm finna write my book, and now they criticizing and judging.

SPEAKER_02 24:59

So when it came to the book, I didn't tell people the people. I kept that. I kept that to certain people. I didn't tell everybody. Um but the main thing I would tell everybody, and the reason I say this, is you gotta consider the source person. Not all criticism is uh created equal. Um feedback from someone who has always walked where you're trying to go, it gives when you see net success, it's different from the judgment from someone who's never attempted anytime. Um legitimate criticism is you can receive it better. You learn from it, you can adjust from it. But the knowers, you gotta let it go. I I had to tell myself that multiple times. Matter of fact, I had to tell myself that today. You gotta let the knowers go. Uh you cannot build and argue at the same time. Uh, you gotta protect your focus. You gotta be like Nehemiah was in Nehemiah the fourth chapter when he was building the wall. He said, I'm doing a great work. I cannot come back. So you got to stay focused. And you only you only take the criticism that's good for you, and you say, Okay, Lord, is this it? No, that's not it. Okay, keep it moving. One pastor friend of mine uh told me, he said, You always go to the table with two things. A rape and a fork. You rape in what you can keep, and you pick everything else over your shoulder.

SPEAKER_01 26:35

For someone who feels stuck or discouraged right now, what words of encouragement would you give them?

SPEAKER_02 26:46

Someone It's not over. It's not over. You're under construction? Trust God. Lean on God. One of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 35 and 7. It says, uh, trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not to thy own understanding, but in all your ways, acknowledge him and he'll direct your path. And you gotta trust him. You gotta trust him the more you trust yourself. Because he created you, he knows how many has on your heads. You gotta trust God.

unknown 27:25

And he knows the blueprint that he has out for you.

SPEAKER_02 27:30

He told Jeremiah, I know the thoughts the Lord didn't towards you. Thoughts of peace, not a evil, to give you an expected end. So I'm just looking for the expected end, and I tell them, You got thoughts of peace, not a evil, and there is an expected end. So you gotta trust God to see that expected end.

SPEAKER_01 27:51

That's good. So, so so Pastor J, tell us how we can get a copy of this book under construction. I know we didn't dive into exactly, you know, all of it. I hope we brought out a few important things. And if I've left off some questions or some things you want to share a little bit about how they can get the book and give a little more insight, we got a few more minutes. We can we can do that. So you want to tell us a little bit more and how they can acquire your book?

SPEAKER_02 28:22

Um, yes. Um one of the best things I can say about the easiest way to get it, you can reach out to me. I have to give you a signed copy. Um you can find me on Facebook or um social media. Uh that's uh Jeffrey C Jacks Passing. And just email me and I'll give you a copy. Or you can go on to Amazon and look up um underconstruction. Um JPC Jackson and 1699 on Amazon, and then you can uh um literally that's the thing. Um also if you wanna um not you don't like that, if you don't like the paper copy of the copies in there, um then also is uh ebook on Amazon and it could be picked up that way. Um the other thing I can say as I was sitting here thinking about the about the being stuck is uh it's not too late. Um I was there when when my father was sick, I thought I was stuck, but it's not too late. I found I I I really found myself doing something that surprised me after my dad transitioned. And how I knew I had been under construction is is after I received the call. I began to tell my wife and kids I'm in a good place. And that's how I knew God had this work on me. And that whole process of seeing my dad sit for two and a half years. Because God had been building me the whole time. That's why I tell anybody it's not too late.

SPEAKER_01 30:11

It's not too late.

SPEAKER_02 30:13

Trust the process. Because the architect, he knows what he does. Yeah, he's never met, he's never missed up.

SPEAKER_01 30:21

That's right. That's right, that's good. Well, listen, if you got nothing else from today's conversation, I need you to hear this. What did Pastor Jay say? You are not stuck, you are not behind, you are what? Under construction because God is not finished yet. And anything worth building, y'all, it takes time. So stop rushing the process, stop comparing your timeline. What you say, Pastor Jay? Stop comparing what you're working on to somebody's finished product, something like that.

SPEAKER_02 30:52

Stop comparing your chapter three to that chapter 20.

SPEAKER_01 30:56

And stop doubting what God is doing in you because what you're becoming requires development, and what you're praying for requires preparation. So this week, I want you to ask yourself what is God building in me right now? Am I resisting the process or am I trusting it? And I'm true, am I truly prepared for what I've been asking for? Because he's not finished yet. And thank you, Pastor J, for joining us today. And thank you to everyone listening. This is Life, Finance, and Real Estate with your girl, Kirby the Realtor. I'm sorry, what you say?

SPEAKER_02 31:32

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 31:33

Oh, you are welcome. If you've been blessed, if this has blessed you, I want you to share. I want you to call someone, tell them they need to tune in. They can go back and catch the replay on YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, share it with someone who needs it. Because somebody right now feels like they're behind. But remind them that they're not behind. They're just building. You're just building, you're under construction, and God is not finished yet. Until next time, keep growing, keep building, and keep becoming. Bye for now.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

See you soon. Thank you for tuning in to Life, Finance, and Real Estate with Kirby the Realtor. You can catch us every Thursday at 12 p.m. on 92.1 WJMG, 93.1 WGDQ. And also you can listen live at 921wjg.com or 931 WGDQ.com. If you happen to miss the live recording, don't fret. We'll replay it at 6 p.m. tonight. Thank you once again for listening to Life, Finance, and Real. Stay down came up.

SPEAKER_04 32:42

I made away. Stay down came up. I made away. Stay down came up. I made away. Let me tell you about it. You continue how you make it happen.