Stephanie Ike - Fear of the Lord

Hey family, I'm Pt Pastor Terrey Roberts and the lead pastor of Potter's House at one La and Denver, and on behalf of my wife, Pastor Sarah, and myself. We want to welcome you to our channel and to this word. I cannot wait for you to hear what God has for you in this message. I want to tell you a few things really quickly, subscribe if you're not already subscribed to this channel, subscribe so that you can be made aware of all of the word that's coming at you week in and week out. And also turn on your notifications so you don't miss a morsel that comes forth. We're also grateful for you and your partnership. If you are so compelled, we invite you to support what we're doing, not just our church, but what our church is doing. There are a number of outreaches, a number of things critical, necessary things that we support, and we're able to do it because of your generosity. So without further ado, let's get right into this word. God bless you. I'll see you soon. Family. I am so excited to be with you all today and for everyone that's watched, and I send greetings from our pastor's pastors Teray and Pastor Sarah JX Roberts, And so you guys have me today and it's going to be amazing. And I've really just been praying about what the Lord is saying in this season. And one of the things that have been such an impression on my heart is there is more. And I believe that my assignment in particular for this season is to really stare up our hunger, to stare up our hunger for more of who God is. You know, one of the scriptures that was meditating on isn't Psalms ninety verse twelve, and it says the New Living Translation is just excellent because it talks about teach us to recognize the brevity of life that we would grow in wisdom. And what I love about that statement is that God, we're not even God. We're asking the Lord like teach us to understand the shortness of time that life brings with it so that we would grow and that we will not live aimlessly or we will not desire to live without precision in life. You know, I think about how quick time goes right. Some of you may remember childhood, like I think about when I was nine years old, like it. Was literally yesterday. And maybe that's why I steel like cartoons. I don't know, but right, you know, but literally life comes at you and it comes at you fast. But and when you think about that, you want to live life with precision. You want to live life and know that at the end of the day that when you meet the Lord, he will say well done. That when you meet the Lord, he will say, you know what you did that thing? You are faithful and you live in alignment with what I knew about you. That's my desire, not only for me, but for everyone, that our movement is connected to that when God sees you at the end of your days, that he will say well done. And so when we think about this concept, right that Lord, you know, we don't have eternity on earth. We have eternity with the Lord, but we don't have that on earth. On earth, there's an expiration day. But that doesn't change the reality that there's something that God has called us to do this in this window of time, that there is a purpose and an assignment for our lives. And so how do we live out, how do we live it out in its fullness? Right? And you know, for some people that are watching, you may feel like, man, I'm in my fifties, I'm in my sixties, in my seventies, even in your eighties, right, and you may feel like, Ah, the things that I want to do, I don't know if I still have the time to do it. But I think about Jesus. In three years. Jesus did what could take some three decades in three short years. But the difference in those three years is that those three years were with precision. He was never. Jesus was never, you know, disappointed by any outcome because he understood what he ought to do. There were times that he was frustrated with people. You know, Jesus turns up, right, he will go in turn tables on around and all that stuff. But that was a frustration of you, guys should be more than this by now, right, But he was never disappointed. Jesus lived with such precision that he only needed three years to complete his assignment. It's so powerful, you know. Recently I pitched the message was on the Activate service and it was about understanding times and seasons. And one of the texts from that I talked about message from John chapter five, right, and it was about this man by the pool of Bethesda, and in that passage you see this man. He's been he had this infirmity for thirty eight years. Now, the interesting thing about this story is that he is in a place where many sick people are gathered. Right, there's a multitude. The Bible literally tells us that the multitude of people with all types of infirmities are gathered in this place. But when Jesus came, he singled only one man out. When I read that, I see someone whose life was with precision, Because when he singled the man out, he said, you know, the Bible tells us that Jesus knew that the man had been there for a long time, so he walked in a knowledge about this man's condition. Now, Jesus didn't go there. For a healing revival or a healing crusade, because if he wanted to, that was the perfect place. That is, all the sick were gathered, that would be the place. But what that tells me is that before Jesus ever moved, he heard from the Father, what is it that you've called me to do on this day? And he tapped into a revelation that there is a man at a certain place and I need to go and meet him because he is overdue for his miracle. And so when he went to meet this man, there were so many sick people gathered, but Jesus singled this man out because he was pasted you for his season to be healed. So when you see Jesus moving like that, this is a man that moved with precision. He had the ability to stop everything, stop the whole show, and say, hey, guys, I'm gonna hear you one by one, one by one, just heal and revival. The Lord is here. He could have done that, but he recognized that this is not the assignment of what the Father has called me to do today. And so when I read things like that, I'm like God, I don't want to just live my life by what I consider to be a good thing. Because it would have been a good thing for Jesus to say, hey, there is a pool. I'm here, but there's a pool that you. Have many sick people and they're waiting for an angel to stir the water. So the first person who goes and will be healed. Jesus would have said, it is a good thing for me to spend my day doing this. But instead of that he said, what is the God thing? What is the thing that God has assigned and appointed me to do in this moment? And that's how he lived this life. And so when we see him moving like that, we understand how in three years he had such a great impact of his ministry and literally changed the game. And that's what I want to that's what I want for us. And the funny thing, maybe not funny, is that it's a very Maybe that's the amazing thing. Everything is funny to me. I laugh a lot, right. But that's the amazing thing that it's available, because we have to remember that Jesus he lived. You know, yes he moved. He moved in the full expression of who God is. But Jesus walked on the earth as a man, and he walked on the earth as a man to show us what is possible in God. Now, one of the things we learn about Jesus is that what was what made it possible for him to move the way he did was the spirit of the Lord upon him. And I want us to read the scriptures in Isaiah eleven, verse two for those taking notes, and everybody should be taking notes, right, But as I eleven verse two, it talks about the different expressions and manifestations of the Spirit of the Lord that was upon him. Now, in another context, this might be known as the seventh Spirits of God. Right, and we learn about this. One of the things you can write and study is in Revelations four, verse five. We learn about this expression of the seven spirits of God is being used, and so is the seven manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Now this is not the message, but just to a side note, there's a difference between when the spirit of the Lord it comes upon you as a manifestation and when a gift is being expressed through you. And so, for example, you know we have the gift of knowledge right when the Bible talks about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So the gift of knowledge is something that has to be worked in you. That is, when you meet someone and you say something like I can sense the Lord is saying this, or I think I feel that this is the message of. The Lord to you. When the spirit of knowledge comes upon you, which we're going to read today, which is one of the expressions of the seven Spirits of God, it's different. You tap into the knowledge of that person. So sometimes you might actually go into a vision where you see everything so. Clearly there is nothing hidden. So it is just like when in the scriptures, you know, there's a time that saw before he became king, when they lost your donkeys, right, what they knew to do. They said, hey, let us go see the prophet, because when we meet the prophet, sam will he will tell us where the donkeys are. That is, when you're moving in such clarity of vision, that is the spirit of knowledge that comes upon you. You're not guessing. You have a clarity and a certainty of what is happening because it comes upon you. And so when we read about this, one of the things we're going to learn is an expression of the Holy Spirit is the fear of the Lord. So let's read it, right, Isaiah eleven, verse two. It says the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. That's one, the spirit of wisdom, understanding, of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord. These are seven spirits of God. Now what is beautiful here? You know, even when we think about the spirit of mind, that was an expression of the Holy Spirit that. Came upon Samson. Right. When you see how Samson moved with so much strength, and and when the spirit left him, he couldn't do that anymore because that was an expression of when the Spirit came upon him as might. And so the fear of the Lord in particular is what we're going to discuss today. It's so amazing. Last week we normally have a staff and volunteer prayer call, and while we were praying, cig who's with us, one of the things that she was praying concerning was the fear of the Lord, and I shared on the call, I said, this is something that the Lord has been dealing with me on that, you know, bringing that message and talking about it more in the body. And so the fear. Of the Lord, it's there's so much to it, and I want us to unpack it. But to be honest, even in the best, in the best way, I don't think I can fully unpack the fear of the Lord in the time that we have. And so I'm going to really just focus on what the Lord has really brought to my attention. And so the first thing is, you know, what is the fear of the Lord? Right? A lot of times when we think about the fear of the Lord, we confuse it with the spirit of fear. These are two different things we think about, like does it mean I have to be afraid of God? Does it mean that I have to be scared of God? You know? Do I run away from Him? And it's two different things because on one hand, there's a scripture that tells us that God has not given us the spirit of fear, right, and then another scripture tells us that perfect love casts out fear because fear brings torment. So there is a type of fear that is negative, right, the type of fear that brings torment, the type of fear that it cripples you, the type of fear that it makes you unable to live out in your authenticity, to walk out the things of God. When we engage. With that type of fear, all of a sudden, what happens is that we allow the enemy to rule over our imagination, and so he begins to give you the worst case scenario of a narrative like, oh, if you do this, this is the worst thing that could happen, and that's what you're engaging in. But even in moments like that, we have to be reminded by scriptures like Ephesians three twenty when it says that the Lord is able to do abundantly, exceedingly above all you can ask or think. We have to allow our imagination to serve God. Your imagination should point to the goodness and greatness of who God is. If I'm gonna think about the what ifs, I want to think about it in the most grand way. You know, what if I just stumbled into the keys to my dream home and I walk in and they said, welcome home, Stephanie. Right, I want it. I want my what ifs to really speak to the magnitude of my God. I don't want my what if to honor or make or give the throne to Satan. And that is what fear does when we engage with it. It begins to rule over our imaginations. And that is the fear that the Lord says, no, my love casts that out. But the fear of the Lord is different. There's an amazing scripture that really points to this in Exodus twenty, verse twenty, and it says and Moses said to the people, do not fear. On one hand, we see the fear that causes torment. Reject that that's not for you. Do not fear for God. Has come to test you that his fear may be. Before you so that you may not sin. So right here we see this beautiful balance that hey, the fear that brings torment. Reject that, that's not what's going on here. But let the fear of the Lord be before you. You see, the fear of the Lord works for you is when it is the respect and the reverence that we have for God. It is when we see God in the awe of who he is. And because of that, it causes us literally when Moses said this so that you may not sin, there's something about seeing God write that causes you to want to please him when you recognize, like, oh my gosh, this is how much you love me. This is how much you'll for me. My life is literally hidden in you. I don't want to displease you. It is the type of fear that makes you actually afraid of life without God, that God. I don't want to know what life would be if you're not in it. That anything I do, I want it. I want to walk this thing out with you, Lord. I don't want to know what my life would be outside of you. This is what the fear of the Lord speaks to the fear of the Lord. It brings establishment, right, It anchors you. You know, it's so amazing. There's a scripture that tells us that even though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, I shall. Fear no evil for you or with me, you being God. And but check that out, right, even though I walk in the valley of the shadow, wherever you see a shadow, then the proximity of whatever it is is close by. Right. I can't be here and my shadow is in Hong Kong, Right, that'll be really weird. But if you see my shadow, then you recognize that I'm within proximity of my sh shadow. And so when the writer is saying, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, can you imagine what is next to death? All the circumstances that could be crippling, all the things, all the crazy things, the moments in your life that you feel like this is about to take me out. That's the value of the shadow of death. When it feels like death is nearby, and it doesn't always have to be physical. Sometimes it is the death of a project, the death of something that the Lord said to you. When it feels like Lord, this is slipping out of my hands. Death could feel literally like what Abraham and Sarah experienced in the Bible when the Lord gave them a promise, you will have a son, but then their natural body, Sarah's natural body past the time of child bearing. It sounds like, Lord, this is death to the promise. It doesn't sound like this is going to happen. But then there is something about the fear of the Lord that makes you recognize even when it seems like what God promise me looks like it's out of breath, Even when it seems like this very thing that the Lord said to me, it looks like I have to give it, you know, mouth to mouth, I shall fear no evil. No evil is everything that evil represents. It's not just about you know, I'm not gonna fear sayan coming into my room now. And know that's a little extreme, right, But evil is evil. Evil, it's anything that is against what God said. Evil is the narrative that tells you it's going to be over. Evil is the narrative that tells you it's not going to work. You've passed your prime. That is a narrative that comes from the evil one. Anything that is against the will and purpose of God is evil. But the writer says, I'm not afraid of that because God is with me. Who is with me is a bigger threat to what threatens me. Who is with me? Can? I mean? He is the creator of all things, and so even when what he created seems to be against my timing, he can recreate something new. You have to understand that. You see, even when we think about scriptures like how God would open the Red Sea. Of course he would open the Red Sea. It's impossible for us because he created the ocean, and he didn't create it to be split into that'd be weird, right, you know. But he created it in a certain way. But because he is the creator, he can change its nature. He can change its form if it would serve you. And so when we recognize that the God I serve is the creator of all things. I remember there was a time there was a lady who had a miscarriage, and I was crazy enough to pray, and I said, Lord, wherever that baby went, bring it back, just let it appear back in her womb. Now this didn't happen, but I would pray that prayer again if something like that goes down because I believe that God, if you can resurrect the dead, you can bring back a baby who has been lost, and you can bring it back. Into the womb. We have to allow again our imagination to. Speak to who God is. Our prayers cannot be limited by science. Our pastor says something all the time that I love that science is literally the study of God and is a study of God as he chooses to reveal himself. So what has been revealed by God is what science studies. So they study creation to the extent of the knowledge of what has been revealed by God. But the same thing, think about the Red Sea when God said, hey, there is no other way that you guys could go, But I created the ocean, so I will cause it to make a way for you. This is what the fear of God does to us. When we see God write, we don't react to darkness. We respond to his word. We don't react to what may seem to be troubling. We say, God, what are you saying? And that is how I will live my life. You see. For the business folks, you know I love investing right and you know the stock market and I we've had our ups and downs. And The crazy thing. Something so fascinating is that there are moments where there are certain companies that the Lord will reveal to me and you will show me the price that it will go to, and that's where I should sell. And it has never failed, not once. Now, the difference in this is that when the Lord is showing me something, you know, there's a term that we use called diamond hands. That means even when the market is failing, that you are not gonna, you know, just give you know, give way on the pressure. You're not gonna sell your shares under pressure because you're like everybody's selling it. Right. So there are times that literally the Lord will show me in a vision, in a dream about a certain company and he's like, this is the price he's going to get to. And the confidence I have in holding on is because I have a knowledge of what God is doing. There is a knowledge of God. You've already seen where this is going to go. You know, God can be an inside trader for you, right. You can. But without the knowledge of that because the stock market literally is built on confidence. So when the people lose. Their confidence, everybody panics olls. So I'm using this just to give an understanding that when you have confidence and the knowledge of who God is, you don't react to darkness. You don't react, you don't panic. When it seems like all hell is breaking loose, you respond, God, what did you say? And maybe I need to change the strategy. But I'm not going to change the destination. I'm not going to change the vision of what it is that is connected to my life because many times we're talking about living with precision right. Many times we find ourselves we start in the place of what God said, But it takes us twenty thirty years to accomplish something because then we can give ten year period to doubt, to fear, to anxiety. We walk away from it. Because we're like God, this is not it doesn't look like it's working all to get back to the beginning, all to get back to the place of this is what I was supposed to do all along. So why don't we start there today? Why don't we start from the place of you know what, Lord, if you said it, if I see you right, I'm not going to let the shadow of death. I'm not going to respond to darkness. I'm going to respond to your word. And so the main text I really want us to look into today is in Psalms twenty five, verse twelve to fourteen. Because one of the key things about the fear of the Lord is that the scripture is not in this particular one. But the scriptures tells us that, you know, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. But what knowledge are we talking about. It's the knowledge of God, you know. Before we even get into that, we just read something in Proverbs two five. It says, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. But the knowledge of God is everything. You cannot know yourself if you don't know God, because you will not believe that you are who you are. You cannot embrace yourself if you don't embrace the reality of. The bigness of God. Because again, there is so much more to you than you would ever know. Gideon, when the Angel of the Lord met a man named Gideon, the angel said to him, mighty man of Valor. And Gideon was like, HEO, who are you talking about? But if you don't. See God right, you will never see yourself right. And so it starts with the knowledge of God. Wisdom starts with the knowledge of God. Everything starts to the knowledge of God. God. If I see you right, then I can do this then properly. Right. So let's jump into the main text. So Psalms twenty five, verse twelve to fourteen. It says, who is the man that fears the Lord? Him? Shall he teach in the way he chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear him, and he will show them his covenant that is so powerful. The secret of the Lord that with those who fear him. This is literally talking about the friendship. The intimate friendship of God is with those who fear him, and in his friendship is the counsel of God. That word secret actually speaks to couch, which is funny. We're all sitting here right, and it speaks to what happens on the couch when friends are gathered together on the couch, and all of a sudden, it leads to this intimate conversations and counsel that comes out of it. And so the counsel of the Lord is with those who fear him, and to them they would know the mysteries of God. He would reveal to them things things that are not known by by natural understanding. This is what we want. This is what brings us to a place of living with precision, the fear of the Lord, the friendship of God. Because when God counsels you, he's telling you, He's giving you a direction, a precise direction of what your life is supposed to hit. This is available to us. We can never I say this all the time, we can never get complacent in wherever we are in our relationship with God. Your best days with God cannot be behind you. If you find yourself talking about all the amazing things that you and God did and it's past tense, there's a problem. Your best days cannot be behind you. With the Lord, there is so much in him, and so the counsel of God. Do you know that God can counsel you, and not even that in a way that you're guessing God can counsel you. Can you imagine all the heartaches that we would have avoided with counsel of God. Can you imagine the impact of your life when you have the counsel of God? Can you imagine the fruit of your life when you have the counsel of God. With the counsel of God, you would do in six months what would take many sixty years when you have the counsel of God. Because your life is strategic, you're not doing things aimlessly. This is what we ought to hunger for. This is a season. One of the things that the Lord showed me about this season that we're in that there is going to be an outpouring of His spirit in a fresh and mighty way. And that is why hunger needs to be triggered within you. Words have to go forth that causes you to say, God, I need more of you, because when your spirit falls, I don't want to be out of it. I don't want someone else to tell me about their encounters with the Holy Spirit. And I was, you know, the other day Netflix and chilling, and I'm telling you, you know my encounters with. The end of the show. I mean, we you know, I love Netflix. Hey. But the point, the point, people of the point, The point is we should have balance in life. We should have balance that Lord. At the end of the day, I desire you. I want to seek you above all else. I need you, God, what is it that you're doing? Don't miss me up on it. I want to be involved in it. Lord, I want you to counsel me this next season of my life, the season that I'm in right now. I need your counsel. What is it that you're calling me to do? Every time you look at Jesus. See yourself. When how Jesus walked, understand he said, greater things shall you do? He didn't say, I you know what. You know, I'm the best I've ever done it. You know I'm the gupt You know, Jesus said, greatest of all time, of all time, eternity. Right. He said, hey, you actually will do greater works than I have done. If you are going to do greater works than I have done, that means we have the same access to the spirit of God to come upon us. And so when you start to think about that, God, I need your counsel. It's not just about you. You see that scripture said something. It's said that his descendants, the one who fears the Lord shall inherit the earth. Because one counsel from God can establish generations to come after you, one counsel from the Lord. That's why there's a word of God. This is in Deuteronomy twenty nine to twenty ninety. If you're taking. Notes, it says this, the secret things belong to the Lord, our God, but those things which are revealed belongs to us and to our children forever. The word of God not only feeds you, it feeds generations after you. When you are when you come into you and with the counsel of God, when you recognize that there is something specific about your life that you are called to fulfill, the fruit of it goes beyond you. It lasts beyond you. And that is how how we want to live. If anyone in this stroom and everyone watching, if you feel like you're in a place and it feels that there's uncertainty and you need the counsel of God, we have to get to that place of desire that God I want to walk with you. And so how do we know? How do we decipher whether or not we are walking in the fear of the Lord. One of the key indicators is your perspective on compromise. What is your perspective on compromise? You see, when you have lost sensitivity to the consequences of sin, the fear of the Lord is absent. Now when I talk about sin, you see the Bible defines sin as missing the mark. When we, you know, embrace the very things that we know in our hearts, nobody needs to tell us. It's not about the law. It's not about oh, thus says the Lord. Right when you know in your heart that something you're entertaining is against the delight of God, that God does not delight in wi you're participating in, that God. Does not delight in what you're doing, and you're okay with it. The fear of the Lord is absent when you find yourself making excuses like you know, Laurie, I'm just having a hard day today. It's just it's rough out here now. It's hard for a pamp. I'm sorry, y'all, you know it is. I'm sure it's hard for pamps. I'm not sure. But but when you find yourself right, when you find yourself, when your perspective on compromise, when to procrastinate is. Easy for you, there's no you know, remort, there's nothing. You're not trying to switch it up, but you make excuses for it. The fear of the Lord is absent because when you find yourself making more excuses than changing your behavior, the fear of the Lord is absent. Now, this revelation is a good thing because when the Lord was teaching me this message, even for me, he showed me the areas of my life that that was just a highlight of where the fear of the Lord was absent. You see, sometimes we get to this place which is such a misconception, where we think that we become familiar with God, right because there is a sight of God that we have known and we are used to, and we know how to move with and we know how to jive with and dance with that, we forget that there is so much to the Lord that we have not even come close to knowing. And in that familiarity when we see that, man, I could procrastinate on this, and the Lord still blessed me. I could procrastinate on this and things still worked out. What the Lord began to show me, who blessed you? Who blessed you? Was it really the Lord? Or was it because you were able to say, thank you Jesus, that you connected it to the Lord. Because you have to remember that Satan. When Satan met with Jesus, he told him, like I could give you all the kingdoms of the earth. Satan had the power to bless in what we call blessings. Satan had the ability to give increase. Satan had the ability to give the things that we would say when I get their warriors, I just want to give glory to God and to my family. But we're not living a life that glorifies God. But in moments we say glory to the Father. But who blessed us? Who gave that to us? Who made it easy for us? Was it God? Or was there just not no resistance? Because the enemy said, I'm not bothered by this. So we have to get back to that place of not being so comfortable in saying, well, I could just would out and the hand of the Lord is still upon me. The Lord loves us right the love of God. God loves you regardless of who you are or regardless of what you do. But he doesn't align with you regardless of what you do. The Bible says can two walk together except they agree. The love of God is something that no human can ever express to you. It is endless, It chases after you. It's for you in your mess. God loves you. When I was wilding out in the club, God was talking to me, and he's telling me, Stephanie, go home. I said, no, Lord, we have some drinks left. But it didn't change the love of God for me. But God could not call me to ministry while I was having two drinks in my hand, because that does not connect with his word over my life. That does not speak to the testimony of who he is. And so in his love for me, he's chasing after me, Stephanie. Is more to who you are. What you're doing right now is against you. It's not your truth. There is more to who you are. When I stepped into the place of saying, God, I want to be what you say you see sometimes to become. You, you have to learn you. You have to learn what is it that God knows about you? And when I learned that person, I can become that person the version of me that God knows. Does it look like what I'm doing today? And so when we go back to that place of my perspective of uncompromised, is it's all right, It's fine, everything is fine. The fear of the Lord is absent. But I need the fear of the Lord to get counsel from the Lord. Counsel about God. What is my life connected to what is it that you have purpose to birth through me? Who are the people connected to my obedience? I need the fear of the Lord so that I can live with precision. You see. One of the things that I want to share because when we say all this is not like okay, So how do we walk in the fear of the Lord? You know? How do we do that? If you find yourself and you're like, man, Lord, I have been compromising. There was something that the Lord said to me, and it's so simple, And he says, practice friendship with the Lord. So simple, practice friendship because the secret things right belong to those who fear him. The friendship of God belongs to those who fear him. Now, how do we walk in the fear of the Lord? Practice friendship? You know, there's a popular saying that practice makes perfect right. A lot of times, even in our culture, there are things that are detrimental to our lives, but we make excuses for them and we say it's my personality, it's just part of who I am, right, but not recognizing that it has nothing to do with your personality. The only reason it became second nature to you is that you have practiced it for a long time. That you are perfected in it. Nobody's personality is to be a people pleaser. No one's personality it is to be lazy. That is not in a personality. But when you. Practice something so much over time, you become perfected in it. And when it becomes second nature to you, you say, well, this is just part of who I am. The Lord has to deliver me. No, you have to unlearn. You have to unlearn the things that you have accepted and embraced for so many years. You have to unlearn it. In the same way, we can practice friendship with God. We can say what does it look like to be a friend of God? And this is the assignment for everyone today, in your personal time, in your prayer time journal, what does it mean to. Be a friend of God? You see one of the things when I was thinking about some of my intimate friendships, right, my natural friendships. What are some of the things that's stands out about a person? A lot of these things I have to work on more. You gotta be honest with yourself, right, But what does that look like? Respect? Right, honor, shared interest, right, love that you both have for one another. That a person can be reliable, they can be faithful, They can be trustworthy. These are the things that causes you. That stands out that says that it causes strangers to become best of friends, because when a stranger is faithful, it's reliable, it's trustworthy. All of a sudden, you're like, I don't want to hang out with you more when you realize that you. Both share the same interests. Like, oh, we like what we like and we hate what we hate. All of a sudden, this person that started as a stranger becomes your closest friend becomes your best friend. Why is it that people fall out of friendships? Their interests no longer are the same. Something starts to shake the foundation of the relationship. Trust is broken. They don't know if I can rely if I'm just you know, if I need an emergency? Can I rely on you? When things like that begin to chip away, all of a sudden, you see two friends who are very close, they start to stray away from each other. Right, some of the things. What else is something that maybe when you think about a friend, what do you guys think about fun? Fun? Exactly? Someone you can have fun with and you have fun with a person that you enjoy, a person that you make time for how do we even have fun? Quality time? You can have fun with someone that you don't make quality time for. So when we think about all these you know, all these qualities, do we reflect that with the Lord? How do we practice friendship with God? Represent these things? Some of the things that I wrote down, And again I want each and every one of us to take time in prayer and journal. Lord, how can I practice friendship with you? That's simple. When we practice friendship, we can walk in the. Fear of the Lord. So one of the things I wrote down is being honorable to your word. It's valued in a friendship. Of course, it's valuable to God when the Lord knows that when you say something, your yes is your yes and your no is your no. You see, one of the things that the Lord pressed on my heart as I was praying is that there's someone watching and there is a vow you made to God. And when you made that vow, God did his part, but you haven't fulfilled yours. This is against honor because when you think about a certain woman called Hannah, when Hannah was barren for so many years, when Hannah made a prayer and she made. A vow to the Lord. She said, Lord, if you give me a child, I will give him back to you. The Lord responded in the from the place that Hannah would be honorable to her word. So when I imagine it would look like if the Lord when the Lord gave her sam Moor, Hannah said, I've changed my mind. I don't trust nobody raised my baby. What could it have withheld from her? And so sometimes we see some disruptions in our lives because there is something you made a commitment to the Lord and you have. Not yet honored it. Be honorable to your word. Something like that can cause that It takes you away from that secret place. The secret things of the Lord, the friendships of the Lord are those that fear him. If you respect and you reverence God, you would honor him, and you would honor him even with your words. I'm learning this in my life. When as the Lord was teaching me this, I cried because I realized some of the things that we say in passing. Right when you're just excited, you're just like, oh, Lord, you know I'm about to do this for you. And when things get comfortable, you know, you forget. And so let's start thinking. And that's my prayer that the Lord. Will bring to our mind. What are the things that we said, God, I will do this for you. And if you set it just out of you know, just this crazy passion, then repent, say, Lord, forgive me. I made a commitment. I made a vow that I had no business making. Right, but acknowledge acknowledge it that, Lord, you know what I lay this down. But if it's something that you know you need to fulfill it right, be honorable to your word. Let your yes as simple as that. And it's from the simple things. Even when you say things like Lord, you know on this day, I'm gonna meet you at this time to pray honor that One of the things that the Lord began to teach me. He taught me this a couple of years ago, is that sometimes when we have a time set to do any activity in his name, he shows up. He shows up because he's showing up to the version of you that has honor. Anytime when you say God, tomorrow, I want us to just spend some time together, because the Bible says that even when we are faithless, God remains faithful. So if you just say, Lord, you know I want to just spend time with you at this time, show up. It will change everything because you're showing God that I can be a friend. I'm practicing friendship with you. Can you imagine I'm very horrible with timing and it's the nigerianan man. So but when you tell me two o'clock sounds like four. But when the Lord began to teach me this, it checked me and I'm like, Lord, how can I Because at the end of the day, anything I do in your name, even if I'm doing it with friends, it is still in your name. And so how do I be that person? I want to be committed in that way I want Lord, I want my word to literally let my yes be my yes and my no my no. Right. Another thing I have down is quality time. We enjoy quality time with our friends. That's how they become our friends. Right. And so let's make the same way. Let's make quality time with the Lord that God. I want to spend time with you, whether I'm meditating, worshiping, praying, journaling, studying the word, I want to spend time with you rite shared interest. We talked about that, and how do we know the shared interests of the Lord? Study the word? Study what the heart of God is for and what the heart of God is against. Because when you move in the fear of the Lord, you love what God loves and you hate what he hates. You are on the side of the Lord God. What do you love? I love it too. What are you against? I'm against that. That is why there is a certain scripture. Let me go to this. It's in Proverbs eight thirteen. It literally says, the fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance and the evil way. Why is that because to fear the Lord means that your heart is in sync with the heart of God. God. What you love, I love, What you hate I hate. But we have to study this, we have to know it. God. What is it about your word? What pleases you and what displeases you? Even when maybe it's something you haven't read before, something that you're doing, and there's a conviction that comes upon you. Pay attention to conviction, Pay attention to when your spirit rejects what your flesh is after, pay attention to it and recognize what would a friend of God do in this moment? God, I want to have shared interest with you. I want to live according I want my life to reflect and express your heart. Right. Another thing is being reliable. I talked about that. When you know that your friend is reliable, you cherish them even more. Right, and so can God rely on you. Can God trust you with a burden. You see a lot of times what our response to God when we move in obedience. It's the Lord trusting us with a burden. You see, many times we think that the Lord telling you to just write a book, or start the business, or start the nonprofit, or. Write the song. We just think it's random. No, the Lord is trusting you with a burden because the fruit of that book is connected to someone's breakthrough. The fruit of that book is connected to someone seeing the Lord properly that your testimony, connected to what you would do in the name of God, is connected to lives. And so when the Lord is giving you an instruction and he says, hey, there is a book, because you have to understand that it is an honor to be a vessel to manifest the will of God. That is an honor from God. That Lord, you looked everywhere and you have found me worthy to manifest something that is connected to your heart. Because when the Lord tells you to write the book, write the song, and he begins giving you revelation and vision. He is using you to manifest his kingdom. When we say that as it is in heaven, so shall it be on earth. It happens through people. And so when the Lord is telling you, hey, this business, go after it. Nothing is too small in the side of God. That's religion that gives that idea that in order for something to glorify God, it has to look like ministry. No, it could look like anything. When you look at the life of Jesus, the people that walked with the Lord, even the very means of him having his tomb. Some of these people were businessmen. Some of them never went into the temple to give a message. And so when the Lord says, hey, I'm giving you this idea, when an idea comes from heaven to your life, you have to honor that. That's something about this idea. Do you know that there are forms of the things that we see in technology that is literally birth from heaven. You know how many. People today you have people that will stay like, oh my gosh, I. Found my long lost cousin on Facebook. But that connection would have never happened if there was not a means for it, and all of a sudden they get connected and business happens. How many people have started a business on Instagram? So this platform that could just look like a social media platform is literally bringing establishment in people's lives. The Word of God is going through technology. And so when God gives you an idea, don't look at it like, ah, this is for the streets. When something comes from heaven, honor it, right, when something comes from heaven. I'm just being real, right, we have to see everything God. Can I be trusted with a burden? I want to be reliable. What does that. Look like today? What has God said to you that you're still not doing? That is appending thoughts idea? What does he said to you? Because your obedience is beyond you? Right? And then when you think about being reliable, don't leave things unfinished. Don't just say you know the Lord is doing something else, let me move on to this. No, don't leave things unfinished. That is that does not that's not a good representation of who God is. He's when he's connected you to a project. You see many times there is this misconception that, first of all, if God connected you to something He recognized that there is something in you for what he connected you to. So because he highlights something you does not mean you need to leave what he assigned to you unfinished. Right, be reliable. Right. So these are just a few of the things that I made note of in my own prayer time, because I don't preach to you what the Lord doesn't teach me. As the Lord began teaching me this, I saided, writing, what are some of the ways that I can also represent and practice being a friend of God? How can I practice this more? How can I move in this more? Lord? I want all of you. Right. It's one of the scriptures that I love so much is in Psalms twenty seven, verse four, and it says one thing I have desired of the Lord that I will seek. And I'll stop there because it says one thing I have desired that I will seek. It's not enough to just desire. We have to seek. Many times. We're just like God. I desire this. I desire that I desire this, But are. We seeking for it? And so if we desire God, I want the fear of the Lord. I want to stare up in it. I want to have the counsel of God. I want to be a friend of God. I don't want to just be. A friend of God that we say based on receiving the Lord Jesus. No, I want to be an intimate friend with the Lord. I want to move in a precision like never before. I'm not there yet. We have to be honest with that. I'm not there yet, but I want to get there, and to get there, I'm going to practice more of what it means to be a true friend. I'm going to practice that more. I'm going to practice it to become perfected in it by the grace of God. And this is what we have to step into. Lord. I desire this, but I'm also going to seek it because I'm telling you some of the greatest moves of revival we're going to see in our generation. But we have to. Also be prepared to be a host for what God wants to do on the earth. What God wants to do that when he's searching, you know, searching the earth, he will find you. He will say, you know what, I have this plan. I'm going to download it in you so you can manifest it right the fear of the Lord. So I want us to pray into that. Thank you, Jesus, Thank you, Jesus. Lord. We don't I want to just desire more of you. We want to seek after more of you because at the end of the day, you are limitless, so my lifetime cannot contain you. There's so much to you I needed my life. There's so much I want to grow in my life, and I'm not there yet, and I will never be there on the earth. But Lord, I want to know that my life has constant progress and growth, that while I'm on this earth, that my best. Days would always be in my now. My best days would not be behind me, they would always be in my present. That I can say, oh my God, that I continually grow in you. Lord, we want that. For everybody watching, I just want you to take this moment for yourself. Just bow your heads or stand up, whatever it is for you, to tap into the consciousness of the presence of God in your home in this world place. Lord, Jesus, we thank you. Now. If you're listening, and perhaps you don't even know the Lord, but as I'm sharing this with you, there's something in your heart that says I want that, And not only do I want to know the Lord. I want to seek after him. I want to have the counsel of God in my life. I want to have the confidence of knowing that I am a friend of God. I want to practice friendship with this God I've never even met, but I want to practice it because He's for me and the truth of my life is in his hands. And if that is you, I just want you to tap into this moment and when you get a chance, lator just put in the comments. I'm here, I'm here, Thank you Jesus, because the Lord sees you. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word that has gone for today. Lord, God, Lord God, may it do that which you have purposed in a sign that it will stare up hunger within us. It will stare up a deeper hunger for more of you. That Lord, we're not satisfied where we are. We don't want our best days to be behind us with you. We want it to be in our now, our perpetual now. That Lord, we want to grow in you. We want to grow in the knowledge of who you are and in the wisdom of who you are. That we would not respond to darkness, but we would respond to your word. That what you say, Lord God will be the foundation of our lives. And so we thank you Jesus, Lord, have your way. Thank you, Lord, Thank you Lord, and Lord, as you begin to stare this up in us, we thank you for your spirit that empowers us even more. Lord, we will practice this. I thank you, Lord God, because I'm seeing Lord God, just there there are these ideologies that are being broken off your children. Any thought that they were, that their personality was connected to what was detrimental. But Lord, they have realized that it was just that. They practiced it too much. And I thank you for the grace that is breaking them free out of it to know, Lord God, that there is. More in them. Heavenly, Father, have your way. We thank you for your goodness. We thank you for your greatness, and we thank you for your love that covers us even now. And we thank you, Lord God, that as we practice friendship with you, the Lord, that when you look at us, that you're seeing those that fear the Lord. And to have your way in and through our lives. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen,