Stephanie Ike Okafor - Anchored in God’s Love: Truth Over Assumption

When God wants to put treasure, he locks up treasure in the people that you will naturally look down on. You will think that the most glamorous person in the room is the one you need to connect yourself with. And it's someone at the back of the camera, someone unknown. You don't even know their name, You don't even know you know what they what they eat like for dinner or anything like that. But that person, what God wants to do with that person is somehow connected to the next phase of your life. You see, when God wants to hide treasure, it's in the family member everyone complains about. Isn't it interesting that every family has that one family member every family, the one person that your mother is just like, why couldn't you be like your siblings, Like why is this one my problem child? No? No, no, that is your favorite child, if you see it right, Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, we love you. We thank you for what an honor it is to declare your words so freely. We were just listening to how people are being persecuted in the nation's Lord God, but here we are we can freely gather to proclaim the gospel. Lord, May we never take the simple things for granted, and we thank you that truly we would stand with our brothers and sisters wherever they may be, in whatever capacity that we can. And so even in this moment, Lord God, open up our hearts to receive from you and to be like you transform us from the inside out in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen, you maybe seeing it. No more squatting, But hasn't this conference been a blessing? Amen? Can we just honor Pastorshala, the staff, the volunteers, everyone who's been just doing some overtime work to make sure that this has been a rich blessing that it is. And you know, I've just been so moved by the support towards compassion and also open doors, and I just encourage you know, no one should leave this place without you know, really availing yourself to whether you did with you're gonna adopt a child with compassion or you know, making sure you sign the petition with open doors. It is the least we can do. We are here, we are enjoying the freedom. You go to a store, you buy a bible, no one is harassing you, right, It's the very least that we can do to know how we can be our brother's keeper. And what I love about that. It just really touched me, even in the world that the Lord has given me for today. Yesterday, as we were talking about being anchored in the sense of, you know, having a rooted faith, not just being tossed to and fro, but knowing what that looks like in our lives in a very practical way, and what the Lord just showed me was to really speak on how being anchored in Him is to also be anchored in love. Love is the identity of the Lord. You know. First John four eight says he who does not know love does not know God. For God is love. One of the primary fruits of the Spirit that you will see begins to blossom in your life when you dedicate and surrender your life to Jesus. Is the love of God begins to just It becomes you. It's no longer just a fruit. It becomes your identity because it is the identity of God. You see, in culture, we have this fleeting idea of life that dilutes the potency of it. We reduce it to any emotion, you know, and that's why we say things like, you know, I fell in love with this person and when you fall in, you fall out right because it's you're basing it on just chemistry. You're basing it on just the emotional aspect of it. But that love must first be built and established on what the Bible calls agapay. It is the unconditional love of God, and it's the love that He has called us to walk in. You see, if you don't know a gapey love, it would be hard to build any other type of love on top of that. In the scriptures, you will learn about different expressions of love. You will learn about a gape, you will learn about a filia, which is a love that you have towards a brother, a friend. You will learn about romantic love, but the foundational is agapay. Apart from that, if you only have chemistry with someone, even when look at just what's happening in the nations with marriages and relationships, you will fall in and five months later they irritate you, they put their socks on the door, and you fall out right. But when you understand the unconditional love of God, and that's why something you know even I always try to encourage if you're single and you want to get married, first commit yourself to understanding the covenant love in God before you share that with a person, Because when you understand that for better or for worse doesn't just start with your spouse, It starts with your relationship with the Father. That Lord, whether I'm being persecuted or I'm in freedom, I will stick with you. Weren't you so moved by that lady's story knowing that, Hey, I'm the only parent to my children, but I would rather die than deny Christ. That is someone who understands the unconditional love and covenant she has in Jesus. She didn't compromise to say, you know what, Lord, I just need to get back to my children, so let me just lie for this moment. She understood covenant. She understood that I'm sticking beside you regardless of what happens. And so even in our lives, we're gonna make it practical that what does it How do we reveal the love of God in our lives? And I'm believing that there are gonna be areas that the Holy Spirit would highlight to you about the areas that you need to bring before him and let him work on your heart, because you would know how anchored you are in God by how anchored you are in the identity of His love. You see. One of the things I also believe is that to really understand what the thing is is to understand what it is not right. And so there's some key things when we think about what love is not. Love is not abuse. And this is very key because you know, as Christians, we sometimes tend to go the extreme and a person can get be abused by either a friend or whatever, and you just feel like, I'm just gonna love them through it. No, love is not abused. God's love is holy and it's protective. Now, he will never discard you. But even when the Israelites would abuse Covenant, when they will start serving other gods and give it themselves to other things, the Lord will discipline them. He doesn't. He's not gonna just tolerate what they're doing and say, oh, I just love you so much. It's because of his love that judgment arises. You see, Judgment is not even though we look at judgment as the wrath of God, but it's actually the product of love, because that is the only thing that will now draw the people back to Him. And so love does not tolerate abuse. It doesn't throw the person away, but that there are certain consequences for how you treat this space. There are certain consequences for how you show up in my life, and if you abuse the relationship, I'm not gonna carry biddness in my heart. But there's a way that I have to now bring some form of separation to show you that this is not okay. God will remove his hands sometimes from the Israelites, but never his heart. He never withdrew his love from them, but there were times he would give them over to themselves until they could understand the worthiness of his presence. The Bible says in Hebrews twelve six, the Lord disciplines those he loves. So even in the context of love, yes, there are boundaries that we can set. It's not that because you love someone you're just open. You're just an open door to every kind of nonsense. No. Now, even though there is a show called love is blind, love is not blind. Loving someone does not mean that you ignore sin or evil. Loving someone does not mean you just look the other way when something wrong is taking place. You see what's so interesting when we look at the life of a boy named David who the Lord raised up to become king. And you could tell that even the way the Lord will talk about David, I have found myself one who is loyal to me. He's after the things of my heart. It was a language of God's love. God will say of David, I took you from being a shepherd boy to being king over my people. It is God's love. But Dan, David did the unthinkable. One day he saw a beautiful lady. She was married. He still proceeded slept with the lady. She got pregnant. David was trying to connive and manipulate his way out of the situation. Her husband was at war. He calls them back home, and he's expecting the man to sleep with his wife so that they could believe the child is his. The man had so much integrity he actually doesn't even go inside his house. When David learns about this, he's like, okay, I'm in trouble, and then literally plans on how the man will die in battle. The love of God did not turn a blind eye. When God saw what David had done. There was a judgment that was spoken over him, and it said, David, because you did this, the sword will never depart from your house. It was a big thing because then all of a sudden, that was what gave the enemy legal rights to bring disaster in David's home. Son killing brother, literally two sons. Absalom kills his brother because the brother raped the sister. It was chaos. Then Absalom is now trying to be king and was open to the idea of killing his father. It was an open door for the enemy. But the Lord would not say, David, I just love you so much, I'm gonna act like I didn't see this. He said, no, I'm gonna correct you. And because of this, you have opened the door for calamity in your home. Love is not blind, and as we're talking about, love is not conditional. God's love towards you is not based on your performance. It's not based on what you do. It's because of who he is. And this is important to know because this is who he's calling you to be, not only to yourself, but also to others. You see, So when we look at the Bible and it now talks to us about what is love, it also unpacks more of what love is not. But look at this and one Corinthians thirteen from verse four to seven. I love how the NLT just unpacks this. It says love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful, a proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, Love never loses faith. It's always hopeful and endures through every circumstance. But let's unpack that a little bit, and I would encourage you to take notes, because I believe this is where the Holy Spirit is really gonna minister to you. You See, the Bible says love is patient. When I started looking at the translation of these words according to its original context, not just what we know patience to be. But then it says, it is of long spirit, it does not lose heart. It's to persevere patiently and bravely in and during misfortunes and troubles. It is to be patient in bearing the offenses. Look at this and injuries of others that even when someone offends you and someone causes you harm, that there is you ought to be patient with them. You don't just throw people away. We live in a time where you know what, this person is not good for my mental health. I used that line when I was pregnant with my first child. I was craving pizza so bad. I've shared many things about pizza. I need to really look into that. But I was craving pizza so much. And my husband was like, Babe, you know we gotta keep it healthy. You know you're pregnant. And I said, babe, it's not good for my mental health. If I don't get pizza. It is driving me crazy right now. But you see, oftentimes we look at certain relationships and we were just quick to labeling. This is a generation that has mastered the art of labeling of this person. Narcissist. Can't hang around them, oh manipulative, can't be around them. There are not a safe space for me. And everything is mental health. It's oh my mental health. It's just not safe. But the Lord is saying, now, if imagine if you were not good for the Lord's mental health, with all the things he knows about you, you are not his safe space. Imagine if that's how the Lord treated you. You see sometimes why the Lord is telling us to be patient with people even when they offend us and injure us. Is that look beyond what just took place. You see, there are some things that even though you were on the receiving end and had nothing to do with you, it is also the product of their own pain and brokenness. Now this is not to say to not use wisdom, because again, love is not blind. It is not going to tolerate abuse, but it does not discard people. Just because someone hurt you, Just because someone offended you, does not mean you discard the person. There should be a compassion in your heart to understand why is this person functioning in this way. Yes, for some times you may need to separate from them, but you don't separate your hearts from them. Their people in this room and their siblings you don't even talk to. They're family members you don't even want to be around, even your own parents. The way you dishonor them in your speech, you don't even realize the biblical consequences for that, because even in their regardless of what they did or what they didn't do, these were the people the Lord assigned to bring you into this world. And so we have people in our lives that we make everything so personal, we make it about us that we don't see them who hurts you, who wronged you, who abused you, And so we have to be patient enough with people to believe that the Lord is going to work on them whenever you can withdraw your presence, but never your heart, because you never know who the Lord wants to use in any given moment to be an open door in your life. You never know who are the gatekeepers to your destiny. And there is a way that God has called you to show up in the world. You see, when the Lord wants to bless you, you know how he does it through people. And sometimes the reason why some seasons feels delayed, it's not because God doesn't have the thing he wants to get to you, but he doesn't know who to get it through, because all the relationships that have access to you are all contaminated that they are having a difficult time to obey the Lord concerning you. They said, oh, I just remembered, Mmm, be patient with people, be patient with yourself. They are things that you may have done in your own life, in your own ignorance. You see, one of the things that the enemy is masterful in doing is that when you don't yet know yourself, he causes you to make a lot of mistakes. When you don't know the gravity of who you really are, he causes you to fall in a lot of corruption, so that when God calls you, you're more aware of your shame than the voice of God. You're more aware of your guilt than what the Lord is revealing to you. You're more cautious of that. But God, if you call me, what if these things come to the light? Let it come to the light. It's actually the marker of the work of God in your life. This was who I was in my ignorance, and this is who I am in Christ. And so also be patient with yourself. The Bible then says love is kind And I love what this meant because it says to show oneself useful. And I thought that was so beautiful, because sometimes you know, there are people that would just say, I'm such a kind person. You justify your own kindness. The truth is, are you useful to others? Are you useful to the needs of those around you? This is what kindness is about. You. See, there are times that you might be in a restaurant, you might be going out somewhere and someone is rude to you, the temptation is to give in to that moment with your friend's circle and talk about the person like, wow, they are just so rude, like who raised you? But no, what if that person just needs a word to be seen, to know that they're hurt, to know that they're felt. I remember, like even in the it was in the air We're in the airport. This was some time ago. We were traveling and there was just so much commotion happening with the airline and people were just angry, and the people working for the airline are taking all of it that they began they became very rude because it's like, you guys are making me your boxing bag, and everyone is just talking about how rude they are and how rude they are, and literally, my husband and I we just walked up to the lady and we were like, hey, we're just checking on you. Are you okay? Do you need something? And it dismantled her. It disarmed her rather and it was almost like she wanted to respond in the same manner as she paused, and she's like I'm okay, thank you. We're like, you know, it's okay. Things are crazy. Everyone is in the airport. They're trying to get somewhere. You know, someone is getting married somewhere, someone is doing something somewhere and they want to catch up, right, But we were just in that moment. What was useful to her was a word of encouragement. Being kind in that situation is to do what is useful to the needs of others in the moment when you have the ability to do it. Avail yourself. Don't give in to the temptation to just gossip or talk about another person as though they are not also a human being created in God's image. Make yourself useful to the needs of others. Then it says love is not jealous. There's some scriptures about jealousy that it just I mean, you should not even entertain it once it creeps up in your life. Proverbs fourteen thirty says a peaceful heart lead to a healthy body. Jealousy is like cancer in the bones. Then look at Proverbs twenty seven, verse four. It says anger is cruel and wroth is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous. And I remember when I first read that scripture, I said, Lord, why is jealousy more dangerous than anger and wrath. And it's what the Lord showed me was Oftentimes, when you're angry with someone, it's about something they did to you that makes you angry at them. When you're jealous about a person, you hate them for who they are. It has nothing about what Some people don't even know these folks, you just have envy and jealousy. I hate you because of who you are, because you remind me of what I think is my You remind me of what I'm supposed to do that I'm not doing. You remind me of the life I desired. But this is so dangerous. The Bible says it's even more dangerous than anger. You see, when I read this scripture, it came. It was almost like a full circle moment of what the Lord meant when he told me. You know, you know, my father was murdered when I was a baby, and he was murdered. It was my uncle that planned the assassination. And when my father and when the Lord revealed to me what happened, he said, it wasn't your uncle that killed your father. It was his jealousy that was an open door for the enemy. And I remember the first time I read this scripture, I said, oh my god, I get it. Because when you have jealousy in your heart, you are an open door for many activities of the enemy. And so the moment you feel it creeping in, shut what ever door that gave it access. If it is social media, every time you go on social media you start feeling envious of other people, shut that door because it could make you do things that you would have never believed that it would be you doing the thing. It will make you open yourselves to all kinds of corruption and all kinds of immorality to achieve something that was not even written in your destiny. If you find yourself that you struggle with jealousy, this is something between you and the Lord. This is not a moment to wave your hand like how many people struggling jealousy over here just look at your neighbor and say it that's me. No, this is between you and the Lord. If you find yourself struggling with that, it's also an issue of it's an identity crisis. You don't know who you are, you don't know what you're able to achieve what the Lord has called you to do. You don't believe enough in your you are judging yourself, either by your age or by your resources or whatever. Begin to seek the Lord. Show me me, show me what you've called me to do. In you, reveal to me the like whatever lie the enemy has planted in my mind, expose it and cast it out. Lord, you do not entertain jealousy, then itself that love is not boastful. And that word talks about self display. I thought that was hilarious when you just want to display who you are, all the things you've achieved, all the things you have done, above the will and agenda of God for the moment you see, Jesus was on the cross. Jesus had the power to call on angels and wipe everybody out and still die on the cross. He had the power when they were beating him. He could literally shut it down in one second. But he did not put self above God's mission. It was not about him being on display. It was about the will of God being on display. You see, you have to desire God's will over your desire for people to see you. And what does that look like. Sometimes you may have you could have the seed of being boastful, and you need to kill it in seed form. And what does that mean? When you have this thing where you desire the stage, you desire lives, You desire things to only happen in your life so you can show off. You desire to buy certain things you desire to have certain you know, luxury items, not because you like the design, not because it just speaks to you, not because you're a fashion guru. You just want it so people could know I've arrived. You want this car so bad, just so that when you drive in you drive slow to the valet because the car you currently have you like, where is the furthest parking? And I'll just walk. I'll beat you guys there, I'm just gonna take a walk. This is the seed of being boastful. And if you find yourself in that, you need to kill it quickly because what is exposing is that you're not as anchored in God as you think, because to be anchored in Him is to be anchored in his love. You see, these are the open doors that causes the enemy to distract people easily. These are the open doors that causes the enemy to have you on a path that has nothing to do with the will of God, but it has everything to do to satisfy the desires of your flesh boastful. Anytime. There are times I will meet people and whenever they will tell me, you know, I just want to be a leader. I wanna lead, lead, lead, I've run away from such people. I said, Oh, you are definitely not ready to lead anything, because the desire to lead is already dangerous to me because the heart posture behind it is boastfulness. You just want to get in a place where you can display self. Why don't you serve first? Why isn't your desire to serve? Because Jesus says that the leader is the servant. Why aren't you more curious about how can I serve God's people? I was hearing earlier today that pastor Ago was in the parking lot. That is a servant's heart. A women's conference. Look at all the men serving showing up. Let's give it up for them, not just I wanna You know, I'm only gonna serve if I'm doing something where people could see me, if I'm gaining something that would help me acquire more things, things, things, things you can like, things that are luxurious. I'm not mad at that, But why what is the reason behind it. What is the motivation behind it? Is it just to brag? Because actually you don't realize this is what is the enemy can use at a giving opportune moment to distract you from the will of God. Then it says love is not proud. It does not inflate itself, it does not puff up itself. The Bible talks about how God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble, because a prideful person thinks more of themselves than they really are, and when they do that, they see others as less than you see. When you walk in pride, you would miss out on the treasures that God places in your life because God does not give treasure the way we do. When we give someone something valuable, you know a way we wrap it up. There's a way even how we present it. You know, when it's something not valuable, you could just drag it on the floor, just throw the box, just say hey, I got your gift. You know, when it's valuable, how you even carry it in the car it matters. But you see, when God wants to put treasure, he locks up treasure in the people that you will naturally look down on. You will think that the most glamorous person in the room is the one you need to connect yourself with, and it's someone at the back of the camera, someone unknown. You don't even know their name, You don't even know you know what they what they eat like for dinner or anything like that. But that person, what God wants to do with that person is somehow connected to the next phase of your life. You see, when God wants to hide treasure, it's in the family member everyone complains about. Isn't it interesting that everything family has that one family member, every family, the one person that your mother is just like why couldn't you be like your siblings? Like why is this one my problem child? No, no, no, that is your favorite child. If you see it right, God doesn't put treasure the way you think. Look at David. Even the prophet sam Will, the one who literally was just raised up in the presence of God. When he comes to the house of Jesse, he sees the first born and in his own heart he's like, surely this is God's anointed. Yep. He looks the part that's the one, and God shares with him a mystery. He says, I don't see the way you see. Man looks at the outward appearance. I look at the heart. The person I've chosen is not even here. So the prophet is walking through everyone, and it's like, men, are they not? Is this all the sons? Because I know I heard the Lord where he told me to come to this house. Even the father could not see how God sees. The father did not even see the need to separate David from his duties. When the prophet says, I need to see all your sons. The father could not even comprehend that there will be any reason the prophet needs to see David. He's just a shepherd boy. God hides treasure, you sees. Sometimes you have a fall out with a person. You had an expectation of them that they did not meet. Something went wrong in the relationship. At one point you both were very close, and things just kind of fell off in a way that not in a way that cost harm or anything, but they just didn't meet your expectation. And you believe that, you know what, I'm just gonna withdraw my heart from you, knowing that what may feel to you like rebellion, what may feel to you like this one is just lost. Actually there's treasure in that person that if you guys, will come together again, if you would rid yourself of your own ego and your own pride, and you will see what God wants to do with that person and partner with it. The fruit is going to be something powerful. See, I believe that many of you you're receiving as I'm speaking, the Holy Spirit is reminding you of things. Right now? What have you discarded because you are looking for what is shining. You're looking for the glamor to connect yourself to, not knowing it's the people that you just walk past, the people you may make fun of, are actually the gatekeepers to destiny. These are the people that would be in rooms at opportune time and they would be asking about someone who's the person they'll you know, how have you heard about these moments when there is just an open conversation about we're looking for a kind of person. That kind of person is you. Everything about who you are fits the description, and you're over in your home, you're praying God, please give me a breakthrough, not knowing that the one you miss street is the one that has access in that room at that point, and they have the ability to call on your name and say, hey, why don't we consider so so so and so. You see, I remember there was a time, and this is why you also have to be obedient to God even when it does not make sense. There was a time that there was a production that we were working on, and I remember there was this young lady, and you know, there were things that just didn't work out the way we wanted to and all of this. But the Lord kept putting on my heart, bless her in such a grand way. Don't allow the circum stands to make you feel like what I should I should give her according to her work. He said, no, no, no, bless her beyond what she did. And I was obedient to that, and so we you know, everything well ended on amazing terms. Now, if I was in my flesh, it would have gone a different direction. You know, the flesh is very alive. That's why we died daily. And now let's be honest, you know. But I obeyed the Lord and I said, okay, I'm gonna do this, you know, the way you've instructed. Years later, that same lady is in a position where they're having a meeting, and what their meeting about is something the Lord has spoken to me concerning years ago, I have this thing for you. But in that meeting, when it was when they were discussing who would be the best person for this, that young lady was the one who mentioned my name, and she was the one who ended up calling me to say, hey, we were in a meeting. I didn't even know that's where she started working. Doors just began to open for her, and God just elevated her very quickly, And she said, they asked about this, and I spoke to them about you, and then there was this whole conversation about, oh my God, she'll be perfect. But what shocked me was not the opportunity. It was the fact that before years prior to that moment, God has spoken to me about this. But the person who would be a gatekeeper in that time would be someone that the enemy will tempt me to treat in a manner that they would even feel like, you know what, I'm done with this person. You have to embody the nature of God's love and those moments of obedience. It's not just to obey and go back to how you would like to act. The obedi does something in you. It begins to kill your own pride and your own ego. You start realizing that way, if this is how God sees it, this is how I should live my life in every circumstance. That even when people, even if someone you know dishonors, you bless them. Bless them in a way that reminds them of their crown, Bless them in a way that reminds them of what God says about them. You don't go tit for tat. You don't respond to evil with evil. This is what it means to not be proud. You humble yourself, and even in moments where you feel like you need to avenge yourself, let God handle that. Your job is to reflect his nature. Then it says love is not rude, And I found it interesting because that what rude actually speaks to being deformed. That when you are rude, you are out of the original image. It's like the angels looking at you like, wow, I don't recognize her right now. Love is not rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not controlling, it's not manipulative. You don't love someone because they act the way you desire. You don't love someone because they act the way you expect. Love does not demand its own way. It's not irritable, right, It's not easily provoked, because for me to be irritated by you again, I'm taking what you're doing personal. But I can see beyond this moment that is not about me. This is about a wound that is actually affecting you, and unfortunately you're just taking it out on me. Love keeps no record of being wronged. You know, there's a very popular saying in culture. When a person shows you who they are, believe them. But this is not the way of love. Again, if Jesus believed what you show them about yourself a few years ago, what would be the outcome? He will not go to the cross, he says, Oh, no, they've showed me who they are. Lord, I believe them. No, yes, you use wisdom. Yes you should watch people, you should want to discern what are the fruits of their life in this season. But you don't hold them to their past. You don't hold your own self to your own past. I love it my pastor one time preach this message. You know I was not me, that version of me. You knew it was not me. But you see, you can't take on this cultural ideologies and implement them in the Kingdom. Yes, you've showed me who you were in that season. But this is actually about thinking the highest thought of people. It's not just saying you know what, I'm just gonna believe that you are where you are, you will never change. No, I'm gonna think the highest thought. That's what God does with us. Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners, because even in our sin, he saw us beyond it. Even in our sin you see, there was no guarantee that his death meant that we would respond to him. There was no guarantee, but he saw beyond where we were. So love keeps no record of wrong. Love does not rejoice in injustice. A very practical story. I remember, I don't know if you guys do this in London, but this is very famous in America. I remember when a friend of mine got into a car accident and depending on your injury level, you could get more money on the payout. And she literally was telling me because she had a neck brace on, and I was like, oh, man, is your neck you know, is it hurting? She was like, no, I just need to keep this on so that when they look into the matter. She would get a higher payout, and you see, we would be so tempted to be like, you go, girl, get that money. No, that is injustice. Yes, you got into an accident, but if you lie about the gravity of your injuries, it's a mockery to God. He saved you. You don't really have any neck pain. You're just acting like you have neck pain. I said, if you may, if you receive money like this, it is it is an injustice before God. I said, what happens if you actually have an accident that causes you what you're lying about? Would you prefer that? And in the moment, she didn't like what I was saying, but later on reached out to me and thanked me because everyone she told encouraged her. They were like, yeah, girl, you know, also go to the hospital. Let the doctors know you need some pain medication. Because when we think of injustice, we're thinking of something grand. You know. It's in the day to day things that your friends must sometimes share with you. It's in the things that people think they're so comfortable about that it's not a big deal. It is a big deal before God. It does not rejoice in injustice, It rejoices in truth. And then look at this. Love never gives up, Love never loses faith, It is always hopeful. It endures every circumstance. And I love how this ends, because to endure is to remain regardless of the circumstance. I'm going to be anchored because I'm first anchored in God. I'm not just anchored in my finances. I'm not anchored in my relationships. I'm anchored in Christ. And because of Him, I can endure every circumstance. See, when the Lord was giving me this word, he reminded me of the Scripture when the Word of God talks about how Jesus grew in favor with God and with Man. If Jesus can grow in favor, the Lord also wants you to grow not only in favor with him, but also amongst your peers, because if you only have favor with God and not with people, you're limited. You also limit what the hand of God can do concerning you, because people are involved in blessing you. When Saul was looking for someone to play music for him, it was someone that recommended David. It was someone that had witnessed him and said, oh no, the boy is a warrior, and he plays so beautiful. When did they see him be a warrior and place so beautiful? You have no idea who's watching you. You have no idea who's paying attention to how you live your life. And this is a time we have to say, you know what, Lord, I'm not just gonna think I'm anchored, But how anchored am I in your love? Because you are love? And the more anchored I am in expressing your identity, the more anchored I am in you. And here is the thing, There is no good thing God would withhold from such people in the season. It's allocated for Even listening to the lady's testimony who talked about her husband being murdered and holding on to her faith in God, this open doors is a miracle to their prayers. You see, there are things that God will bring to you that you don't even know how it's gonna get to you. But when you stay faithful to Him, when you're anchored in his love, he will not withhold good things from your life. Don't fall into the temptation to live how culture tells you, because this is about the kingdom, and the kingdom is always called to influence culture, not the other way around. We're gonna pray. Just stand with me. Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, and very quickly we're a bit out of time. But if you know, and what I love about alter calls, it's not just people walking up to the altar, it's about walking into change. You know, I walked in one way, I had my seat, I was comfortable. But you know what, before I walk out of this place, I'm gonna step into an opportunity that I'm in agreement with change over my life. And I know there are people tuning in and maybe just you know, shift, stretch a little bit, you know, just do a little something unless you're driving and just bob your head. But even in this moment, and you know that as the message was going forward, there were things that the Holy Spirit was convicting in your heart, and he was showing you. You see, with God, it's never about condemnation, it's never about shame. It's not that he just wants to poke at you. But that when the Holy Spirit brings things to mind, is that now I have an awareness of where I'm falling short and I need the grace of God to pick me up. What the Lord showed me is that you see that there's a scripture about how you know the Lord will take away the hearts of stone and give a heart of flesh. There is a grace in this moment where you can present yourself before God to purify your heart, because some things can be very difficult to let go of. Some things were just like no, because you feel like holding onto and it's holding onto your power. If I hold onto this offense, if I hold onto this hate, if I hold onto this bitterness, it's my power. If I hold onto this jealousy, then you know I'm gonna get to that place where I can show people who I really am. It's all pride. You don't want to fall the same way Lucifer fell, and you don't want to fall for his tricks because his goal is to get people to make the same mistake he made and to brag about it. What I did. They're doing too. Be anchored in God's love. And so if that is your prayer this afternoon, that Lord purify my heart, touch my heart the areas of what I'm struggling with, give me the wisdom to shut any door that is causing it to sip in. If that is you just want to the altar very quickly step into this moment of change, and we are gonna pray. Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. There is so much more to you than you know. There are things that if the Lord could only open the books of what he has written concerning you, it will blow you away. But life and experiences and trauma, and you know the things that we go through. It has a way of writing a new story that God did not write. It has a way of telling you you're unworthy. It has a way of telling you you're not good enough. It has a way of telling you, oh, look at all those people, their lives are better than yours. No, everything in God is connected to times and seasons, and the key thing is to be aligned when your season comes. The race is not to the swift. It's not because someone is a good runner that wins the race. No, they were just aligned with their season. That's it. And the enemy's job is to get you to a place when your season comes. You're distracted. You're focusing on an offense, you're focusing on a bitterness, and you don't even understand even when the Bible says guard your heart for everything you do will flow from it. It's about the boundaries of your life. Your heart. The posture of your heart determines the boundary of your life. It determines how far you can go with God. You have to guard your heart. You don't celebrate injustice. Do you know that even one of the greatest temptations in this time is to be excited when you know when you see the wicked fall, that is dangerous because it's your heart that's getting corrupted. Whatever is happening to the let it happen to them and move on. You thank God for his justice, but it's not for you to rejoice in someone's downfall. You pray that Lord, let this fall actually bring them to a place of redemption. Let it bring them to a place of repentance. Because everything is after the purity of your heart. If Satan can contaminate your heart, he can control the seasons of your life. You don't give him that leverage. It's it's it's it's you know, gossip is a thing that we women, we enjoy. You know. It's like when someone texts you dot dot dot even if you're on your phone. You see dot dot for iPhone users, Android I don't know what you guys say. You get excited when it's your girlfriend. Ooh what is she about to say? For us? We have this thing child and you're like, oh, what happened? It's temptation. Don't always fall for it because it's corrupting your hard I can never forget one time I was, you know, there was some things that were happening, and I was just so engaged and I'm like, Oh, what's gonna happen today with this person? And the Lord gave me a dream because what we were engaging in was gossip. But you see, sometimes gossip doesn't look that like, you know, alarming, because you're like, I'm just talking with my girls. And the Lord gave me a dream. And the dream was so simple. I had dirty laundry. That was the dream. There was dirty laundry I had forgotten about in a bathtub, and when I came to the tub, I'm like, oh my gosh, this is like my clothes. Why is it dirty? And I woke up and I was like, what kind of dream is this? And the Lord said, focus on your life. You were abandoning the things you need to clean up, and you were over here entertaining foolishness. That dream stayed with me. So whenever I find myself one in to jump into the temptation, I just think dirty, dirty laundry, No dirty, and it was dirty, you know when the water changes color. It's that kind of dirt. The Lord is like, you're over here, so involved in what is happening to another person, not even from a pure heart, that you have abandoned what needs to be clean in your life. And the laundry is something that was intimate. Who was the Lord showing me your heart is corrupted? You don't even know you're allowing your heart to be corrupted in this manner. You don't even know there are things as believers, you see Kingdom people don't live like everyone else. We show the world how to live like Jesus did. We don't adopt the ways of culture and just say, you know, but I love Jesus, but I'm still gonna do X, Y and Z. Your heart is at stake. If Satan can control your seas, he has your life. And so in this moment, let's just pray before God. Just close your eyes and lift up your hands. Heavenly Father, we love you and we know that what we are seeking for Lord God, it is only by your hand, it is only by your grace. These words will mean nothing if your spirit does not move through them, if their spirit does not move in our hearts. Oh God, Lord, your daughters are coming before you, even your sons in this room. As they're serving, they're acknowledging, Oh Lord, that there are things in my heart that are corrupt. There are things I give myself to and I didn't even realize. It reveals that I'm not as anchored in you as I thought, because these behaviors and these patterns don't reveal love and its identity. And to Holy Spirit, I pray for a cleansing that will take place in the lives of your children right now, a cleansing that will bring purity from the inside out, and that Holy Spirit, let your voice be louder than ever when we find ourselves entertaining the way of corruption, that you would caution us that the voice of your conviction will be louder than the pleasure of what we're entertaining. We give you full permission, Lord, that when we are lost in our way, redirect us. When we find ourselves and things that we don't even know that we are going in the path of destruction. Speak to us. We give you authority to discipline we your children when we do that which is not pleasing before you discipline us, Lord God, that we may be shaped and formed into your image, that it would become the natural response of our lives to respond according to the desires of the spirit. We thank you Lord, for you hear us. And there is a grace to empower your people right now, and we receive of that grace in Jesus' name. We pray Amen, Amen, Amen,