The Way of Maturity - Stephanie Ike Okafor
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00:00:00You may be seated. You may be seated. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. You know, something
00:00:28that the Lord has really been dealing with me recently, a particular, this, this light's
00:00:36a bit too bright. I feel like I'm at the Apollo. No, but something that the Lord has been dealing
00:00:47with me on has been in the place of spiritual maturity, that it is time for his people to
00:00:55mature. It is time for people to get to the place where you are not just dependent on other
00:01:02voices, but that you are growing in your relationship with the Lord. And that requires
00:01:09intentionality and desire. You see, so many times we, we, we may find ourselves where we are okay
00:01:18with where we are because of the comfort we get to do what we do. We know God loves us and he
00:01:24knows where we are, and that's fine. We don't desire growth. We, it's not that we say we don't
00:01:31desire growth, but how we respond to certain events tells us what's in the heart. You see,
00:01:38there are times that people will often use the language of, well, I'm not Jesus. So, you know,
00:01:44that, that's not me. I'm going to respond how I respond. I'm going to handle it how I handle it
00:01:48because I'm not Jesus, right? Or we have moments where we are confronted by something in the word
00:01:54of God, and rather than trying to understand how do I become the person of the word, we're like,
00:02:01you know what, God, you know where I am and you love me just the same. And that's beautiful. The
00:02:06problem is it lacks the desire of growth. That is why one of the reasons, you know, in the Bible,
00:02:13God, one of the things God hates, and hate is a strong word, is pride. Pride and everything
00:02:21associated with it. Why? Because it puts a period where God is still speaking. It's like,
00:02:27oh yeah, I know. I figured this out. This is exactly who I am. This is exactly who I was
00:02:33meant to be. You put a period and you don't make room for the voice of God or the word of God or
00:02:39to come before the Lord and say, God, I'm not there yet, but show me how to get there. Lord,
00:02:45I'm not this person that your word is calling out for me, but teach me how to become that person.
00:02:51That Lord, when someone offends me, I know what I want to do, but teach me how to be like Jesus.
00:02:58My excuse and my default should not be, well, I'm not Jesus. Well, I'm not him, but can you teach me?
00:03:05Because Jesus came that he would be an example and a model to us. That's why he came in the flesh.
00:03:13He didn't come just so that he can show us superiority. He said, no, let me show you how you can also walk like this.
00:03:19Spiritual maturity is going to be everything in this season. There's so much that the Lord has been
00:03:27showing me about the times we're in and the times to come, and you need to have discernment to hear
00:03:34the voice of God and to recognize, okay, what should I be doing in this time? How should I
00:03:39prepare for the times ahead? Because the world as we know it is going to shift very soon,
00:03:46and if you're only caught up in the things of your life, you're going to miss it.
00:03:50You see, many of us know about the story of Noah, and Noah is such an interesting read.
00:03:56You know, study this historical event if you've never been exposed to his story, but Noah is
00:04:01living in a time where there's all kinds of abominations in the land. There is so much evil
00:04:08in the land, and the Lord looks upon the earth, and it saddens him to the point that he was going,
00:04:15he was, you know, he made a plan that, hey, I'm going to wipe everything out, but I'm going to
00:04:19preserve a generation through Noah and his family. So when he looks upon the earth and sees
00:04:25the evil, he encounters Noah, and Noah was a man who the Bible says walked with God. He was in step
00:04:33with God. He was aligned to the voice of God. He had a spiritual maturity that he could discern
00:04:39the move of God. So the moment the Lord speaks, he knew how to respond to it immediately.
00:04:45He could hear his voice, and he could move on his word. So literally, when the Lord sees all the
00:04:51events on the earth, he speaks to Noah, and he tells Noah what he plans to do, that he is going
00:04:58to wipe everything out with a flood, but Noah, build an ark, and this ark is going to preserve
00:05:04you, and it's going to preserve every animal, every land animal too of each kind. So when you look at
00:05:12this, when you just don't read it like a story, you take moments to pause, what God is telling
00:05:17Noah, you're going to build something that is going to take you many years to build,
00:05:21and he showed him the design and how he was going to build it. He gave him a pattern. He said,
00:05:27build it according to this pattern. Now when we read it, you may feel like, but God, what about
00:05:33the other people? The time that it takes Noah to build it was an act of God's mercy to the people,
00:05:41because when Noah is building this news, it's going to go around. The Lord is saying, hey,
00:05:46there's going to be a flood, but yet it has never rained. It is going to take Noah years to build
00:05:53this ark, and then again the Bible doesn't tell us Noah's former occupation, and I'm inclined
00:06:01to believe that Noah was not a builder, and why I say that is because there are times that the
00:06:07Lord will encounter you to do what he gives you the spirit for. We see it in the life of Moses
00:06:15and the Israelites. Literally the Lord brings them out of captivity, out of slavery, then he tells
00:06:21them to build a tabernacle where he can dwell with them, but then the Bible says even to some
00:06:28of the people, the craftsmen, he put in them the spirit of wisdom and understanding of all
00:06:35craftsmanship. So it was not what they had a natural understanding for, but God gave them a
00:06:41spirit of wisdom that taught them how to build according to design. So I'm inclined to believe
00:06:48that Noah was not a builder, and that was also part of God's mercy, because apart from the story,
00:06:54you know, the headlines showing that, hey, crazy Noah is building an ark when we've never seen a flood,
00:07:01but there should also be the question, how is he able to build this? How is this happening?
00:07:09When as he progressed over the years, people should begin to question, where did this design
00:07:14come from? How is it so masterfully done? Because Noah is not an architect. Where is he able to get
00:07:22all these resources and keep his family together? What is somebody should have had eyes to see in
00:07:28the spirit? Because I tell you, there's the word of God says that it is not the desire of the Lord
00:07:35that anyone should perish. So if there was anyone who could see in the spirit that God was behind
00:07:43this, and they repented and came before the Lord, it is possible that their families would have also
00:07:49been preserved. Because God did not start a family with Adam to wipe everybody out.
00:07:56He could only keep Noah's family because that was the only family that he could see as righteous.
00:08:03But if there were others that came before him and said, okay, year one, year two, we laughed at Noah.
00:08:10Year four, year five, he's still building. He is still as determined as year one.
00:08:16Despite our mockery, despite all the things that we're saying against him, and it's getting better
00:08:20and better. Wait, what is God up to? But no one, no one had a spiritual maturity in the times
00:08:31to inquire of the Lord. They just went about their business. And then when the ark was done, the Bible
00:08:39says God shut the door, not even Noah, because the door got shut can only be opened by him.
00:08:45And it began to make me think, why would it be that God shut the door? Because as the rain began
00:08:50to come, and as the waters began to increase, at some point, even the best swimmers lost their
00:08:56ability to swim. And when they look at the ark, can you imagine the people banging on the ark?
00:09:02Noah let us in. But they're not asking Noah to let them in from a place of repentance.
00:09:08It's just from a place where we don't want to lose our lives. So if God let them in,
00:09:12it's the same problem that we're going to see all over again.
00:09:17But in the beginning, everything was an act of God's mercy and love. People pay attention to
00:09:23the times, pay attention to what you see. And here is what is scary about that story.
00:09:29Because later on in the Bible, when it talks about the coming of Jesus, the second coming of our
00:09:35Lord Jesus, the Bible says it would be like the times of Noah, where people were eating and
00:09:42drinking, getting married and given to marriage, and the Son of Man will come. What is the Bible
00:09:49saying? That people would not discern the times. People would not be prepared. People would not
00:09:55sense the shifts and the move of God, even prior to that. They would be caught up in their own
00:10:01activities. And the Bible doesn't talk about anything bad, anything that perceives as a bad
00:10:07thing. It talks about eating, drinking, getting married and given to marriage. But yet they were
00:10:16so caught up with their natural activities that they had no spiritual discernment of the signs
00:10:23of the times. We're living in a time where there are signs literally all around us that things are
00:10:29about to shake up in our world. There are things happening with the banks, with the airlines, and
00:10:35even one of the most recent ones that happened with Bank of America, where literally people
00:10:39woke up and saw zero dollars. And then what was trending is, can this happen to my debt?
00:10:50It is not a sign for student loans. It is not a sign for debt. It is signs of the times.
00:10:58Something is coming where what you could naturally access, you may not have access to it for a period
00:11:05of time. Are you prepared? Are you ready? And what is that thing leading us to? You see, there are
00:11:11questions we have to start asking in the place of prayer from the things that we see even in the
00:11:17natural. There are things happening in the world. Our pastor always says this, and I encourage you
00:11:23to do it. Listen to even world news. Not to be consumed by it, but to have an awareness of the
00:11:30signs of the times. Because there is something you see in the natural that now activates something
00:11:37that is happening in the spiritual realm. Because if we're seeing it in the natural, what is already
00:11:43taking place spiritually? What decisions have been made? What is to come? This is a time where you're
00:11:50going to need to be spiritually mature. And I want us to look at this scripture in Hebrews 5,
00:11:56verse 12 to 13. It says, for though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to
00:12:05teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God. Though by this time. You see, there is a
00:12:12time for every believer that from the moment you said yes to God, how intentional have you been
00:12:19in your walk with God? Because when you look at the disciples, I mean some of these people, they
00:12:24were tax collectors. Nobody likes a tax collector, even till today. But after three years with Jesus,
00:12:33they were transformed to men that would bring the gospel to all ends of the earth.
00:12:38Three years with Jesus. Some of us have been following the Lord for 10 years, for 20 years,
00:12:43for 25 years. And at any little shaking, we lose our way. Something we desire didn't
00:12:51happen the way we wanted to. We start asking God, do you even exist? We start questioning, are you real?
00:12:59Because we have not been intentional about maturity. And even look at the person speaking.
00:13:06When you hear the voice of the one speaking, this is coming from a voice that is, that has
00:13:12understood the way of discipleship, but yet is talking to people who everything that we have
00:13:17given you, by the reason of everything that we have given you, you should be teachers by now.
00:13:23Yet you are still needing someone to teach you. You see, there is a time to be a babe.
00:13:31When you come to the Lord in the beginning, you need the love of God. You need to understand that
00:13:36He loves you, that He's with you. You want to rest in that. But there is a time for maturity.
00:13:42And age does not define that. You see a man like David, David was a teenager when he was anointed
00:13:50to be king. David was a teenager when there were things he understood about God that even his older
00:13:56brothers had not come to know. Why? He applied himself to the teachings of the Lord. He was
00:14:03led by the Spirit of the Lord. So your age is not an excuse. Your history is not an excuse.
00:14:11Your mistakes, your past is not an excuse, because what God gives you is Himself.
00:14:17The moment you said yes to Him, He gave you Himself in spirit form. The Holy Spirit took
00:14:23residence in your life. And if God finds you worthy to be a residence for His Spirit, you have
00:14:31to see yourself as worthy. You cannot allow the voice of the enemy tell you about all the things
00:14:36you did wrong and why you could never be the one that God uses. No, that's exactly why you're the
00:14:43one He uses. And you can also not fall for the deception that this is only ministry, only looks
00:14:50like this when we gather and we open the Bible and we talk about the Lord. You need to understand
00:14:55this as much in the marketplace. You need to have spiritual maturity in the place of entertainment,
00:15:01in the place of education, in the place of technology, because those are the areas where
00:15:05the enemy is also after. When he wants to shape culture, what does he touch? Media. So if you're
00:15:13in entertainment and media and you don't have a spiritual awareness of what is going on, then even
00:15:18though you say you're a believer, you apply yourself to things that serve the kingdom of darkness.
00:15:25You say yes to things that are not of God. I remember, there's one of my friends, he's
00:15:30an incredible actor, well-known actor, and there was, he was led by God to go on a 40 days fast.
00:15:38And during that 40 days, God gave him a script. I cannot wait for the day that this movie would
00:15:44come out, because that script, it was the brilliance of God in that script. And what that script
00:15:51highlights, it talks about spiritual things in ways that you will not even know this until you reach
00:15:57the very end. It was so well done. After he finished writing this script, there's a movie, we all have
00:16:06seen this movie, I just don't want to go into all the details. There was a film that was in the works,
00:16:13and there was a particular role in that movie, and what that role embodied is everything that
00:16:19the kingdom of God is against. And they reached out to him personally. They said, hey, wait man,
00:16:28we're working on this, and we have this role, and we believe you are going to be perfect for it.
00:16:33No audition, nothing, all we need is a yes from you. They were going to pay him an incredible
00:16:40amount of money, but he was spiritually aware. He said, if he was only conscious of himself,
00:16:52he would say, wow, this is a great deal, I can use this money, and actually even work on the
00:16:57film that God gave me. No, no, no, no, no. The enemy was after his image to represent his works.
00:17:05He says, oh, you want to do this kind of movie? You want your voice to be used in these ways that
00:17:10you start speaking against these things? Why don't you take on a different role?
00:17:16Because that would silence his authority in the spirit. If he took that movie,
00:17:23it would literally be against, it's like the direct opposite of what the film God gave him.
00:17:29But if you don't have a spiritual consciousness, you would make up your own, you know, idea around
00:17:36it, like, oh, God is so good. I just finished this movie, and now I can fund it. No, the enemy was
00:17:44after your authority. The enemy was after what you already knew that you were about to do for
00:17:49the kingdom of God. You need to have spiritual maturity in the marketplace.
00:17:55As much as you need it everywhere else. You need it for your family. You need to have the ability
00:18:01to discern between good and evil, beyond face value. You need to see what's underneath that,
00:18:08and that only happens, first of all, triggered by a true desire. God, I want to grow up in you.
00:18:17And we're going to go into things that require your intentionality, but let's continue in the
00:18:21And we're going to go into things that require your intentionality, but let's continue in the
00:18:25scripture. And it says, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who
00:18:31partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. There's a season
00:18:38to be a babe, and there's a season to mature. And this is a season where the Lord is saying,
00:18:43you got to grow up. You've received so many words. You've received so many things. You have
00:18:50to grow up. Do not be okay with just living life how you think, because the end times would look
00:18:57just like that, where many people are just doing their own thing. Meanwhile, the Lord is coming
00:19:02back. There are things happening to the earth. There are things shifting in the earth that are
00:19:07taking place, and you are not prepared because you're just out there living life however you
00:19:11choose, not having a spiritual consciousness. You see, something that is so critical about
00:19:16consciousness is what it activates. A baby, when a baby is in the womb, their organs are developed
00:19:24in the womb. You know, the baby has their nose, their eyes, their ears, all those things,
00:19:31but something so intriguing about the nose, for example, is that the use of the nose,
00:19:36the proper function of the nose is not, doesn't happen in the womb, because you use your nose to
00:19:42take in oxygen, but in the womb, the baby takes in oxygen through the placenta and the umbilical
00:19:48cord. But when the baby is born and there is a physical consciousness, the need to breathe through
00:19:55the nose kicks in. So there was already an organ developed in the womb, but it was not for the womb.
00:20:05It would be that when the baby is born and comes into a physical consciousness,
00:20:10that the use will be activated. The same thing with you. There are spiritual senses you already
00:20:15have. Sometimes we think that hearing from God is a gift, is the gift of prophecy. No, that's a whole
00:20:22different thing. Hearing from God is simply the first level. It starts with an activation of your
00:20:29spiritual senses. That is why the Bible talks about Jesus would say that unless a man be born again,
00:20:36he cannot see the kingdom of God. That see the kingdom of God was not about when he dies and
00:20:41goes to heaven. It's a perception of the kingdom, even on the earth realm. So when you're born again,
00:20:49that your spiritual senses should be activated. The problem is that we don't lean into it.
00:20:55So when the Holy Spirit puts something on our heart, we ignore it, because no, that doesn't,
00:21:00that doesn't match with what I want to do. God, I'm not there yet, and I'm not interested in how
00:21:04to get there. So you, you, you, you, you, you, you silence the voice of his leading. You silence the
00:21:11convictions of the Holy Spirit, because you're so caught up in self. But when you have an awareness
00:21:18that, wait, this world is more spiritual than it is physical, your, your, your spiritual senses
00:21:24become activated. Then you open up yourself for the leading of the Holy Spirit. So then look at
00:21:32what the scripture says, but solid food belongs to those who are a full age, that is, it doesn't
00:21:40just say, oh, people just grow up because they just grew up. No, no, no. It tells us how. Those who by
00:21:46reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Discernment is a
00:21:55sign of maturity in the spirit, but it says by reason of use. What is that speaking to?
00:22:02The applicability of what you know. There is something you know about God that you need to
00:22:08apply, because in the application of it, you grow. We receive so many words when a friend
00:22:16is going through something, we have all the right things to tell them. The moment we are facing it,
00:22:21oh Lord. You see, some of us, the reason that we find ourselves in the same cycle of things is not
00:22:29because you're cursed. It's not because God is not for you, but you went in as a babe and you
00:22:34were supposed to come out mature. The problem is we go in as a babe, we come out as a babe.
00:22:41That there is a word of God, you know, the Bible talks about the word of God. It calls it the sword
00:22:46of the spirit. That the word of God is your weapon against circumstances. And then the word
00:22:54of God even says that when tribulation comes because of the word, that there is something
00:23:00you come to know in God and something has to test if you really stand on that.
00:23:07And when you can respond to life through a word, you grow. You start growing in your walk with the
00:23:15Holy Spirit. You see, how many people are dealing with something right now that you need God for?
00:23:22Now, the question is, what word are you standing on to fight? What is the word that you're holding
00:23:29onto to fight with? That when you are in the place of prayer, there is a scripture that you stand on
00:23:35in God. You see, sometimes we find ourselves in this place of sadness and depression because
00:23:43there are thoughts that come to our mind when we are facing things. And the truth is, the Bible
00:23:49says there is a time to mourn. But that word is so key because mourning has to do with the finality
00:23:56of a thing. You don't mourn when you're in battle. You don't entertain sadness when you're in a fight.
00:24:05That's why David would say he encourages his soul. Because there's a time to mourn because yes,
00:24:11you have come to the end of something. There is nothing else that can be done. You can mourn and
00:24:17you can bring that sadness in the presence of God and it's perfectly okay. But when you're in a fight,
00:24:23it is not time to start mourning. It is not time. You see, some of us, we have this experience that
00:24:28there are these thoughts that will come in your mind. And even though you don't think you're
00:24:32agreeing with it, your actions show. Because there is an inactivity in the Spirit. All of a sudden,
00:24:39you know, you get a report from the hospital or this job that you wanted. You didn't get the job.
00:24:44And then the enemy begins to tell you, yeah, this will never happen. No doors are going to open for
00:24:48you. And you know what you do? You stay in your room. It's 12 p.m. You're still in bed. All the lights
00:24:55are off. You start looking for some substance here and there to just quiet the noise. Not realizing
00:25:02all you're doing is just keeping that voice dormant. But it's still going to be there.
00:25:07The Bible says, take captive every thought that is not in obedience to God. How do you take
00:25:15something captive? You cannot, if you're going to take a person captive, you have to first get a
00:25:20grip on the person before you can arrest them. With your thought life, you have to speak to that
00:25:27thought. When the thought comes and says, hey, this will never work for you, you made a mistake
00:25:33moving to LA. You take that thought and you find a word and you begin to speak to it.
00:25:39God is with me in this land. He says everywhere that I step on that he has given the land to me.
00:25:45You begin to decree the word of God. You don't just agree with it. Whenever you are spiritually
00:25:53inactive to a thought that came from the enemy, you have agreed with it.
00:25:58And what we don't realize is that when we stay in that dark room,
00:26:02when we start trying to roll things and smoke them, when we start trying to look for the next
00:26:07thing to drink, we're creating an atmosphere for Satan to be comfortable. Because there is something
00:26:15about atmospheres that attract the spirit. That's why even when God told the Israelites to build the
00:26:22tabernacle, he didn't tell them to build it however they choose. He told them how they should
00:26:28build it. It was very detailed. What should be there, how it should be orchestrated,
00:26:33what design should go, why? Because there's an atmosphere for his presence.
00:26:39In the same way when the enemy wants to get a stronghold over your life, there's an atmosphere
00:26:45he creates. You think when people are telling you like, hey man, you know, smoking, you know,
00:26:50you should not be smoking. You're like, no, I'm not addicted to it. It goes beyond addiction.
00:26:56It feeds an atmosphere. You're just like, no, no, no, it's I have control over it. No,
00:27:02you have control over it when the voice is quiet down. When the voice stares up again,
00:27:09you go back to the need for it. You've created an atmosphere for demons to be comfortable.
00:27:16That is why there are certain things when a thought comes, arrest it, get a hold of it,
00:27:23and you speak back to that thought in prayer. There are times that when depression wants to
00:27:28tell you, hey, don't go anywhere. You do the opposite. Just put some worship in the house,
00:27:32put some praise music in the house. The person that you didn't want to text back. You know,
00:27:36some of us, we do this thing, especially the introverts in the room. You get invited to
00:27:40something, you agreed. And then the day comes and there are all these thoughts in your head
00:27:46that want to keep you isolated. Not only do you not tell the person you're not coming,
00:27:53they may even text you. You don't even open the message.
00:27:58Because in your mind, opening it is like, I saw this and I'm just, whew, child,
00:28:05didn't even know you text me. Forgot it was Wednesday. There's sometimes, sound of confession.
00:28:21There are times when the enemy is trying to get a hold of your mind.
00:28:27You see, the mind is a very powerful thing. The reason why as a believer you should not
00:28:34engage in any form of substance abuse and any substance that will cause you not to think about
00:28:40what you're thinking. Because as a man thinks, the Bible says, so is he. And just because you
00:28:47don't have the coherency to know what you're thinking about, it still affects who you are.
00:28:54So it goes beyond, I could control this. It goes beyond just wanting to have a good time.
00:29:00You're creating an atmosphere for the enemy to speak words to you that you come in agreement
00:29:06and partnership with. And then here is the scary thing. The Bible says, can two walk together
00:29:11except they be agreed? What are you in agreement with shows who you're walking with.
00:29:19So when a thought comes, arrest it. There should be a scripture that speaks to the seasons of life
00:29:27that you're in. Because it is your weapon. This is part of how you grow. When you begin to apply
00:29:35the word of God, you're exercising your senses. Something is saying this, but you're speaking what
00:29:41the word said. Many of you have shared this with, when I was pregnant, I had some complications.
00:29:46And when I prayed and I was seeking the Lord in a dream, he encounters me. And then he says to me,
00:29:52no harm will come to your child. But he didn't stop there. He hands me a Bible.
00:29:58Why did he do that? Stand on my word. Stand on this. There are times and seasons that you might
00:30:06be crying out to me for a word from me. And you may not have this encounter with me, but you have
00:30:11my word. Stand on this. What scripture is your anchor for what you're facing? Or do you leave
00:30:21it in complaints? Because here is the thing, you go through a season, God will deliver you out of
00:30:27the season because he always intended to deliver you out of it. The problem is, how are you delivered?
00:30:34As a babe or as a mature person? Because if you come out as a babe, he will put you back in it.
00:30:43So when we find ourselves over and over experiencing, because some things we go
00:30:48through, we're like, man, I feel like I have been here before. Because you have.
00:30:56But what God is after is not against you. He wants you to grow up.
00:31:01So very quickly, I want to share about a few things when we talk about the way of maturity.
00:31:08Number one, study the word. This may feel so elementary, but here is the thing. Many times
00:31:15we come to the place of study, we come to the place of prayer, we come to the place of worship
00:31:21just to be good Christians. But you need to shift your posture. Study, pray, worship for an encounter.
00:31:30Your mindset should be, God, I want to encounter you. I want to see you in the word. Because when
00:31:36you do that, it goes beyond just reading a chapter and then check off, oh, I read Numbers 13. Boom.
00:31:42Did I see Jesus when I read it? Keep reading. Holy Spirit, open my eyes. Lord, what are you
00:31:48teaching me from this scripture? What is it that I can grow in knowing about God? What is it I can
00:31:53know about myself? What does this scripture, how do I pray this scripture? You do it to have an
00:32:00encounter with God. That is why you will realize the need to intentionally carve out time where
00:32:09nothing else has your attention. Because for many, your car is the place of prayer.
00:32:15And that's a beautiful thing, but it cannot be the only place.
00:32:19Because if your place of prayer is only your car, when you're driving somewhere,
00:32:24there's a limitation in what God can do with you, what he can show you,
00:32:28what you can experience. Because can you imagine driving and then you have a vision?
00:32:38You might wake up in heaven.
00:32:43So there are things that it already presents a limitation.
00:32:48Or you're driving, you're just heavy in worship. You're just there, oh, you know,
00:32:53getting your worship on. Someone cuts you off. You say, what? Spirit left the room.
00:32:59So it cannot be the only place. And it's a beautiful place to play the Bible,
00:33:08listen to the Bible. Yes, worship all the things, but it cannot be the only place.
00:33:13There must be some time you set aside where there's no distractions. Even Jesus.
00:33:20Jesus will go in the middle of the night where everyone else is asleep. Why? No distractions.
00:33:28Nobody's going to be looking for him at three in the morning.
00:33:31Nobody's checking for him at two, they're sleeping. It was intentional.
00:33:35He will leave the disciples and go by himself to a secluded area. Why? So that there is nothing
00:33:42to hinder his experience and his encounter with God. You need to have, it is both practical and
00:33:50spiritual. You need to have a time with the Lord. Like I said, even in during offering,
00:33:56maybe you don't have, you have roommates, go to the park, get to the park and just walk around
00:34:03the park and worship God, pray to the Lord, seek out, but do it from the place of God.
00:34:08I want to encounter you. I don't want this to be a religious activity that I do.
00:34:14And then there is growth that happens. You see in Psalm 1, you can write this down for
00:34:18your personal study. Psalm 1 describes a blessed man. And one of the traits of a blessed man is
00:34:25that he delights in the law of the Lord and he meditates on it day and night. Now that word
00:34:33blessed, the meaning of it is happy, but the root word, when you go deeper into the understanding of
00:34:39the word, it actually means to advance, make progress. There is a maturity that happens in
00:34:46your life when you study the word with intentionality. You see that when he, the Bible
00:34:52says he delights in the law of the Lord. He's not obligated to meditate. No, he does it from a place
00:35:02of delight. That does a shift in heart posture. I'm not doing this as an obligation to my
00:35:10Christianity. I'm not doing this as an obligation to, okay, God, you know, I'm trying my best. No,
00:35:15I want to get to the place of delight that I delight in you, Lord God. So when I spend time
00:35:21with you, I'm spending time from a place of delight. And when you're delighting something,
00:35:27you want to encounter it. When you're delighting something, you're not just there just to walk in
00:35:33and walk out. If you're someone who loves art, you don't just go into a museum and then walk in and
00:35:40say, oh, okay, child, we, we, we, we crossed this off our tourist list. You will know the difference
00:35:46between someone who delights in art and someone who just heard that it is a great place to visit
00:35:51when you come to this country. Because the one who delights in it sits. They look at the art
00:35:57piece. They pause. They have questions of the art. They start trying to understand the mind of the
00:36:03artist in creating this. They look at the strokes and they're wondering what is the story the strokes
00:36:08tell. Everything about the art piece is speaking to them. They take their time with it. The time
00:36:14they spend on one art piece, the person who is there as a tourist is already done. They're like,
00:36:19hey, man, you ready? Time to go to the next stop. How are we treating our relationship with God?
00:36:26When we study the word, is it a delight or are we having a tourist attraction?
00:36:32That we read it and we're just ready to, okay, boom, read that chapter. Let's move on. When you
00:36:37delight in it, one verse might have you pause for that hour. One verse. You might read the Lord is
00:36:44my shepherd and you're like, wow, God, what does that look like for me? What does that mean to my
00:36:49life? How do I pray into that? Open up the scrolls to me. Why did David say this? Where was David in
00:36:59his life when he said these words? Then you look at your life. That is how we delight in his word.
00:37:06The second thing is you apply the word. We talked about this. The word is the sword of the spirit.
00:37:14So for everything that you find yourself going through, for every fight you are in, apply the
00:37:20word. When you're in a fight, it's not time to agree with sadness. When you're in a fight, it's not
00:37:25time to sit in darkness. Don't create an atmosphere for the enemy. If you're dealing
00:37:32with something that has rich finality, there is a time to mourn. This is not against emotions, no,
00:37:38but know the time you're in. Know the type of fight you're in. Can you imagine a soldier that
00:37:44just pauses in battle because he needs to cry and mourn? They will take him out. He has to know the
00:37:52time and the place. When you're in a fight, when the Lord has told you something that is about to
00:37:58happen in your life, even the Bible talks about how we contend for things. When the Lord told Elijah
00:38:05it was going to rain, you know what Elijah did? He ran up the mountains and began to pray.
00:38:11It was not a time for him to, you know, he looked at the clouds and there was no rain.
00:38:16It was not a time for him to say, oh God, you told me it was going to rain, but there's no rain.
00:38:21And then he starts fussing because in that fussing, the enemy's having leverage.
00:38:26He's having leverage. You don't understand. It's like tug of war and you're on one end.
00:38:32You're holding the rope and the enemy's holding the rope on the other end and he's trying to
00:38:38distract you with imaginations and thoughts. That is why the word of God also is after your
00:38:44imagination. It's after your thought life because when you're in a battle, you don't lose your grip.
00:38:53When you're in a battle, you arrest that thought and you speak the word of God to it.
00:38:58When you're mourning, you mourn. When something came to an end, the loss of a loved one,
00:39:05a period of transition. There are times where you just sit in God and his presence is safe enough
00:39:11for how you feel. It's safe enough for your questions. It's safe enough for your doubts.
00:39:16It's safe enough for your fears, but know the time and the hour. When you're in a battle for
00:39:22something God said about your life, don't lose your grip. Don't become inactive in the spirit
00:39:28and just allow thoughts to overwhelm and take over your mind because you give the enemy more leverage.
00:39:35And then the third thing is to trust his sovereignty. You see, there are times that
00:39:40you've studied the word, you've applied the word, but it didn't happen the way you thought.
00:39:46And trusting his sovereignty has to do with relinquishing your control and trusting his
00:39:52wisdom above all else because the Bible says his ways are not our ways. And so there are moments
00:40:00in life that it's like, God, I don't understand. And it feels as though me walking with you is
00:40:05going to lead me into fires. It's going to lead me. It seems like I said yes to this and I followed
00:40:12you the way it was supposed to and I believed you, but yet I encountered loss. You trust his
00:40:18sovereignty. That should not be the thing that causes you to start entertaining questions about
00:40:24is God even real? Jesus, do you really love me when you've seen his hand on your life?
00:40:30You see, something about trusting his sovereignty as it applies to spiritual maturity is that there
00:40:36is a place in God that when you trust him as sovereign, when you see him as sovereign,
00:40:43that it elevates even who you are. You see, your life, the Bible says, is hidden in Christ.
00:40:51When you see God, when you begin to encounter new names of God, oh God, you are sovereign,
00:40:58it also reveals something about you. There is something about you that you
00:41:02encountered that you did not even know existed. What does that look like? The three Hebrew boys
00:41:08in the Bible studied them, Shadrach, Meshach, and somebody said it, Abednego, and then we have our
00:41:18remix, you know, just think, listen to the words and it will come to you. But these three Hebrew
00:41:25boys, they were told to bow to a golden statue and literally they were like, and they threatened
00:41:33them. They said, look, if you don't bow, we're going to throw you into the furnace. And their
00:41:38response is so profound. They said, look, our God is able to rescue us. So let's pause there.
00:41:50They had an expectation. They had faith in knowing that you can throw us in the fire,
00:41:56but our God is able. They knew the word. They could apply the word to say, God is able. But then they
00:42:04said, but even if he doesn't, we will still not bow to you. Why that was so powerful. There was
00:42:13something about the sound of, even if it doesn't, it caught Jesus's attention all the way in the
00:42:20heavens. He says, oh, they just met a side of me that many people don't want to see that even if
00:42:28he doesn't, I will still worship. Even if he doesn't heal, he is still a healer. Even if he doesn't do,
00:42:36even if he didn't provide, he is still a provider. There is something that does in your relationship
00:42:44with the Lord that he says, you know what? I'm going to reveal a side of me that also reveals a
00:42:49side of you. So they throw these boys in the fire. The people that threw them were burnt by the
00:42:56impact of the heat. They died. But yet the Hebrew boys are in the fire. And then all of a sudden
00:43:03they see a fourth man in the fire. And they see these boys are not burned. They're not nothing.
00:43:08They're chilling. They're having a good time. But for real, you know, having the praise and
00:43:15worship session in the fire. But did you know, and write this down as you're taking notes, Hebrews 1-7.
00:43:25They didn't know this at the time, but God always knew this about you.
00:43:30The scripture says, he has made his ministers a flame of fire.
00:43:39There is a dimension to your nature that heaven sees you as fire. So when they were thrown in the
00:43:47fire, Jesus says, let me introduce you to someone you don't know yet. Yourself as fire. I can only
00:43:55imagine, because the scriptures don't tell us what Jesus and the boys were talking about.
00:44:01They only had the perspective of seeing Jesus in the fire with them. But I can only imagine
00:44:07Jesus is with them and they're walking around. And Jesus said, did you know you were fire?
00:44:13And Devon had preached on this message and he talked about how fire cannot burn fire.
00:44:19But did you know that you are actually fire? This was not just about Jesus saving them from
00:44:25the fire. He was revealing to them an aspect of themselves. You are fire. But that revelation
00:44:32came from the place of trust in his sovereignty. When you trust him, you mature, you grow.
00:44:39He begins to show you things. He begins to teach you things. It is so incredible. There was a
00:44:46lady, she's passed away now. She had such an incredible and powerful healing ministry.
00:44:54But for many years, she was plagued by a sickness. And actually, she would pray for people and it
00:45:00seemed like they were dying faster when she prayed. It was crazy. But it never shaped her resolve.
00:45:08She always said, God is a healer. While she was in her own form of pain, she kept saying,
00:45:16God is a healer. In that place of trust in the sovereignty of God, he encounters her in a powerful
00:45:23way and begins to show her very deep secrets when it came to the healing ministry. And after that
00:45:30day, there were angels that began to partner with her in healing. And she began to share her
00:45:37and she was more people knew her for her ministry, not the story. Because she moved in such a,
00:45:46she would just be amongst people, people were getting healed left and right. Why? She trusted
00:45:52in God's sovereignty. And from that place, there was maturity that took place. So there are times
00:45:58that you may not understand what is God doing? It doesn't mean that you're not going to go through
00:46:03moments of questioning, moments of God like, man, I just, I don't sense you close. But in the midst
00:46:09of that, trust him. And the final thing, no, the fourth thing rather, be led by his spirit.
00:46:17The Bible says in Romans 8, 14, for as many are led by the spirit of God, these are the sons of
00:46:24God. You see, you grow in intimacy with God, the more surrendered you are. And why this is so
00:46:30powerful is because discernment is not, it's not just about a gift. The gift is the Holy Spirit.
00:46:37So as you grow in intimacy with the Holy Spirit, you grow and mature in your ability to discern.
00:46:44And what does that look like? There is a leading of the Holy Spirit that goes beyond
00:46:49doing things as you know to do. When the Holy Spirit wants to exercise authority over you,
00:46:56he begins to demand random things out of you. Sometimes there are things he will just prompt
00:47:02in your heart to do. If you lean to his voice, it will be amplified. Maybe you're about to smoke a
00:47:10thing and you sense the spirit of the Lord saying, drop it, throw everything else in the trash.
00:47:16I don't care how much you spent on it, throw it in the trash. If you're led by your flesh
00:47:23and you're like, man, I spent so much money on this. Okay, God, this will be the last one.
00:47:27You don't realize your agreement is what empowers you to stop in that moment.
00:47:33So the reason why you've been saying this will be the last one and you've never felt empowered to
00:47:37quit is because when the Lord says stop, you obey in his voice is what gives you power over it.
00:47:46When you say this will be the last time, you're going to, now you're relying on your strength.
00:47:52And in your strength, you can't. So there are moments where the Holy Spirit and some things
00:47:58can even be just random. He says, you know what? At this time of the day, I want you to pray.
00:48:05Sometimes we can, we normally would think, you know, about midnight hours,
00:48:10but then the Holy Spirit can say, hey, at 3 PM, just meet me in prayer.
00:48:14You're like, oh, 3 PM. I have things to do. My favorite show comes on or whatever.
00:48:20But when you lean into that voice, that is what it means to be led by his spirit.
00:48:26There are things where the Holy Spirit will say, hey, in this time, I want you to fast.
00:48:30I remember one time God told me to fast and it was around Thanksgiving. I said, Lord,
00:48:36you must not know the time or the hour.
00:48:41But why was he doing that? Do I have authority over your flesh?
00:48:46Are you truly led by my voice or you're led by your appetite?
00:48:51And so when you want to grow in the spirit, listen to that still small voice.
00:48:56And why this is all the way in number four, not number one,
00:48:59because as you study the word, you have the ability to discern what comes from God.
00:49:05You're not easily deceived because the voice of God will never lead you to harm.
00:49:11Because the voice of God will never lead you to harm.
00:49:14It will never lead you to do outrageous things when you don't know him.
00:49:19And so when you've come to the place you've studied, you've applied, you trust him, be led.
00:49:27When the Lord wants to partner with you in life,
00:49:30there are things, there are dealings, there are ways he deals with you that are unique to you.
00:49:36Because what he's looking for is do I truly have authority over your life?
00:49:41Am I truly the one you are surrendered to?
00:49:44So there are random things he will ask you to do.
00:49:47Very random. You will not find it in Hebrews.
00:49:53But it's your response. When you study the prophets in the Bible,
00:49:58you will see that there were things God asked of them that did not make any sense.
00:50:03Sleep on one side for this many days. What?
00:50:06So I can't just stretch and turn to my right?
00:50:10He says, no, for this many days, sleep on your left.
00:50:13Then for this many days, sleep on your right.
00:50:16What does sleep on which side have to do with following the Lord?
00:50:19It's about authority. Do I have authority over you?
00:50:25Are you relying on your wisdom or my leading?
00:50:30So be led finally, and we're going to pray.
00:50:32Finally, and we're going to pray, rest in his peace.
00:50:36There are instructions God will give you.
00:50:39And there is a peace that comes upon you.
00:50:41But you see, the scripture says in John 14, 27,
00:50:44Jesus talks about the peace he gives you that it is not as the world gives.
00:50:52The peace that comes from Lord, there are two types of peace that exist.
00:50:56There is what comes from the Lord.
00:50:57There's what comes from the world.
00:50:59The one that comes from the world is when it fills you with comfort and certainty.
00:51:05When you have a certainty of your tomorrow,
00:51:07when you have a certainty of how things are going to pan out,
00:51:10you feel there's a peace that you feel.
00:51:13But there is a peace that comes from Jesus
00:51:16that even in the presence of uncertainty, you are at ease.
00:51:21Even when things look chaotic, there's something that ministers to you.
00:51:25No, it's going to be all right.
00:51:27But how is this connected to growth?
00:51:30Because the peace of the world is noisy.
00:51:33So there are things that the Lord will instruct you to do.
00:51:37And it just seems like, you know, it doesn't make sense.
00:51:40But you need to rest in that.
00:51:42You need to come in agreement with his peace.
00:51:45Because if not, you're distracted by the noise of the world
00:51:48telling you to do it their way.
00:51:50This doesn't make sense.
00:51:51What are you doing?
00:51:52Do it this way.
00:51:54And if you listen to the noise,
00:51:56then like the moment Peter was walking on water
00:51:59and he turns to the storm,
00:52:01where you had authority, you begin to drown.
00:52:05But again, in order to get to this place of true peace that comes from Lord,
00:52:10you have to know his word, apply his word,
00:52:14trust his sovereignty, be led by him.
00:52:18Why? Because sometimes they're crazy decisions we make.
00:52:22And you have to be honest.
00:52:23I must say this.
00:52:24You have to be honest with yourself,
00:52:25especially when we think about Los Angeles.
00:52:28There are some things we do because of what we desire.
00:52:32It's a desire in the flesh.
00:52:35And we put faith that did not come from God.
00:52:37We just say faith.
00:52:39And we're like, God, you're just going to do it.
00:52:42Did his voice lead you there?
00:52:45Because if your ambition is leading you there,
00:52:49you need to renounce it.
00:52:51You need to be direct.
00:52:53Because sometimes the voice of your ambition is so loud
00:52:57that you make some very risky moves and call it God.
00:53:01But you have to be honest with yourself enough
00:53:05to know that this is ambition and not God.
00:53:09Because LA is a place where everyone is after a dream.
00:53:12Everyone is pursuing a dream.
00:53:14And so in LA, we glorify things that were like,
00:53:19did God lead you to do that?
00:53:20Because couch surfing is cool when the hand of God is on it.
00:53:25It's not cool when is your ambition driving it.
00:53:28Because you will charge to God what he did not send.
00:53:35So when we talk about peace,
00:53:38there must be a disclaimer
00:53:40that you're honest enough with yourself
00:53:44to ask and to search within yourself rather,
00:53:48whatever I'm pursuing is ambition,
00:53:51is self-ambition connected to this.
00:53:53Because if your ambition is what's driving it,
00:53:56the Holy Spirit is not the one on the wheel.
00:54:01So don't just, you know,
00:54:05faith is not just about taking any kind of risk.
00:54:09It is a risk that is led by the Spirit of the Lord.
00:54:13Because that is where your confidence in, right?
00:54:17Stand with me, we're gonna pray.
00:54:19Thank you, Jesus.
00:54:21Thank you, Lord.
00:54:25Thank you, Lord.
00:54:28We have to grow up, family.
00:54:32The times we're in are going to require it.
00:54:35Your life is gonna require it.
00:54:38Your stability is gonna require it.
00:54:41Because there's gonna be so much noise,
00:54:43so much distractions.
00:54:45But it is what you see in God,
00:54:49what you can discern in God that will keep you.
00:54:53You see, the Bible in Hebrews, it talks about Moses.
00:54:58And it talks about how Moses forsook
00:55:00the pleasures of Egypt.
00:55:04Why?
00:55:05It says he saw the one who was invincible.
00:55:09There was something Moses discerned about God
00:55:12even before he truly had an encounter.
00:55:15That it was, it allowed him to make decisions
00:55:19that didn't make sense to the times.
00:55:22Moses, you're in Egypt.
00:55:24You were raised by the Pharaoh.
00:55:26The system raised you.
00:55:28You should be loyal to the system.
00:55:31You should be loyal to this system
00:55:33if you want to prosper.
00:55:34You should be loyal to this system
00:55:36if you want to advance in life.
00:55:37You've never been treated like a slave, Moses.
00:55:40Why don't you stay loyal to us?
00:55:42But Moses knew, he said, nah, this is not worth it.
00:55:47There is something I've discerned about my identity.
00:55:51That what you guys worship will perish.
00:55:54What you guys are for will perish.
00:55:57But if I lean into who God says I am,
00:56:00there is safety there.
00:56:02You see, the Bible talks about the pleasures of sin.
00:56:06Sin is pleasurable.
00:56:09But it's also referred to as pleasure.
00:56:12It's also referred to it as fleeting.
00:56:17You see, many, where you are today
00:56:21was because of a system.
00:56:23A system that was against the Lord.
00:56:25But it prospered you.
00:56:27It brought you great wealth.
00:56:29It gave you great comfort.
00:56:31It gave you a name.
00:56:34And the whispers of the enemy is,
00:56:37be loyal to that system.
00:56:40Don't change the sound of your music.
00:56:43Don't change the way you do business.
00:56:45Don't change the people you do business with.
00:56:50Why do you want to have integrity all of a sudden?
00:56:54Because the way you've been doing this has been working.
00:56:57Do you want to lose?
00:56:59It takes spiritual maturity to see that as fleeting.
00:57:05I know this may look pleasurable, but it's fleeting.
00:57:08And where it's leading is destruction.
00:57:11It's not worth my life.
00:57:13It's not worth the call of God on my life.
00:57:17You see, the Bible refers to how Satan is a ruler over this world.
00:57:25And that can be so confusing because the same Bible would say
00:57:29that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.
00:57:33So how can the earth be the Lord's,
00:57:36but then Satan is the ruler over the world?
00:57:40Because the earth is referring to a region, a location.
00:57:44The world is referring to a system.
00:57:48There is a system of darkness
00:57:52that when you give yourself to it,
00:57:55the one who rules over it is the enemy.
00:57:59Come out of that system.
00:58:01Come out of doing things in a way
00:58:03just because it prospered you yesterday, but today you know truth.
00:58:08And that is why the word of God says,
00:58:10and the truth will set you free.
00:58:13When you align to do things God's way,
00:58:16it keeps you.
00:58:19Even when it may seem like you might experience loss for a time,
00:58:22but abundance is coming.
00:58:24It keeps you.
00:58:26And even when, and even if you don't see the abundance,
00:58:31you know that God is still speaking over you.
00:58:35Your life with God is the most precious thing.
00:58:40Protect it.
00:58:42Don't give in to the fleeting pleasures of sin
00:58:45that leads to destruction.
00:58:49Don't just be settled and comfortable
00:58:51with just doing life however you want it.
00:58:53And then you say, Jesus knows where I am,
00:58:57but he wants to grow you.
00:58:59He wants to mature you.
00:59:01And so I'm going to make a few calls.
00:59:03And if I'm speaking to you,
00:59:05I just want you to come down to the altar,
00:59:07then we'll pray.
00:59:08But if you know you need to get out of systems,
00:59:13it's benefited you in the past,
00:59:15but God is saying, come out of it.
00:59:18Come out of it.
00:59:19Come out of it.
00:59:20I want you to get down to this altar very quickly,
00:59:22very quickly, very quickly.
00:59:24Thank you, Jesus.
00:59:26Thank you, Lord.
00:59:29Thank you, Lord.
00:59:30Thank you, Lord.
00:59:31Thank you, Lord.
00:59:32Thank you, Lord.
00:59:35It's not worth your life.
00:59:39And it cannot keep you.
00:59:41Thank you, Jesus.
00:59:43Can we praise God?
00:59:48Because the decision they're making,
00:59:54we would not understand the impact
00:59:57until we get to heaven.
00:59:58Because it's when you say, Lord, you know what?
01:00:03If Moses did not come out of that system,
01:00:06he would never have encountered himself
01:00:08to be the true deliverer.
01:00:14There are things that God wants to call forth out of you,
01:00:18but you first have to come out of systems of corruption,
01:00:22systems of darkness.
01:00:25Don't agree with it.
01:00:27Don't profit from it any longer.
01:00:30Get out of it.
01:00:33And if you're in the house and you're like,
01:00:36you know what, Lord?
01:00:37It's time for me to mature.
01:00:39I've been the one who's just been cool with where I am.
01:00:43But I need you.
01:00:45I need you in the industry you placed me in.
01:00:49I need to know your move and your hand.
01:00:52I need to know what to say yes to and what to say no to.
01:00:57Not every open door is a blessing.
01:01:00And I need to see beyond the surface, God.
01:01:04I desire maturity.
01:01:05If that is you, just come down to the altar very quickly.
01:01:07We're going to pray.
01:01:09Thank you, Jesus.
01:01:11Thank you, Lord.
01:01:14Holy Spirit, have your way.
01:01:17Have your way in this place.
01:01:20Thank you, Jesus.
01:01:26Wow.
01:01:29There was someone, and you're not down here yet.
01:01:32And I just want to describe you because the Lord is just showing me how much he's after you.
01:01:39And there is,
01:01:43your friends have even said that you're very prideful.
01:01:46Don't take this as, you know, anything.
01:01:50Freedom is more important than validation.
01:01:52Your friends have said this about you, that you're a very prideful person.
01:01:56And you didn't know how to receive.
01:01:58You're like, nah, that's not me.
01:02:02But why they're saying something to you that you embody because
01:02:10there are things that God has been showing you about your life.
01:02:14But you are so loyal to this idea of you being tough.
01:02:19You're so loyal to this idea of how your friends see you.
01:02:24This life of the party, who's just this strong, tough guy.
01:02:29And part of it was that you were raised around gangs.
01:02:35And it shaped you in such a way that you're like,
01:02:38man, I'm not trying to be like all these soft Christians.
01:02:40And even when you say it, you feel hard, you know.
01:02:43Soft Christians.
01:02:44But God is after you because that mindset is holding you back.
01:02:50It's holding you back.
01:02:53And you know, I'm speaking to you.
01:02:55I just want you to come down.
01:02:57Thank you, Lord.
01:03:00Thank you, Lord.
01:03:02And this is going to be a fight.
01:03:05I see you.
01:03:06Amen.
01:03:08Amen.
01:03:09Amen.
01:03:09Amen.
01:03:10Amen.
01:03:10Amen.
01:03:11Amen.
01:03:11Amen.
01:03:11Amen.
01:03:12Amen.
01:03:13Amen.
01:03:13Amen.
01:03:14Amen.
01:03:15Amen.
01:03:16Thank you, Jesus.
01:03:17Thank you, Jesus.
01:03:20Thank you, Jesus.
01:03:21Can we glorify God for what is taking place in this house?
01:03:27Now, finally, if you are giving your life to Jesus today,
01:03:34you have been in a place of spiritual fluidity.
01:03:39You just, it's Jesus and many things.
01:03:42There are many things you entertain.
01:03:45And Jesus is just one of them.
01:03:48Here is the truth.
01:03:50You cannot worship God and other things.
01:03:54It is a deception because he is the way, the way.
01:04:00And part of it is your control issues.
01:04:04You don't want to feel like you're in a box of Christianity.
01:04:07But Christianity is not about a religion.
01:04:10It's about a relationship with a living savior.
01:04:15The God we serve is alive.
01:04:18He wants to talk to you.
01:04:20He wants to walk with you.
01:04:23Every other religion, they serve dead things,
01:04:27dead prophets, dead gods,
01:04:31gods they form with their own hands.
01:04:33How do you worship what you made?
01:04:36But Christianity is not that.
01:04:39This is the power of why we celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
01:04:44Because we serve a God that is alive.
01:04:48He wants to know you intimately.
01:04:52If you're willing to relinquish that control and say yes to him,
01:04:56just lift up your hands right now.
01:04:58Hallelujah.
01:05:00Hallelujah.
01:05:01Hallelujah.
01:05:02All around the world,
01:05:03thank you, Jesus.
01:05:05Thank you, Lord.
01:05:07Can we celebrate with heaven?
01:05:09Thank you, Jesus.
01:05:12Amen.
01:05:14Amen.
01:05:16Let us pray.
01:05:19First of all, before we pray, I just want you to repeat this after me.
01:05:22And let's do this together as a family for those that said yes to the Lord.
01:05:26This is so pivotal because in Los Angeles,
01:05:28one of the things that are plaguing us,
01:05:30because in Los Angeles,
01:05:31one of the things that are plaguing people is spiritual fluidity.
01:05:35They think they can serve Jesus and many things.
01:05:38It is a great deception in this city.
01:05:41And so what is taking place in this moment is so powerful.
01:05:44Let's just pray this together.
01:05:46Lord Jesus, thank you.
01:05:49I accept you as my only Lord and Savior.
01:05:56On the cross, you died for my sins.
01:06:00And when you were raised up, I was raised up with you free and victorious.
01:06:07Now, Holy Spirit, come into my life and make my life your home in Jesus name.
01:06:15Amen.
01:06:15Amen.
01:06:18We're going to pray.
01:06:20Just one more thing I need to pray over.
01:06:22Thank you, Lord.
01:06:24Now, if you said yes to Jesus, there's going to be a QR code.
01:06:27I want you to scan that code because we want to walk this thing out with you.
01:06:32Salvation is not just about this moment.
01:06:35It's a journey with God.
01:06:37There's repentance that has to take place.
01:06:39There are things you begin to lay down
01:06:41to understand the life that God has for you and to receive that life.
01:06:47But let us just pray as we close out.
01:06:49Lord, I just thank you for your sons and daughters.
01:06:52I thank you for what is taking place all around this room
01:06:55and all around the world for those tuning in.
01:06:58And I thank you, Jesus, for those that have said I'm coming out of that system,
01:07:02that system that profited me, that system that benefited me.
01:07:06But it was not a system that glorified you, Jesus.
01:07:09I'm coming out of it because I'm after truth.
01:07:13I'm after you.
01:07:15I thank you, Lord, that you will keep them and preserve them in that path.
01:07:19And I thank you, oh Jesus, for how you chase after us.
01:07:23Because I see this individual.
01:07:26You've been fighting with God, man.
01:07:27You've been fighting with God.
01:07:30But it is such a symbol of the reckless love of God
01:07:35who says before I formed you, I knew you.
01:07:38I knew you.
01:07:39God knew you.
01:07:40God knew you.
01:07:41God knew you.
01:07:42There are things you don't know about yourself that he wants to unleash to the world.
01:07:48But as you trust him, you would see it.
01:07:53You're about to be reintroduced to you.
01:07:58And I thank you, Lord, for your sons and daughters that say,
01:08:00God, I'm tired of being a babe.
01:08:04I'm tired of accepting and being okay with life as a babe.
01:08:08I'm tired of putting a period where you have many things to say concerning my life.
01:08:13I thank you, Lord, that as they give themselves to the delight of your word,
01:08:19to apply your word in trusting you, in being led by you and resting in your peace,
01:08:27Lord, they will grow in ways beyond what they could comprehend.
01:08:32You are a good father.
01:08:34You desire intimacy and relationship with your children.
01:08:38Have your way in and through their lives.
01:08:41Have your way in and through their lives.
01:08:43In Jesus mighty name.
01:08:45May the Lord God bless and keep you.
01:08:48May he cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
01:08:51May he lift up his countenance over you all and grant you shalom, shalom.
01:08:58And that is perfect peace.
01:08:59We love you.
01:09:01God bless you.