Stephanie Ike Okafor - Don't Waste Your Life

One of the agendas of Satan in this last days is not for you to not know Jesus. It's for you to mix him with other things. Because the enemy knows they are people that he cannot pull away from their knowledge of knowing that Jesus is real. Demons also know that he is Lord, but he is not dear Lord. The enemy is not trying to push you away from saying from calling on the name of Jesus, but he wants to deceive you that you can call on his name. But your life glorifies Satan, Heavenly Father, we thank you, Jesus. We love you. It is an honor that we get to have intimacy and relationship with you. It's an honor that we can call you Abba. It's an honor that we know that when we call on you, you hear us and you answer us. And so as we have gathered today full of expectation that Lord, that you will speak to your children, we thank you Lord that we are not here for people, but that we would recognize that we are only just vessels of what you want to usher in. And so Lord, make your presence known, make your word be clear and be received in our hearts. I come against every callousness of heart in the name of Jesus. There are some that have walked in here and disappointment after disappointment, feeling as though you don't hear their prayers and their own what they feel like. This is the last thing I can do. But Lord, I pray that you would revive their hope, you would revive their faith, that they would know that indeed you're not only a good God to those they know, but you are a good God to them. So have your way in Jesus' name. Amen, Amen, maybe seated, thank you Lord. You know, as we continue, I've been I was listening even earlier as past Thediity was ministrying, and I can't wait to catch up on all the messages that I've missed. But there is just such a beautiful even from yesterday, what was taking place, just it's you know, when the Holy Spirit puts something together, when you see the synergy in the world. And so I'm so excited just for what the Lord has placed on my heart. And before we get into the message, there's something I want us all to just think about and ponder on. You see, as human beings who are created in the image of God. It is our natural inclination to always pursue greatness. We don't just get into something. You've never met a person that you know. When you ask them what is their hope of design for something that they're pursuing, they say mediocrity. It is just not our nature, because as we are created in the image of God to reflect his excellence, there is this thing in us that wants to see not just something in its potential, but to see the potential of a thing revealed. And so when you think about it, there was a time where humanity lived in caves. But from that place we have advanced and got it into the discovery of technology, electricity, architecture, and all these things. We did not come onto the earth with buildings. We discovered how to build, we discovered how to work, how to defy gravity, and the creation of an airplane. It's in our nature to pursue how can we take something from its potential and maximize it. It's our in our nature to want to win. It's our nature to want to know Lord, everything that is in me, how do I make the most out of it. We do this even with our own personal desires. If you've started. Anyone who has started a business does not start a business to be in lass. You start a business to be in profit, and each year you want to exceed what you reached. If you move into an apartment, the moment you move in, you start believing and dreaming about your home. Then when you purchase your first home, now you start thinking and dreaming about your dream house. In everything we do, there is always this pursuit for more, and it's not a negative thing. It only becomes negative when more defined who you are. It only becomes negative when you place your identity in what you can obtain, because now that becomes a stronghold rather than a blessing. You see it right, and it works for you in the way God intended. When you can recognize that everything God has given me the ability to steward, whether it's my intelligence, my creativity, my work ethic, whatever the Lord has given me to be a steward over is for the advancement of His kingdom. When you have the kingdom in view, it's not a negative thing. It only becomes a stronghold of the enemy when it defines who you are, because you will never get fulfilled just by pursuing more. But you will have a fulfillment when you are in pursuit in the lane that the Lord has called you to, because, as our scripture tells us, the Lord says have dominion. So when you are pursuing dominion for his glory, it's not negative. But the reason I'm sharing this is for something deeper, because we would do this for the things on earth, But then we sometimes fail to realize if I would give my alle just to grow concerning the things on earth, how am I building concerning eternity? You see, I've learned, just even as a pastor, that the average Christian does not really have an eternity mindset. We have a now mindset the things we want to do on earth without fully thinking, how are the things that I'm building on earth? How is it playing a role towards eternity. I remember when the Lord taught me something, and he showed me how sometimes what amounts to greatness on earth can actually be a hindrance to why Heaven calls people great because on Earth what we see is, you know, you will look at someone and admire them based on how many followers they have in our generation, right, you will look at someone and admire them based on what they have, their wealth and all these things. But that does not necessarily mean you're grade in heaven. Now it's success a bad thing, Like I said, it's not. We are creating in the image of an excellent God, and so when you do things in excellence, you will attract favor, you will attract increase. But what I'm trying to say is that sometimes we lose sight of what truly matters if we're only pursuing success from an earthly perspective. I remember one time I had to minister in a church, and when I got to that church, there was a lady, an older lady, sitting all the way in the back. And I remember the Lord giving me a vision of her before I got to the church. And when I was at the church, I see the lady. And this is a lady who was not known by anyone. She was not known by the pastor, she was not really involved in any groups or anything. And now remember in that ministry, the Lord says, this woman's prayers is what is holding this ministry together. A woman who might be regarded as least Heaven recognized her as mighty. You see, sometimes we get it wrong. We sometimes admire platforms, and we sometimes admire accolades and awards, but we have to discern the greatness I see in front of me. Does it also amount to what Heaven regards as great? Because if your pursuit of success would remove you from surrender, obedience and a posture, a posture of sacrifice before God, then it's not kingdom success. It's an earthly success that will fade away with you. I share this because what the Lord has put on my heart to speak on as we focus on this theme about Jesus, is really to speak about the rewards we receive after this life. You see your life on earth, the scripture will say, it's like a vapor. But after this there is not only as believers. If you have truly genuinely given your heart to Jesus, you will be saved. But being saved is not just the height of it, because when you come face to face with your Lord and Savior, they're gonna be works that would be tested by fire, and based on what those works reveal, there are rewards that God has for you. I want to read a scripture quickly. It shows us in First Corinthians, chapter three, from verse thirteen to fourteen. I'm just gonna skip through some parts. It says the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is, and then it goes on to say if anyone at work end yours, he will receive a reward. You see, sometimes we have this idea that in heaven everyone is just on the same level. All we do is sing all day long. But there are different levels in heaven. There are different levels of reigning with Christ in heaven, and you don't just want to show up and even you know, there are times that Jesus will use the language of this, who is the least in my kingdom? So they can be a least and they can be a great. Can you imagine pursuing greatness on earth and then you get to heaven and you are regarded as the least in heaven. Can you imagine that you could suffer loss of rewards that Jesus hasks for you simply because you didn't see it properly about how you ought to live your life on earth. I often say that salvation brings us back to Eden, and in Eden it's about walking with God. It's not just the salvation is the end all be all. It is the beginning of your walk with God, because your salvation reconciles you back to God. Now, what do you do with that relationship. Is it just to say I'm saved? Or can you partner with Him that your life will truly have a meaning on this earth. You see, when you have eternity in view, it's not just about making heaven. It's about who you become even in heaven. I always encourage people read the Book of Revelation. There is a blessing just by reading the book, reading the chapter, and many people would read it and they feel like I just don't understand it. Before you read the Scripture's axtra. Holy Spirit, open this to me because when you study and you take your time, it will open up your heart to realize there is so much more beyond what I know now, and it will open you to realize, Lord, I really want to make this life. I don't just want to live a life in pursuit of what the world acknowledges that success if you're not in it. I want to build on this earth and let it be known that what I'm building on this earth mirror is what you're building, not just me building things. That amounts to nothing, and Heaven does not realize or recognize it. You see, we're gonna be focusing on the scripture today, and our main text will be First Corinthians, chapter nine, from verse twenty four to twenty seven. And this is the apostle Paul speaking, And he says, do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize, run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run us not with uncertainty. Thus I fight not as one who beats the air, but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection. Less, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. You see, what is so fascinating about this scripture is that, first of all, when the apostle Paul uses this analogy of an athlete, any athletes in the room, beautiful, look at that he uses this analogy of an athlete, especially even in the context of a runner. You will never see someone join a team just to be part of a team just to say, you know what, the goal of me joining is just to have on the uniform. No, they're joining with winning in mind, and so an athlete, everything about them is trained for that moment. The way they eat, the way they sleep, the way they work out, where they go, everything about their life and their schedule is training for that moment when they have to show up. And the apostle Paul says, they do this for a crown that does not even last. They do this for a crown that doesn't even have that much weight. Then how much more you, as a believer, how do you live your life to receive what is an imperishable crown? You see, sometimes when we think about eternity, it doesn't seem exciting. It doesn't seem like something we should look forward to, because it's almost like, you know what, I'm here right now, I have bills to pay, rent is due tomorrow, and you're telling me about the kingdom that is to come. But the beauty of this when the Bible talks about different rewards that we would receive from Christ, it's not just what it means to us when we get to heaven. It's what it reflects about how we lived on earth. It's what it shows us about the way that was I really in alignment with God in how I walk this life. You see, it's so interesting because the Bible actually talks about at least five different crowns that are available to you when you make it to heaven. And we're gonna talk about this, and then we're gonna talk about the one which I want to highlight based on this scripture a bit more. The first one you might read about is called the Crown of Life, and this and for those who endure faithfully until the end. Every true believer will receive this crown from Jesus. In James one, verse twelve, it says, blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he would receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. This crown represents the gift of eternal life. Then number two, there is the crown of righteousness, and this is for those that lived in rights standing with God. Two Timothy for and from verse seven to eight, it says, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day. You see, this is a crown that is given to those that lived in faithful obedience. Then we have what is called the crown of glory. It's also known as the shepherd's crown. These are for faithful pastors and leaders that shepherd God's flock. In Firs. P. Five two, first p. Chapter five, from verse two to four, it says, shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not the compulsion, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly, nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you would receive the crown of glory that does not fade the way. This are reserved for shepherds and leaders. Do you see how there is so much more to what happens in heaven to what we sometimes commonly hear. You see, I remember, if you listen to my messages, you may have heard this story. I remember one of my first encounters in heaven, and I was taken up, and I remember seeing this round table and that table was called the Seats of Influence. It was where decisions were made concerning the Earth. It was where there were people that would gather and the Lord Jesus would begin to share what he has already decreed in Heaven concerning what needs to take place on the earth. And I remember when we were all called up to this place. There were people who literally are existing on the earth like the real life people, but it was almost as though their spirits were summoned without their knowing, and some maybe they knew. You see, there are times you haven't countered. It would feel like a dream, it would feel like a memory, and you don't know it was actually a real encounter with the Lord. But something so interesting happened in that encounter that I could it could never leave me. One of the people that was there was someone who I had recognized because she's someone who is well known, and that person was invited. There was a change in of the guards. There were people who were seated around that table that it was almost that their time has retired because they were going to be called up to the Lord. So there were new people being presented to sit on that table. You see, Heaven is not just about people just flying up and down singing. There is a lot of details. There is strategy, there are discussions, there are meetings had. That's why when you read the Book of Revelation, you would even understand that even after the Lord comes, there will be a new Earth and the new Heaven, and that it's so much details that shows you this is really about a kingdom and a king who would show his rulership in all majesty. So there's this table and there are new people invited, and there was a lady and at the time she was in music, she would be the farthest thing from what someone would say, you know what, this person loves the Lord. And all of a sudden there was an angel who began to speak concerning her. And when he spoke to her, it was almost like when the Lord is speaking and commanding your spirit about the thing that your mind has not even cut up to. Do you remember the story of Elijah when the Lord said to Elijah, I have commanded a widow to feed you. But when Elijah met the widow, she didn't know what he was talking about. So in this moment, in this encounter, the Angel of the Lord is speaking to this lady that this lady is called to be an evangelist, but because of her current career, she is not able to express the Lord the way she has been ordained to. And then they tell her about the business that she would start. They spoke the name of the business, and that when this business begins that there will be so much favor and increase that it would remove her from her current line of business so that she would have the freedom. And in that place of financial freedom, the Lord will start working on her and he would raise her up to be a mighty evangelist of the Gospel. When I came out of this encounter, there are many things, but I wouldn't use this as an example. When I came out of it, I heard the name of the business, I heard everything. I remember sharing it with a friend of mine and my brother, and I was like, this is so interesting. A couple years later, she started at business and she called it according to what the Angel of the Lord said. Now you see, there are times where you have this idea, you have this thought in your heart, and you don't know that it is Heaven working alongside you, because there is need for you to have influence on the earth so that you can advance God's kingdom. There is need for you to have wealth on the earth so that you can advance the Kingdom of God without compromise. So there is so much in how we partner with God and what happens in Heaven that your life. I always say this. You have to know there is nothing random about your life. You were not placed on this earth to just live a mediocre a lifestyle that is almost like plug and play. Will you do what everyone else does? You have to find your identity in Christ. What have you called me to do? Lord? What have you called me to build? What is it that you have ordained for me? That whatever I'm doing on this level would mirror me building something in heaven for you? And sometimes it may not look so glamorous. Sometimes it might be that stay at home mom who has dedicated her life to make sure that her children knows the ways of God. You would be surprised. Another thing I remember the Lord showing me is how some of the people that are on the front lines of his army were mothers who committed their lives to making sure that their children will know the ways of God. But you have to know in your own unique way, what did God call you to do not just pursuing success from an earthly standpoint, because if that is your pursuit, you can miss authority from a heavenly perspective. Do you know it's so interesting when there was only one time you see Jesus use this language. Whenever Jesus is talking about how people's names are written in the Book of Life, the Bible would literally say, we'll talk about the Book of Life. But there was a time with his disciples when his disciples he had given them authority to cast out demons. And the disciples return to Jesus, and you're so excited, and they were like, wow, Lord, the demons will literally be cast out when we call on your name. They were so excited that they had authority over demonic spirits. And Jesus said something so unique to them. He says, don't rejoice that demons are cast out when you know by you praying and all that stuff. He says, rejoice that your name is written in heaven. He didn't say the Book of Life. He said in heaven. There is a place in heaven that for those that the Lord has given authority to, because remember, heaven is also layered heaven is not all that represents where the throne Room of God is. There is a layer in heaven where literally where demonic spirits rule, because when the Lord created the heavens, so even when Satan was cast down and all the angels and those that went with him were cast down, it was not just about them being cast down to the earth. There was still a realm in the heavens that they can abide in that has nothing to do with where the throne Room of God is. But that is where there is a lot of spiritual wickedness and deception and wick and not just there's a word that will come to me, Holy Spirit, but what principalities dwell. And so Jesus says, rejoice that your name is written in heaven, that you are known in heaven, not just by me, but even that the principalities and powers against my kingdom know who you are. That is why when the sons of Skiva went to deliver what they tried to deliver someone possessed by a demonic spirit, and they started to do it based on how they saw someone else do it. And the demon responded and says, Jesus, we know Paul, we know who are you. We have not seen your name anywhere. We don't have any recognition of your authority over us. Who are you? And they beat them up, took all their oats away. I don't know what they did with them, but they just took it off. You want to have authority with God. You want to be known by God. You don't want to just have what is perceived as authority on earth, and you don't have it in heaven. So as we continue, and when we talk about these rewards number four, there is the crown of rejoicing, which is also known as the soul Winner's crown, I want to challenge you, when was the last time you told somebody about Jesus? When was the last time you told that neighbor or that person that irritates you, rather than making your engagements with them gossip, rather than making your encounters with them something you can talk about while doing your hair, that you actually could lead them to a solution. Do you know that anyone who does not no Jesus, you've not really met them. The Bible says that your life is hidden in Christ. If you have not encountered them, you have not even come to know who you are. So why should I be arguing, Why should I be irritated by? Why should I use my time to gossip about someone who I've not really met? What are you doing about the people that irritate you? What are you doing about the people you can't stand? Do you pray for them? Do you seek for them to have an encounter with the Lord? Do you pray for opportunities where you can spread the gospel? Are you a walking epistol? Do people see your life and want a desire to know who is the God you serve? Or do they look at you and they are actually more affirmed in their way of life? Do you know that there are people that God will put around you so that your life itself could be a seed but instant what we demonstrate makes them even believe. I would never want to serve a God like whoever that person serves. I never want to know their God. We have to challenge ourselves. Let me tell you, gossip is a very sweet thing. It's very entertaining to call people and just chatter and just say, girl, let me tell you what happened the other day, and to just go back and forth, back and forth. But I want to challenge you in your relationships. If the people you're closest to, if ninety percent of the conversation is only gossip, that is not a kingdom relationship. If the people that you call the most weigh your conversations with them, what do we talk about the Is it other people? Is it how you know this person did this and that person did that, And there's no solution. It is just to talk about it. If that is the majority of your conversation, you don't even realize how that relationship has entangled you in mediocrity. You don't even realize how that relationship is keeping you bound from who God called you to be. Because if you don't know how to love those who don't love you, you've not really started in your walk with God. The Bible says, look, even wicked people know how to love the people that love them. We have a different spirit, We are of a different nature. We don't just treat people based on only how they treat us. If you love me, I will love you back. We see people right. We are after people knowing Jesus. We recognize that you know what this person is acting this way because you don't really know who you are. Can you remember who you were? Before you met the Lord. Can you remember how you used to talk, where you used to go, how you used to behave Then all of a sudden we come to know Jesus and we start to condemn and judge everyone that was just like us. All of a sudden we come to know Jesus and everyone else that we walked in their path. We look at them as less than rather than asking for the same mercy that met us to locate them. It doesn't mean that you tolerate evil, no, But it doesn't mean that you lose your compassion for people, that you lose your love, that your love grows cold concerning God's people. So there is a crone of rejoicing. In First Tessalonia's two nineteen it says, for what is our hope of joy or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming. This was about soul winning. And in the scripture that we just read there is the incorruptible crown, which is also known as the victor's crown. You see, this is demonstrated when we die daily, when we have the awareness and understanding that this life I live is simply a vessel for what God. How God can express his nature, his will, and his purposes on the earth. You see so many times you would hear people ask like, if God is real, if God is this, why is there so much evil in the earth? And God is like, that is exactly why I sent you, The reason I sent you in this earth, the reason I encounter, the reason you have a relationship with me is so that you would manifest who I am on this earth. Because He gave you dominion over this earth. He gave you authority. He told you to take territory concerning this earth. And if we don't understand the responsibility, if we don't understand that we are cold laborers with God simply because we got distracted for pursuing things that don't have our name on it, just because we want to be perceived a certain way, we lose it. We miss the point of this life and a few things that I want us to talk about, because you see, when we talk about the incorruptible crown, I was praying and asking the Lord, why have an emphasis on this when there's so many other rewards that I mentioned in the scripture? And what I understood you see apart from what is known as the crown of Glory or the shepherd's crown. If you really understand the lifestyle that you must embody on earth to receive this in heaven, then every other thing is easily accessible to you. Because there are times that you might even call yourself a Christian and you may not really be who you think you are. You see, it's so interesting. One of the scariest scriptures in the Bible to me is when Jesus would say, many will come to me on that day and say, Lord, Lord, Lord, we did this in your name. We did that, we prophesied, we heal the sick, we cast out demons in your name. You have to realize, they said, Lord, Lord, Lord. They believe that they had lived their life saying Jesus is Lord. But what did he say to them? He says, get away from me. I never knew you. And then he goes on to say, you workers of iniquity. You spoke about me, you moved in power to some degree, but you are a worker of iniquity. You lived according to the appetites of your flesh. You did injustice. You never really lived for me. You just did things in my name for personal gain. But this is what they actually believed. They were living a life that on the last day they would go to Jesus and he would embrace them. He said, I never knew you, We never had intimacy. The way you lived was never for me. It was all about you. When you understand the incorruptible crown. And I love that it's called the incorruptible crown because not only are you living your life to receive what will not perish, but that on the earth you live in such a way that the enemy cannot corrupt you, that the enemy cannot use you for his agenda. You see, one of the agendas of Satan in this last days is not for you to not know Jesus. It's for you to mix him with other things, because the enemy knows they are people that he cannot pull away from their knowledge of knowing that Jesus is real. Demons also know that he is Lord, but he is not dear Lord. The enemy is not trying to push you away from saying, from calling on the name of Jesus, but he wants to deceive you that you can call on his name. But your life glorifies Satan that you can come and shout and praise and do a whole, you know, five hour prayer meeting. But after the prayer you're wicked. After the prayer, you have unforgiveness in your heart, after having all this time. I remember when I wanted to start speaking in tongues and somebody was there, right attaid, Wow, that sounds like a rap song. Sarah, right, you know, Lord, forgive me. I serious. But what I'm trying to say is that you can do all of that, but right after who is the puppet master of your life? The enemy. That is why the Bible will talk about how false prophets would rise up in the last days. They'll be false teachings. There will be what is known as doctrine of demons. And you know who is targeted after Christians, those who proclaim to be Christians. He's not after you losing your title as a Christian. He's after your fruit. He's after your life style. And so when you understand the incorruptible Crown, when you understand what it means to live in a way that is so intentional before God, It's not just about what you receive when you're in heaven. It's about what you modeled when you were on earth to receive the rewards from Jesus. And so very quickly, I want to just go over five key principles when it comes to living with this level of intentionality. Remember, there were some things that we saw in the scripture, even when the Apostle Paul was talking about you know, those who would run a race, they don't run, you know, not to win the prize. This was so interesting because during that time to the Corinthians, it really applied to their lives because their city was the center of those games. And it will be so interesting that these runners, these Roman runners, would literally practice and prepare themselves for ten months only to run for less than ten minutes. For ten months, they will be dedicated for something that will take less than ten minutes. So the Apostle Paul is using an example that is current to them, and we can also see how it applies to us because there are things that we will prepare for. We will take years of preparation for something that would only last thirty minutes. On earth. Want more by living a life that Jesus can be proud of. And so very quickly, I want to just share a few things that we have to hold dear to our heart. Number one, your life is not your own. This is something we know, but you have to It's something I desire that you would meditate on. First Corinthians six, nineteen to twenty. It says you are not your own when you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. There is a quote that I loved so much that was said by the late doctor Mausmuroe, and he says, when the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable. When the purpose of your life is not known, you would abuse your time and the gifts God gave you. When you don't understand the reason behind the breath that you have, you would abuse the time God gave you. You would be in your twenties and feel like that is a time to just party and waste your life. You would be in your thirties and think that you know what I got more time. You would be in your forties and feel like you know what I need to get my groove back. All You would just put labels and labels and labels on things if you don't know the purpose of it. You would abuse it. And no matter how old you are, there is something you can discover about yourself and God. There is something you can understand about your walk with the Lord. Jesus will say not my will, but yours be done Luke twenty two, verse forty two, because at the end of the day, Yes, in this life there are things we would like to do. There are things we will want to try and have a taste for. I would love to live in Italy. Just putting out there, but that is you know. I have to say, not my will, but the Lord's will be done. There are things we must die too, not because they're necessarily bad, but they're not in what the Lord intended for my life. My life is not my own. If you're going to be intentional about your life, it starts with surrender. It starts with recognizing that your life exists for God's glory. Number two, Disciples of Jesus live a consecrated life Romans twelve, verse one. It says, present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. You see, consecration is about setting your life apart for whatever it is God desires to do through you. It is surrendering to the leading of the Holy Spirit. What I've learned about the Lord is that you see in our walk with God, it's not just about Lord. I'm doing all the things you said. I'm not fornicating, I'm not committing this, I'm not doing that. It takes it a step further when the Holy Spirit begins to instructure to not do things that are not necessarily bad. It's just not good for the path He has you on. It's not something that you would you know, someone else will say, oh, man, you could say that the Lord told me to do this, and somebody else said, the Lord did not tell me to do that, because it's not something that is based on doctrine. Foundationally, you could understand how God would work like that in the Bible, but you cannot expect to someone like God told you to not have sweets for a whole year. Is God against candy? No? But for you. Maybe the Holy Spirit has discovered that anytime you find yourself stressed out, anytime you find yourself going through negative emotions, you run to food, particularly sugar. You see, as Christians will be so quick to speak against you. Know, if you hear somebody is smoking marijuana. You said, oh, no, you are relying on drugs. Don't smoke, by the way, But we don't realize the person who is telling that one to say, you know what, don't do that. Rely on the Holy Spirit for clarity relent. That person has an addiction to food, but we weigh it because one visibly looks wrong. We can point the finger, not knowing that in our own lives, the reason that person has run into marijuana is the same reason you run to sugar. So when we talk about consecration, it's not what will be known as bad, but it is how God wants to deal with you intentionally as an individual in a unique way. The Lord might tell you, hey, every day, wake up at this time and meet me for prayer. It's not that the time has the magical power, but it's your obedience to the yielding of his voice that changes everything. The Lord might structure to give up a certain thing, and it's not because you see if the Bible says obedience is better than sacrifice. If the Lord tells you to give up me for a year, don't start trying to advocate for everyone in your family to be a vegan. The Lord is not saying me, it's bad. But for you, there's something up that he wants to have authority in your life. For you, he says, do it. And then sometimes you want to try to justify and say, Lord, I'm just gonna go on a fast for thirty days, I'm gonna do a Daniel fast, and I'm just gonna lay this before you. And that's not what he asks. This is how you see. The Scripture tells us that those who are known as the sons of God are those who are led by the Spirit of God, and sons is not about gender. It's just about inheritance. So when you want to be known by God, when you want him to have invested interest in your life, are you yielded to the promptums of His Holy spirit? Do you live a consecrated life? What is the mark of consecration in your life right now? What is something that the Lord has said to you? But you try to finish your way out of it because you felt like being a Christian is defined by what you do in your own way. Have you sought the Lord to say, Lord, how would you want my life to be tailored? Have you sought him about what he desires from you being a disciple of Jesus requires or you live a consecrated life. You see, consecration will position you to walk in spiritual authority because your choices, the choices you make matters to God. It shows whose side you're really on. When He gives you an instruction and you obey it's recorded before him. You begin to grow in your authority in the spirit. You see Number three, Give yourself to prayer and to the word of God. Matthew four four it says man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Some in a one nineteen verse one oh five it says, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. You want to have a true hunger for God's word, especially in this time that we're living in. Right now, there is going to be so much deception that comes up. You have to know the word of God for yourself, outside of a Sunday service, outside of a conference. You want to live in a way that your daily life shows that you study His word. You might be studying the Bible and it feels like you don't understand it. It is in your commitment and in your faith to know that God, it is your desire that I grow in your word. The Holy Spirit will begin to reveal it to you. You see, the Bible is a sealed book. Don't read it like you're reading a novel. And I know one of the things that are trending in our times is you know what, reading the Bible in a year, And that's amazing, but it may even be more beneficial to you. So not just read five chapters a day and read it like a story, but to meditate on three verses and say, God, open this up to me, show me what it is that the Holy Spirit is ministering about that. Even if you read the Bible as a book, even if you're just like, okay, have two chapters sos to read, go back to it again and pay attention to the verses that jump that year and say, Lord, take me deeper in this. Because you see the Bible, it's not just words on pages. It is spirit and it is life. They're encounters with God you can have simply by what you read in his word. There are things that can jump to you and all of a sudden it prompts and encounter with the Lord. It brings you into another realm in the spirit, because it's not just that you're reading something. You're entering a realm. There are scriptures that are literally open doors to realms, but you don't even realize it. There are things you would read and if you read it like a story, it will just jump over you. But if you read it knowing this was authored by the Holy Spirit, you can enter a realm in God simply by what you read. When you read the scriptures that talks about the spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me. And then you begin to read what he anointed Jesus to do, and then the same thing that he's called Jesus to do, Jesus now said you will do greater works. When you meditate on this scripture and you begin to look at it, the Holy Spirit make it known to me. You don't realize that it is the opportunity for an encounter with God. That if you meditate on a particular scripture for days at a time, what you're inviting is what the Holy Spirit knew when he authored those words. Don't make it about. This was written by men, written by men inspired by God. There were things you would read and I'm not saying this. I'm saying this out of experience. There are encounters I have had with the Lord Jesus based on his word. There are encounters I've had with him based on questions I asked concerning his word. There are realms you would come into God based on what you meditate on. That's why the Bible says, meditate on this law day and night. Give yourself to prayer, give yourself to the study of the Word. It will change your life. You see, prayer is not just where Jesus hears you, is where you also hear him. When you come before the Lord to pray, don't let it be this robotic, mechanical thing that you lay all your requests in Jesus' name. Amen, you stand up, Take time, Lord, What are you saying to me? If you praying the spirit, begin to pray in the spirit and pay attention to what comes to mind. Because what you don't realize is that you could be praying in the spirit and the spirit is interpreting it to your mind. But if you do it like a robotic thing, like a thing that we do as religious people, you miss it. Because everything we do we do it in faith. We don't do it, and Chekhov I did the righteous thing today. Whenever you show up to pray, you have an expectation that Jesus is there. Whenever you show up to read the Word, you have an expectation that the Holy Spirit is going to partner with me to understand this. And you have to be flexible. You might allocate an hour or day to prayer, but after that hour is up, if the Holy Spirit is tugging at you to linger, linger, because it's in the lingering that encounters begin to happen. Be flexible, because it is not about the King of kings serving you, is about you serving him. If he wants to disrupt your day, let him. It reveals faith. You may have all these plans and the Lord shuts it down, allow him, because then it reveals that he's truly the owner over you. Lord. If you shut this down, I'm okay with it. If you want me to spend more time in your presence in this moment, I'm okay with it. If you want me. Sometimes the Lord may even tell you. And here is the thing for people who feel as doe, because God is always after your heart. If you now become a person who just believes as long as I pray an hour every day, God is okay with me. You will pray fifteen minutes and the Holy Spirit will tell you go to bed. So you don't think it's ever about your righteousness, but it's about him. However he works with you. Let him. But in all things, prioritize your fellowship with God over distractions. Number four, Practice what you preach James one twenty two. It says, but be doers of the word and not hearers. Only deceive in yourselves. You see, integrity is when your private life aligns with your public confession. That is true integrity. In our generation, it's very hard to see because all you may see about the person is what they post is the moment you meet them. But integrity before God and integrity releases power. Your private life should match up. Practice what you preach. The Lord is not just looking at you to just be a mouthpiece and not a living testimony, because if you're a mouthpiece but your life does not match what you're saying, you know who has the advantage over you, Satan, because then he uses you only to judge and condemn people, not to build them. Because you're judging your judgment and condemnation is a reflection of what is in you, is how you feel about yourself. So you do it to others. But when you know the grace of God that empowers you, there is something different that flows from you to rich people. But when you have all the nice things to say, but you don't know how to live it out, the fruit of your life becomes condemnation because you condemn yourself every day. You know how do you know how to quote the Bible? But you don't live what you quote. The Lord doesn't just want to use you in an abusive way. He wants to use you from the inside out. Let it flow from within you and pour out. Not just that you just read and memorize and you say things. No, practice what you preach. If you've ever advised a friend about something and experienced the same situation, take the advice you gave the friend. Don't just be an amazing advisor and when it happens to you it's like you just hoop Wow. All wisdom went out the window. Practice what you preach and know that there is a grace to empower you. Seek the Lord to help you. God did not call us to walk this life by ourselves, he will help you. And lastly, be careful with your words. Proverbs eighteen, verse twenty one says death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Your words have creative power. It can destroy, it can build up. When I was listening to Doctor Diddy's message and she talked about even when her husband, when all the doctors were saying that he was not gonna make it, she did not let her words align with their what they were saying. She began to speak life over him. She did not use her words to bring death. She used her words to be aligned with the life given word, the word of God. Be careful with your word. You know, the Bible tells us how that we would be judged for every careless word. And it's not just because the words were careless. It's because we cared less about what we said and not knowing that God has given you a power, because in the beginning the Lord used words to form what we see. Your words have creative power. Do not use your words to curse what God has blessed. Do not use your words to destroy what the Lord is building, because when he has put it into your stewardship. What you say about it matters. Do you remember about when John, When the John the Baptist was to be born, and the angel came to his father Zachariah, and the angel is telling his father, and Zachariah's response is from doubts, how can this be? And he became mute. He became mute not because it was God's way of punishing him, but it was God's way of preserving the child. This child is to be called John. And your words cannot I would, we would In the mercy of God, your words will not alter this boy's destiny. So when the child was born, and they asked him what is the name of the child, because they thought that maybe he will call the child according to his own name. The moment he wrote the child's name on paper, his mouth was released, because at least now the word of God concerning this boy has manifested. His name is John. There was so much attached to that. In the mercy of God he made him met. But you have to check your life. How do I use my words when I get frustrated? Do I just speak carelessly? For the parents in the room. There are things that your children may do. How do you speak to them? Do you just say, oh, this useless child? Are you actually speaking that into their future? And when the manifestation of that happens. Now you continue to your crying out to the Lord when you need to repent of what you said. You need to use your words to bless your children. You need to use your words to bless the things God has placed in your life. That even when you're feeling down, you don't allow the emotion to do what you say. You allow the word of God to direct your speech. You see, you have to live in a way that is so anchored by the word of God that if it doesn't not match with how I want to speak about this situation, it is better I be quiet, let me do something else, let me menditate or something. But it is better I take authority over my mouth than to use it to speak death over what the Lord has given me. Because you see, when the Lord entrusts you with something, your words over it matters. Your words over it can literally abort what God wants to do because He gave it to you to be a steward over family. Let's get up and pray. Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, you see there is something that God has marked for your life. And beyond the words that I speak, I pray that there will be an importation from the Holy Spirit to your heart and to your minds. That He will take what I was able to speak and take it deeper into your hearts to show you, to give you a concept of eternity, to give you an idea of eternity, that you will not only be focused on what success looks like on the earth, but that you would be focused on what Kingdom's success looks like, and it could also look and what Kingdom's success looks like could also mirror greatness on the earth. But you don't want to be in pursuit of what man calls great that heaven does not know who you are. You want to be in line with the Lord. You want to receive the incorruptible crown. You want to live a life that the enemy cannot corrupt. You want to live a life with intention, focus that Lord, with all that is in me, I want to lift for you because it starts with surrender. My life is not my own. Does that mean you're not gonna get it wrong? Sometimes? Does that mean you're not gonna mess up sometimes you will. But even in your mess up, you know how to get back to the Father. You know how to turn from it, you know how to receive correction. You are still sensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. There are things that sometimes I will do and in that moment the Lord will rebuke me. It doesn't mean you see, we're not It's not about pursuing perfection that we would stand and say I don't do this, I don't do that. No, no, no, no no. That we all have our weaknesses, but it's to bring that weakness into the hands of Jesus to ask the Lord search my heart. If there is anything wicked in me, reveal it to me, o, Lord, and show me how to overcome this evil. Show me how to overcome this temptation. Show me what is it in my flesh that the enemy could use, and help me to overcome it. It's not that if you don't have this testimony of perfection, none of us will ever have that. But what we have is a perfect Savior who would walk with us, who will guide us, and as we yield to him, then we will start to embrace the boundaries he said in our lives and not fight against them. Thank you Jesus, Thank you Lord. If you're in this room, I just want to there's a group of people I want to pray for. And if you know that there are things in your life that the Lord has been dealing with you on, but you've been trying to find excuses and ways to move around it, and coming before him mostly with complaints and bitterness because you want to pursue what the world celebrates. But if you're honest with yourself, there are things He's asked of you that are still lingering that you have not given yourself to. And for some maybe you feel afraid. You feel like you don't like the idea of this uncertainty. You don't like the idea of losing control. There are things that you're like, well, God, I really love this thing, and not realizing his instructions to you are life. They would bring you into the knowledge of who you truly are in him. You see, you haven't really started and walking in the awakening of your identity until you live in consecration. Because it is through your consecration that all of a sudden there are things the Holy It begins to reveal about you. Because he knows this one is mine, This one I have influence over. We are in partnership with this. If you know that I'm ministering to you, I want you to just meet me down at this altar very quickly. Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. See, there are many lives that God wants to radically transform and shift, but it starts with surrender, genuine surrender. You see. Sometimes we use the name of Jesus only to get what we want. Sometimes we fast and pray not to know his will, but to think that we can shift his hand to receive what we want. But you serve a God that loves you so much that He's not just going to react to you because you cried. He's going to react to the intentions and the motives in your heart. Because there are things that you may cry about today and be grateful that the Lord never gave it to you. When you look back, there are things you would accept for the Lord for today, and you just need a little bit of time to see that it came from a place of ignorance, of not knowing who you really are. When you step into your true identity with God, it will shock you what God wants to do with your life. It would blow your mind the ways you could walk with God on this earth. It would feel like a fairy tale, but it's reality. None of us are really special. And what I mean by that not special in the sense of you know, you're not special before God. But what I mean is none of us are higher than the other. It's just about living surrendered. If there is any minister you admire, it's not because they're more special than you. No, it's just about living surrendered, and God expresses it in different ways. It's not that one person has a unique relationship with God that you cannot have. It's not true. If you pursue God. The Bible says, if you seek Me with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, you will find me. God wants to give himself to you more than you want to know him. But he wants us to be aligned properly. That is why we don't. You never worship man, but let it be that through man you see the possibilities of what can happen in your walk with God, because even that man is a limitation to what you can encounter. The greatest story you've heard about what a person has done with the Lord there is more available for you. Because he is God. You can't put a limit on him only based on a person's testimony. A person's testimony is a seed for your life. The testimonies you hear about people's walk with God is only a seed for what God can do with you. That's why even Jesus, Jesus would say, greater works shall you do? Because it's about the power of God to express His nature on this earth, and he wants to go exceedingly abundantly above all you can ask, think, or imagine, and it says, according to the works in you? Who is that power? The Holy Spirit? You have the spirit of the Living God inside you. What can truly limit you? You see one of the things I will desire for you to do tonight. Take some time to meditate on that scripture that the power, the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead, lives in me. Take some time, just even maybe take a week, to just read that scripture every single day. Go back to it, asks the Holy Spirit reveel this to me and look at it right there. Oh no, this is not that, this is a different scripture. Can we put that scripture up? Take your walk with God? Serious, don't just wait for the things that you you've been asking. Even ask the Lord, Lord, what am I desiring from an ignorant me? And show me what to desire from the real me, the me that is hidden in you. What should that person be praying for? What should that person be seeking? You see the ignorant version of me. You said cry out to God that I want to go backpack in and through Europe. There were things I ask the Lord that I'm like, okay, now I will ask the Lord, okay, let's do ministry through Europe. But back then it was not that I was like, oh God, I just want to go on a backpacking trip, and I had all these extra things I want to do that was just stupid. I don't want to talk about it right now because that's my old self. Just watch the way. But I would really talk to God about those things, and I will cry out to the Lord and I'm like, Lord, just do this for me. And he did not, and said he will talk to me about other things. And I'm like, come on, God, I'm asking you about this one thing, just this one thing right here. And there'll be random things I would ask the Lord for. There will be relationships relationships. I was in that when it was not working out, I'm like, Lord, why would you make this work? And I thank God he didn't make it work. It was the ignorant me asking for the Lord to man what he said. I was never in this in the first place. Ask the Lord, what am I seeking you from my ignorance? And show me what I should seek you from the me you fashioned the me that what did you ordain about me when you when you formed me? What did you know about me when you placed me in my mother's womb? Show me what to seek from you from that place. It would change your life. We're gonna pray. Just close your eyes and just lift up your hands with me. And I want you to just take a few seconds. There's something the Holy Spirit wants to do, and just minister to you right now. Don't be distracted in this time. Just listen. Thank you Lord, open your eyes, Holy Spirit, open up their hearts what you have ministered about them, make them sensitive to this truth. We thank you Lord. Jesus my kid, the. Spirit of the Lord is within you. You cannot fail. This spirit of the Lord is within you. The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Lives within you. The spirit that worked the miracles through our Lord Jesus lives within you. The spirit of God is in you. Lord showed them what they received when they said yes to you. I makayla maso lekataika na mako braik The Lord is going to heal you. Thank you, Jesus. The Lord is healing you. Even now. Many have been resistant to him. Kayakaya Canna mask ibraikaya ma coo, Holy Spirit, locate them, locate them, locate them, locate them, locate them. Every soul that has been captive, every soul that has been in bondage. Released them. Now, Lord Jesus, what has been holding many back? Ibra na makaya na mackaybrata libro nam kay namco ibrak namco lebra kaya nama sekerakot. There were things the enemy planted in you as children Canna macye, not mackay libra coo ya nam sake, and it has tied you up until now. The trauma was not random. It was a weapon formed by Satan. Locate them, Holy Ghost. Let the power of the Lord Cheese has come upon you. Manifest yourself. Lord, we came to this conference for you. We came for an encounter with you, to be healed by you, to be delivered by you, to be set free by you. Lord, Go into your past even now and begin to deliver the little girl who was bound. And let the grace of God fall upon them now, a grace for empowerment. A grace that makes ease, a grace that brings. Progress, A grace O God, because we were not called to do this by ourselves. Activate your daughters tonight, wherever they may be. Activate your daughters tonight. Everything that has been fighting against your life and your destiny we sit out now when the name of Jesus we declare that who the sun sets free is free. Indeed, and right now, everywhere there is bondage, we come against you. We come against you. We come against you in the name of Jesus. Locate them, holy ghosts, because you, Lord Jesus, you came to set the captives free. And there is the grace of freedom in this house tonight. Wherever there is one that is called captives, I declare freedom over you. Whatever has held you pound, I declare freedom over you in the name of Jesus. Let the power of God locate everyone who has been placed in a place of bondage, everyone who is over the influence of Satan in any way. We come by the authority of Jesus, and we call you free in his name. Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, thank. You Jesus, Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. All around the room, Lord God, even though tuning in online, wherever the enemy has kept your children bound, set them free right now, in the name of Jesus. Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. Be sensitive in this moment. Be sensitive. There is nothing here that's to entertain. There is something the Lord wants to do in your life. If opening your eyes is a distraction, just close it. The spirit of God is moving through this room. Thank you, Jesus, Thank you Jesus. Lord. Their women in this room that never knew what it meant to be loved, I pray that your presence would come upon them now as an embrace, as a sweet hug, as a love they have never known. Thank you Jesus. Let it be tangible upon their lives. Because to surrender to you, it's to trust you. What trust has been defiled. Lord, heal them, heal their heart, heal their hearts, Heal their hearts, heal their hearts. So God heal their hearts. So God, heal their hearts. So God heal their hearts. So God, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit. We cannot do this without you. Let the power of the Holy Ghost that can come in the form of love come upon you now in the name of Jesus. Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. Have you waited, Jesus, Have you waited, Jesus. No one comes in your presence and it's left the same. No one comes in your presence, and it's left the same. No one comes in your presence, God, and it's left the same. I command this entire building and everything connected to it to understand the power of your presence in this room, everything that has been a seed from Satan. The Lord rebukes you. Now in the name of Jesus. The bla kaya masoku, let kaya da blah shake its time. Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. We command the floors to be activated by the fire of the Holy Ghost. Let it consume everything that is Lord of Jesus. Let the walls, let the floors, let the atmosphere, Let the air in the room be consumed by the presence of the Lord Holy Spirit. Locate them, hate them, Lord, locate them. These are your daughters that you love. Locate them, Locate them. None will be hidden from the sights of God. For you want the God that sees. You want the God that knows. Thank you, Jesus, Thank you, Jesus. Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus, Thank you Lord. Freedom. Freedom is your portion. Freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom. The sun has set you free, Jesus has set you free. Thank you Jesus. And brace this in your heart. And brace this in your mind, God your mind. By knowing I am a child of the most like God, the Spirit of the Lord lives in me. What can challenge me. Every stronghold of the enemy that has been a lie planted in your mind, Lord, are prooted now in the name of Jesus. Every lie that has shaped how they think, how they live, how they move upproots it now by the power of the Lord, that you will have the mind of Christ, that the enemy would no longer torment you. Whether by day or by night. We rebuke his hand over you now in Jesus' name, Holy girl, sweet, thank you Lord Jesus, we worship you. Have your way, have your way in this place and what you have started, Lord, perfected, perfected, perfected. Let everyone here know that when the Lord touches one, he touches all, because when he is in the room, he is in the room available to all. How it shows, it's. Different, but it's a knowing you must have in your spirit. That the Lord met me tonight and my life would no longer be the same. Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus. None would be miss tonight. None would be missed tonight. There are dreams that would come back to you. There are words that the Lord gave you that have been forgotten, and he would restore it to you. I see the hand of God restoring time to your life. That where you feel as though you lost time, he would restore the time. Thank you, Lord. Healing, May healing, healing, healing. May healing come upon you now for those believing God for healing, for those believing God for the fruit of the womb. I speak to your wounds. May they be unlocked in the name of Jesus. There is nothing that the Lord cannot do. Thank you, Lord, Thank you Lord. Four