Stephanie Ike - Are You Willing to Lose

Hey, family, I'm Pastor Torrey, Pastor Sarah. We just want to greet you before you get ready to watch this powerful message. We believe it's going to change your life. We've been praying for you, and we also want you to partner with us in changing the lives of others. As you know, we're invested a lot into technology so that we can continue to bring the word to you in innovative and creative ways. But we don't just stop there. We also believe in blessing people in a more pragmatic way. That's right, You're about to watch this video that is going to tremendously bless you. But what you don't get to see is how we're blessing people off of the pulpit. There are families that are being fed, there are women who are being saved from human trafficking. There are so many organizations that we are able to support things to your generosity. So we want to invite you to be a part of changing the world with us. Yeah, we've been very intentional on this season to partner with organizations and support them financially that are making a difference considering our crisis. We just thank you. They're giving instructions on the screen. Here, partner with us, and let's get into this word. I want us to jump right into the scripture. And when I read it, some things may seem a little confusing, but I'm going to give some context to it and give you a little bit of a backstory. And so we're going to look at John six sixty to sixty six. Now, if you have your Bibles at home, because you're home, so I believe you got some Bibles at home. If not, you have your phone, turn open your phone, and let's read the Word of God. Now, it says many of his followers heard this and said, now, the person they're referring to is Jesus. Many of Jesus's followers heard this and said, this teaching is too hard. Who can listen to it? And I'm going to talk about what teaching they're referring to. And it's interesting because some scriptures they say this teaching is too hard, who can understand it? Then, without being told, Jesus knew that they were grumbling about this, So he said to them, does this make you want to give up? Suppose then that you would. You should see the son of Man go back up to the place where he was before. What gives life is God's spirit. Human power is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you bring God's life given spirit. Yet some of you do not believe. Jesus knew from the very beginning who were the ones that would not believe and which one would betray him? And he added, this is the very reason I told you not. I told you that no people can come to me unless the Father makes it possible for them to do so. Because of this, many of Jesus's followers, not a few, not some, many of his followers turned back and would not go with him anymore. Now, what is happening in the scripture is that in John six, this is the moment where Jesus had that five thousand, thousand, over five thousand people that he fed with a little boy's lunch. So you have all these people that are gathering around Jesus and his disciples are like, Lord, how are we going to feed them? And there's this little boy who has some food, and they're like, oh, he has five loaves of bread and two fish. And Jesus takes that five loaves of bread and two fish and he multiplies it to the point that it feeds over five thousand people. And we know it's over five thousand because even though the scripture says five thousand, it was only referring to the men. There were women there, there were children there. And can you imagine when it's a miracle by Jesus. Now, I'm reminded that when Jesus turned water into wine, they said it was the best wine in the party. So we imagine when Jesus multiplies bread and fish. It's like corn bread and banana bread all in one. I'm sure it was a feast of their lives. They had never seen anything like that bread and that fish. And what is beautiful is that the scripture tells us that everyone who ate to their satisfaction, they ate as much as they wanted. So this happens. Maybe a few people had the eyeis they fall asleep. The next day shows up, and that next morning, all of a sudden, people are looking for Jesus. The Bible tells us that there was a crowd looking for him. And now what is interesting is that the crowd was not looking for our Lord, because they were looking for the Messiah. They were looking for the Savior. They were looking for the one who would feed their flesh. They were looking for him for the wrong reasons, not because of his teachings. But they were like, yo, that bread was lit, Jesus, you got some more. They were looking for him because of the miracle that he did. Now, Jesus, being Jesus, he discerned the intention of their desire. He discerned that the reason you seek after me is not because you seek after the Savior, is not because you seek after what that which comes from God is not none of that. You're seeking after me to feed your flesh. And it's interesting, also, family, because there are times and seasons that what God calls us to do for a person in the season is not what he's calling us to do for them continually. What happened in that moment was unique. What Jesus recognized, You guys have been with me all day. Hey, I'm not gonna let you just go out by yourselves. I'm gonna provide food for you. Now the people are coming again, not because of the words that he speaks in our life, but they're looking for that with feeds their flesh. Jesus then says something to them. He says, do not long after food that perishes. Rather, you should long after food that brings eternal life. In this he was speaking about himself. He says to them, I am the bread of life. But then he does something which is so fascinating because he gives an analogy which was a little extreme. He says to them that if you don't eat of my flesh and drink of my blood, that there would be no life in you. All of this is in John chapter six, right. And the people when they heard this, they took his say in literal. They're like, wait, how do we drink of your flesh and eat? I mean eat of your flesh and drink of your blood. But Jesus was strategic in what he said because he recognized that only those who follow me for the right reasons, only those who value who I am, only those who recognize that I am the son of the living God, that I am the Messiah, that when I say something that sounds like a riddle, when I say something that sounds like this puzzle and this mystery, those are the people that would inquire, Lord, can you explain what you said? You see their accounts in the Bible where Jesus will speak to the crowd, and he will speak in parables, but when he will come back to a secret place with his disciples, they would inquire, Lord, can you go deeper into what you said? You see, this was the difference. But when people sought Jesus because of who they recognized he is, all of a sudden, they became humble, they became a student before him. They recognize that your words alive. So even though I don't understand it, it doesn't mean that there's not something in it for me. But those that will seek him for the wrong reasons, if what he said did not appease their flesh, all of a sudden, they got offended. So when Jesus said this, the people are offended, the crowd is offended, and that as a result, they walk away from him. So that is where we got to in the scripture when it says this is too hard of her teaching. Who can listen to this? Who can understand this? Because they were there all along, because they're looking for Jesus. Hey, hey, Jesus, can you give us some more food? And Jesus is looking at them like, this is not my assignment in this morning. You see. One of the things I love about the Lord is that from the very beginning, he made it very clear that my will is to do the Father's will, not his will, not the will of the people, the Father's will. And what is powerful in this moment is that Jesus is aware that the result of what he will say will cause the crowd to leave him, that many would walk away from him. But he was never moved by the crowd. He was always moved by his assignment. If the crowd became a distraction to what God had called him to do, he would walk away from them. You see my message this morning for those that are taking notes, is are you willing to lose? The Lord said something to me a few days ago which really struck me, and he said, you would know what you are qualified to gain by what you are willing to lose. You see, Jesus, one of the things that qualified him to walk out his purpose was the ability to lose the crowd. He was never looking for the crist, He was never looking to be popular, He was never looking to a peace people. He was never looking for the applause. Matter of fact, one of the things that took him to the cross was the fact that he said things that the people did not want to hear his ability to say, hey, I'm not living for this natural, this earthly crowd. I'm living for the applause of the father. That was one of the things that qualified him. And so when the Lord said to me, you would know what you were qualified to gain by what you were willing to lose, it struck me because you see, family, we live in a digital age, right, and so for many followers back then, yeah, I mean, it's not really what followers today is, but it's close right on social media, we're like everybody, especially now, everyone is really you know, tight neck about their followers and all that stuff. It's crazy because people have even started business to on selling fake followers. I still don't understand it, but it's a thing. And so there is this idea of we want the crowd. That the crowd gives this illusion that because you have this many people following you, then you must be doing something right. It gives this illusion of validation, this illusion of acceptance, this illusion of authority or influence. But yet we see that the one who was most influential very easily never cared about the crowd. You know what's so interesting is that very often I've also been a victim to this. We find ourselves in spaces and in times where we have an instruction from the Lord to do something and because that instruction does not go well with the crowd, and the crowd, for you may look different. The crowd may be your Instagram page, because maybe that's your business page. The crowd may be your family, it may be the people you work with. The crowd symbolizes where your applause comes from, where your agreement comes from, the people you look to, and if they are applauding you, and if they agree with you, then you feel like I should keep going. That is what the crowd symbolizes. And many times we don't do the things that the Lord is calling us to do because it doesn't fit well with whatever type of crowd that we have. You know, there's something so interesting about fear that the Bible tells us. The Lord said that I have not given you the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. And the first thing that speaks to me is that fear does not come from within us. Now, I'm not talking about the fear. When you think about bungee jumping, you should be a little afraid, right, I'm talking about the fear that has torments in it, the fear that causes stagnancy. The Lord giving you that fear is not natural to you. So already it tells us that this type of fear is caused by external factors. And what I began to realize that any time that we are moving in this fear based mentality because of our crowd, and it could be as subtle as when we post a photo and it has five likes and we take it down because we're like, well, nobody saw it, so you know, or it could be more exposed when there's that very thing that is echoing in our hearts and in our minds that God has called you to do, and you are hesitant because of the fear of rejection. You see, that fear tells us something that we are not afraid of what we have the ability to produce. We're not afraid that we can execute. Weno afraid that we can perform. We another afraid that we can speak. We're not afraid that we can see. We're not afraid of our ability. It is always the fear of how that would be received. That Lord, when I bring this forth, you see, it's funny even the idea of stage fright that when you come on the stage, all of a sudden you're shaken. Most speakers, I would even try to go on the limp and say, all speakers are comfortable speaking in their homes, in the privacy of their homes. I started speaking in front of my dog when I was a kid, and then I graduated to multiple teddy bears just around the bed, and I would walk around and all of a sudden, if one is looking at me, funny, I'll lay hands on you know, we need to pooh, say, receive the spirit of the Lord. And so I was never worried about speaking in those areas, and that told me that I was never afraid about my ability to speak. But the idea of stage fright, for instance, it's not that which comes from you, is that which comes from external factors? How would it be received? Are people gonna like what they hear? Is this gonna be there? Are they gonna applaud me? Are they gonna be silent? And so this concept of fear is not even natural to us. But then we talk about it and we make it, we make it sound like it's a sexy thing, like, man, I'm just afraid, and there's nothing about it that is appealing because it's not even you. And yet we limit ourselves because we're looking at the crowd. You see. The reason I'm sharing this message is because the Lord began to speak to me that in the time and season that we're in, there's gonna be innovative ideas, and it's gonna be things that he's gonna call us to that your crowd is not gonna be in full agreement with that. Whatever you knew your crowd to be, that there are some things that they would not understand. And for a moment, you may lose some followers, you may lose your crowd, but you will lose your crowd to gain the people that you're called to. You see, Jesus was always so quick. It's funny. In this John chapter six, right after he did this five thousand plus miracle, the people wanted to make him king. And when he saw that the people wanted to make him kink, he walked away from them. He just did the You know, Jesus is like slick Rick. You know, he just finds a way to escape the people. He was never moved about this idea of let me fit their mold. Jesus recognized that his mold never came from people, that his mold came from the Father. And whatever the Father said, is that which he will do. And so in my prayer for you, I said, Lord, begin to show them the decisions that they're supposed to make. The Lord worked on me. He showed me some things that I had been holding back on too, and I began to pray from that posture that Lord, whatever decisions they need to make, whatever action they need to take, whatever step there you've called them to, whatever in evative ideas that you're calling them to do in this time. There are some people that you are comfortable being behind the scene, and the Lord is saying it's time for you to step in front of a camera. There's some that all you in your room. You love writing music, and you like singing to yourself, and maybe you have a Winnie the Pooh that you sing to and then you kick to make it look like it fell out, and just the beauty of your voice, whatever it is. You're not really afraid. You're more concerned about the applause that will come from the crowd. And the Lord showed me that when you are willing to lose this illusion of being validated by people, you would gain everything that I have for you. You see, the Scripture tells us something so beautiful. It says that those who are willing to lose their life will find it. Those who are willing to lose their life will find it. Do you know what it costs for you to have an identity? The Bible tells us that when Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave gifts onto men, that that talent you have, that idea that you have, that it was paid for on the cross. It costs something to be you. I'm not just talking about the sacrifices that you have to make. It cost the Lord something for you to even have a glimpse of who you are. That every time that the Lord shows you reveals a layer of your identity and you speak against it, that it is like putting Jesus back on the cross. It costs something. The Bible tells us that our lives are hidden in him. But do you know what it took to find that? Do you know what it took to have relationship with the Father. It took the cross. And so when we think about the cross, we're not just thinking about salvation. We're not just thinking about victory. We're also thinking about identity and the things that we have the grace to access in the presence of God. That every time that we feel as dough. You know, it's funny and I've been a victim of this too, that the Lord will speak to you about yourself and you feel like you have the audacity to say, God, I'm not going to do it. And we still in that posture say you know what, God, whatever you want me to do, I'll do. I love you Jesus. But the Word of God tells us that those who love the Lord obey his commandments. That when it comes to your relationship with God, love is not just a four letter word. It's not just the thing that we do with our friends and say I love you too, love you, love, love you. That love is revealed in actions that those who love me, it is revealed by their obedience to my word. There are some of you, and you there even right now as I'm speaking, the spirit of the Lord is bringing things to your memory and placing things on your heart, their ideas and their titles that the Lord has said, my son, my daughter, this is who you are and we feel as though, God, I don't I'm not for this. Do you know? Sometimes the crowd can be the crowd in your head, the crowd of your experiences, the crowd of your exposure that because of what you were exposed to, you feel that God, if you're calling me into this, then I feel like it's going to be like what I've seen, And you are placing a limitation on who the Lord is that when the Lord says that, behold, I do a new thing. When I'm calling you to something, the title may look the same, but the way is different. What is it that God has placed on your heart? What is it? Because we should not be like those that deceive ourselves, that say, God, speak to me, God, show me God, what is it you're calling me to do? Because the beautiful thing about relationship with God is that every step leads to another. And so you might be in a place and the word that will take you from where you are to where you need to go to the next step of your life is your obedience to this one thing that God has said. And you feel as though, God, maybe I can skip You know, this is not uno where you could just skip a person and continue the game. No for those who play Uno, I love Una Google Una Okay, but it's not like that. It's not a game. When it comes to the Lord, there is no skipping of steps. What we end up doing is that years go by and we find ourselves back in the same position, the same word. Have you ever had a moment in your life where there was something that the Lord spoke to you about and in that moment, you were disobedient to it and you kept going about your life. Five years later, you're praying to the Lord and you're saying, God, give me a vision for my life. The same word comes back to you. Because there's no you don't skip steps with God. The Bible says that He knows the end from the beginning. Your life is not a new thing before God. He already ordained your steps. He already finished out the lane that's been He's called you to. And that is why when you work what the Lord says about you, it works because it's already been a sign. It's already been Heaven has already there. There are angels already a sign to the path that God created for you. There is a lane that has your name on it, and God has it and so when he places you on the earth, he's simply saying, start what I finished. And so you can't just skip steps. That is why even when he placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, there was something that had been finished, and when the enemy came to steal it, the story could not end that way. They had to be redemption because that was never the plan of God. God says, no, We're not gonna skip this step of the enemy taking what I have for my people. Know there has to be redemption. They has to be restoration because who we are called to would not be without that connection and intimacy to the Father. And so the Lord Jesus had to come to restore that intimacy with his voice. What has God said to you? And what crowd do you need to lose? What crowd do you need to let go of that you may gain and grab hold of everything that you are. You see in this season, so many things are shaken up, so many things, And like the scripture that says those who are willing to lose their life would find it, right before that it says those who cling to their life would lose it. Could it be that in a season like this where we are being forced into a new normal. It's not about clinging to the ways of old. Because if something in your life had the ability to be shaken up and be uprouded, could that be the Lord calling you to become curious about what cannot be shaken about you? Could that be an invitation to say, my son, my daughter, why don't you discover the words about you that cannot fail? That when you see things around you and it crumbled, that there is something connected to your life that is failed proof and that is the word of God assigned to you. The word of God must work in your life because he is the Word. So for God to say something and it doesn't work, it is speaking against himself. God is married to his word because that's who he is. What is God speaking about you? What is it that is being shaken up so that you will discover the truth about you that cannot be shaken And will you be willing to lose the crowd? Will you be willing to lose those that would applaud your decision? Will you be willing to lose those that would say, Wow, that looks like God right there? What if people can't see it now? It doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with having people that support you, not at all. It's only dysfunctional when you are when you rest upon their approval, when you are defined by their applause. But what happens when it's not there? Will you be okay knowing that you're applause? The only applause that matters is that which comes from God. You see, the truth that I'm supposed to tell you is that there are things that the Lord will ask you to do, and you will lose favor with men, not all people, but you will lose favor with some, but you will have favor with God. And when you have favor with God, that is all you need in this life. Do you know that the Israelites when they were walking, when they were leaving Egypt, when they had been freed from slavery, the very people that have put them in bondage were the very people that gave them their gold. When you have favor with God, God can use your enemies to bless you. Because he is God, he is in control. And so the one you want to seek favor with is not with people. You want to find favor with the Lord. Because if there is one thing that this season has taught us. It's not your relationships that will bring you out. It's not your relationships that will make you immune. You want favor with the Lord, there's some things that even with people's best intentions, they cannot help you. They're setting areas of your life because they're being affected just as much as you are. And so why don't we start seeking out the words that God has spoken about us, and not just seeking them out, but to engage in them. Not too long ago, the Lord taught me something that really spoke to me that oftentimes what may seem like pride before people is humility before Him. And in this he was showing me that anytime we embrace what He says about us, that that is actually humility because we are not resting on what we know about ourselves. We are not relying on what we feel. Okay, maybe this is my strength or this is my weakness, none of that that we are relying that we are surrendered to His word. And from that place we can be as bold as a lion, because that is who God said I am. That from that place I can do anything that it may seem crazy to you, but God said it about me and so I'm going for it that that is actually humility, That your ability to speak boldly about what God says about you is not pride. It's only prior to the people that are comfortable with you being small. Are you surrounding yourself with people that are comfortable with you shrinking? Is that the version that appeals to them more? And so you're afraid to shine your light because you don't want people to stop applauding you. But what are they applauding? Jesus was never interested in people applauding him for giving them food. That was not his interest. He said, look, if that is why you seek me, you can leave because that is not my assignment. That is not my mission. You could get food from the marketplace. I am not here to be just another person. Because the funny thing, and this is homework for you read all of John chapter six. The funny thing is that when Jesus tells them that he is the bread of life, you know what they tell him. They're like, you know, can you do something? Can you perform a miracle? Can you do a sign? And a wonder? He just took five loaves of bread and two fish and fed over five thousand of y'all and you say, can you do something? So they were never looking at him with the intention of what they could truly gleaned from him from the spiritual perspective. They were never looking at him as the son of God. They were just looking at him for what appeases their flesh. Are you around people that you're by by you shrinking? It makes them feel big, that you shrinking makes them feel like, you know what I'm I'm doing something myself. Look at me just chilling now. And sometimes you have to become accountable to your own self. Why are you shrinking? What is it that God is telling you to do? Family, This is a time that great innovation would be released. The revelation to innovate, to speak into the times that we are in would be released upon the earth. And it's not going to be popular, but it's going to be effective and it's going to be impactful. And the thing about what works, what truly works, is that it takes time to be too unfold. And so if you're waiting, if you're looking for what would happen instantly, you're gonna miss it. You may lose some people, but you will gain the right people. Eventually, and so can we be committed to that? Can we be like Abraham when the Lord said to him, leave everything you know and come to a place that would show you. The Lord did not even give him a map. Unfortunately, there was no GPS at the time to say this is your destination. Go. His GPS was the Spirit of God to a place I will show you. I will lead you there. And in this time there are things that God will speak to you about and the Spirit of God will be your guide. He will lead you and he would order your steps. But we have to be bold in this season to say God, I am who you say I am, and I will do what you say I should do that just like Jesus, we would say my will is to do the Father's will, and you will not be confused about what God's will is. He made that very clear to me. You know, last week I was speaking about the interpretation of dreams. God wants to make his will concerning your life very clear to you, and he will. It's not something you will be confused about. It's not something you should feel, you know, anxious about. God, what is it you're saying? It's none of that. But when it becomes clear to you. Make sure you take that step forward. Don't worry about the naysayers. Don't worry about losing the crowd. Do you know that it is the fear of losing the crowd that a starting man named King Saul. That that is what removed him from power. That is what removed him from the place that the Lord set him up. That is what removed him from the place of authority because he was looking to the people and not looking to the word of God. What is God speaking in this time? What decisions do you need to make? No longer. We don't have the time to waste, because the truth is, life is a gift. We don't know how long we have on this earth, and the time that we do have, we want to do the right thing with it. I don't want to wake up one day and I'm in heaven and I'm like, oh my gosh, it's just a dream. And then the Lord says, no, you're not dreaming, and I'm like, but God, I had all these things to do, and he says, I had a time, that there was a time allocated for the things you were supposed to do. So I didn't take you early. You just did not discern what to do with the times. You know, it's so interesting. There was a moment where I was asking the Lord. I was like, could it be that you take people early? You know, I mean sometimes you know, like because there are times where we hear about someone who passed away, and it was like natural causes nothing, you know, complicated, and even sometimes when it's complicated, it makes you be a vehicle that the Lord uses. But there was one particular death I heard about, and when I heard about it, I was like, God, this person had so much they wanted to do, They had so much they talked about, and it all sounded like, Kingdom, what was the problem. Why didn't you give them, you know, ten more years to execute these things? And that is when the Lord revealed a mystery to me that it's not that he took them early, but that the things that he speaks to us they have times and seasons and it is not. It is And the reason why God is so eager to speak to you, God is so eager to share his will with you, is because there is an open door, there's an open window. There was a season for you to execute what the Lord said. What we think that we do is the Lord speaks to us. We're very clear that the Lord spoke to us, and we choose not to honor the moment, because you honor the moment by taking a step in that direction. We choose not to honor the moment and we walk away from it. And then we have the audacity ten years later to say, Wow, God gave me this amazing idea. I need to revisit it. And there could be grace that another window opens. But what if that first window was the only window? And then we feel less though God, but I have all these things to do in me and he says, there was a season for it. But now I want you to focus on the next thing I'm calling you to. And so, family, why am I saying this? Because the truth of the matter is, your relationship with God is not this fluffy thing. It's not this thing you can do on your own accord. It's not this thing that puts you in control. We like to think that sometimes, and because of that mentality, because of the mentality that God, I could do this on my own time and my own free will. Because of that mentality, we hesitate. Because of that mentality, we feel as though I don't have to honor the moment of what you said. There was something that the Lord spoke to me about one time, and he said so clearly to me, He said, my daughter, if you do not do this in the season I've told you to, you would revisit this in ten years, ten whole years. Can you imagine that if I did not pay attention to that, the fruit I would have missed out on now what should have been producing fruit for my life in those ten years. But I waited, and that window closed and the next window of opportunity to revisit that. Because when God speaks, you need the grace of God to perform what he says. And so what I'm talking about with the window is that there is a window of grace, there is a window of opportunity. There's a window that the right relationships come to you to execute what the word of God said. And when we missed that window, now we have to wait for the next one. And while I'm sharing this with your family, this is a hard reality. It's for us to be It is for us to value the word of God. It's for us to value what is it that God is speaking about my life. I don't want to live in this illusion that I'm in control and whenever I want to get to it, I can. When you have the grace to do something, do it. It's just like fasting. In order for me the fast, there is a grace that comes upon me, and I know that that grace comes from the Lord, because when that grace is not their family, it will be six thirty in the morning. I'm like, oh my gosh, I am starving. But when there is a grace, it doesn't FaZe me. When there is a grace on your life to execute what God has said concerning you, When all of a sudden you realize that there was a word that God gave you. The next thing you know, oh, you're connected to people that are telling you, hey, I can help you with this. Hey, oh that's what I do. Oh my gosh. Don't dishonor the moment. Honor it by taking a step forward. Don't worry about the crowd. Focus on what God is saying. This is how we get in alignment and stay there. Our relationship with God. We have to come back to that place where we reverence God, where we reverence his voice, where we reverence his presence. It is not this thing of just like you know, Yo, Jesus, you know he's a friend, but he's also our lord, and so never focus so much on the friend that you lose sight that he is your lord, and he is your king, and so family in this place, in that posture, if you know, because some of you right now I just sense it on your heart, you feel as though you need to repent, and repent means you need to change your mind. That God, I haven't been honoring the things you've told me. I had that moment when God gave me this word. I cried like a child because it reminded me that God, maybe in some ways I've lost reverence for what comes so easy that because I can hear you that, perhaps I've lost the ability to honor the moment that you speak. That maybe I became selective to say, you know what that seems more appealing to me this one. I'm not sure, but this is the difference between friends of God and children of God. We're all children, but it takes a certain type of person to be a friend, and we want to be friends of God. We want to honor the moment that he speaks, honor what he says, and run after it. And so if you know that's you, and you're saying, God, I want to come back to that place of reverence. I want to come back to that place of honor that I don't want to honor people more than I honor you. I don't want to honor their presence more than I honor yours. You see, sometimes some people may say, God, it's it's too hard of a thing for me to wake up early to seek you. But I guarantee you, if your favorite celebrity or influencer tells you that they want to have a conversation with you at two in the morning, you would be awake at twelve forty five, showered up and everything. Even though they can't see you it's on the phone, but you'll probably be showered. So if we can do that for people, what about God? What about the King of kings and the Lord of lords? And so, if you know you're coming back to that place of reverence. In the comments right now, I want you to say coming home, coming home, because that is what home is about. Home is the place where we honor God. Home is the place where we reverenced his presence, We reverence his word. Home is the place where we recognize that. Lord. It is an honor to even stand before you. It is an honor to even know that you speak to me about my life, because every time you give me your word, that means you see in me the ability to become who you say I am. I don't want to keep putting you back on the cross with my pride. I want to submit myself in humility and walk out the things that you have said concerning me. I don't want to play. I don't want to dibble and dabble in this idea of Ah, I'm scared. Ah, that's not for me. No, God, If you said it, I'm running after it. If running after it means I lose life as I know it, then that's okay. I don't want to cling to a life that is fade in a way. I want to cling to what you know about me because that has the certainty of victory. And so family, if that's you keep putting in the car, I'm coming home. I'm coming home. If you know you maybe you stumbled on this message today and you can't and something just drew you in. But you have not made the Lord your savior. You have not embraced Jesus into your heart. I want you to put in the comments too. I'm coming home because maybe you felt as though, Ah, this Christianity thing, you know, they got too many rules and regulations and I want to live my best life. But something drew you here. It's not about rules, it's not about regulation. Every time God speaks a word to you, even the things that God says you should not do, it's not because of him. It's not because by you not doing it, it makes him more God. Whether you do it, whether you don't, he will still be God. But his words are for you that He is your creator. He knows things about you that you are yet to understand about yourself, and he recognizes the habits that were formed from brokenness. You may feel like I don't want to let this thing go, and God says, it's not even you. This habit, you have, this pattern, you have, this routine you have. It came from a place that was broken, and I want to lead you into wholeness. You may feel like God, I don't want to give up this drug. I don't want to give up this way of life. And He says that did not come from a place of wholeness. It's not about me sleeping around. That's not wholeness. That is rooted in brokenness. And so the things that you feel like you've been running away from God because of it's actually for you. And right now you feel the tug on your heart. Some of you may feel heat on your chest, and that is the presence of God just resting, knocking, saying let me in, Let me in, And wherever you I want you to just open up your arms and surrender and say, God, here I am. I'm your son, I'm your daughter. I'm no longer running away, not from the crowd in my mind or the crowd around me. I'm not going to lean into that no more, but I'm going to lean into you, and so pray with me. Family. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this moment. We thank you for your presence. It is resting right now in the homes of your people. We thank you, Lord that we are coming back to that place of reverence for your voice, for your presence. We thank you, Heavenly Father, that we would honor every moment that you speak to us. We would honor being in alignment with you. We will not try to be in control of our lives, Lord God, but we would recognize that your word comes with a season, and every time we see the sign of the seasons approaching, Lord, we would honor it. We thank you, Lord, because even right now, there are things that you have spoken to people long, a long time ago. I just see it so clearly. And in those moments, they struggled and they did not honor the moment. And Lord, you're showing me that you are opening another window of opportunity, and you will connect them to the people who will be helpers onto them, the people who will build bridges for them. But and Lord, this time, they're gonna honor it. They're gonna honor every relationship you send to them. They're gonna honor every word you send to them, every help They're gonna honor it. I see, Lord, that you are causing restoration over the things that have been long forgotten. That everything, Oh, thank you Jesus, thank you Lord, everything that you spoke to them, that they in fear in whatever it was, they abandoned it, and they have felt this struggle. I just see they've been struggling. I just keep seeing people sweating. They've been struggling to execute it. Not recognizing that the only way to properly execute it is by your grace, because the word did not come from them. It came from you, and the strategy will come from you. And you're showing me right now that there is restoration for seasons. There is restoration for windows of opportunity that is coming back to your sons and daughters. And Lord, we're gonna honor it, and so have your way, precious Savior, have your way. Oh God, we thank you, we thank you, we thank you, We thank you for taking over this moment. We thank you for your goodness and Jesus Mighty name, Amen. Eight