Stephanie Ike Okafor - Shaping and Shifting Culture

Amen. Amen. Can we just lift up a praise even higher for Jesus? Thank you Lord, Amen, Amen. I just want to take a moment to honor a few people. I want my husband, who is here. He's with our baby. I was streaming from the hotel with our baby because she's very you know, while they're young. You know, we want to make sure that we are the ones, you know, influencing. You know that it's a very spiritual stage when they are in that infancy manner, so we take turns and whatnot. But I'm so I was so blessed. I was richly blessed by the administration yesterday. I want to honor you, pastor doctor Shella. You know, when I was watching yesterday, I saw one of the things the Lord just kept highlighting was this cloak of humility. And I was asking the Lord, like, why are you highlighting this so much concerning his servant, And then the Lord said, let me show you who my son is. And I've never understood this scripture the way the Holy Spirit showed it to me last night. When the Bible talks about how God exalts the humble, many times we look at that, at least for me. I look at it from a physical standpoint, a natural standpoint, that when you position yourself in humility, the Lord lifts you up open doors for you, and that happens. But what he revealed to me is not just what happens in the natural, but it's your stature in the spirit realm. And I saw doctor Shella as a gatekeeper in the spirit, that there are cettain doors that you might be. You know, you're praying, you're fasting, you're asking the Lord to open this door, open this door. But they are setting men and women that when the Lord positions them as a gatekeeper in the spirit, when you honor them, it unlocks the door for you. And so as the Lord was showing that to me, and I'm not just saying what I did not tap into. So there was an instruction the Holy Spirit gave me. I did that. It's secret between the pastor would know. There was an instruction of sacrifice the Holy Spirit gave me. He said, now that you have seen it, I want you to sew into that because it's so fascinating what you see in the natural. I mean, this church is so rich in the world. It's never all that there is because someone can be rejected by the Lord, but still have a crown. Saul was rejected by God, but he was still king. And so if you're only looking in the natural, you would see King Saul, not knowing that there is a humble man named David that the Lord has already raised up. And so I just I honor you, I honor your wife. I thank God for what He's doing through you both, and I sow into the sacrifices that you have made. And I also thank God for Apostla Roman and your wife. Thank you both. My husband, I was so I was so glad to be here in person and also to meet you. My husband has spoken so so greatly concerning your leadership in his life, and so I am grateful. Thank you, sir, Thank you Mam. And I also just want to take a moment and honor my senior pastors, Pastor Torey Roberts, Passa Sarah Jax Roberts. Then it's they allow me to they understand a call in my life, and they give me the allowance to just exercise in the instructions of the Holy Spirit. And again I thank God for my husband, my covering, and just the head over my life. So I thank God, ay man, we may be seated. Thank you Lord. Like I said, it is a pleasure to be here with you all. I have been joining virtually just as Pastor said, and that was because that was a time when the Lord had not permitted me to begin to travel to minister, you know, and it taught me a lot of lessons because sometimes just because a door is open, you still need to make sure that the Holy Spirit says you should go through it. And so there were many things that were happening all around the world, but the Lord said no, and he'said, we'll do it right from where you are, because there were things that he was cultivating me concerning the city. He has currently a me too. And so when the Lord told me now is the time, I could not wait to get here. So thank you. I have a few minutes with you all today and then I have another session tomorrow. But today, as I was seeking the Lord concerning you know what it is that I need to share with the people. The theme of. The conference is what really stood out when we talk about shifting and shaping culture. And you know, there has been such rich world that has been spoken into this, but you know, one of the things that really stood out to me. I wanted to see how it is first defined in the world when you talk about what does it look like to shift and shape culture? And when I saw this definition, I was so moved by it because even the language, everything about the language should speak to the it speaks to the spiritual realm. Right, So look at this I want to read. I just I wrote it down as I read it. It says shifting and shaping culture refers to the intentional effort to change and mold the beliefs, behaviors, norms, and values within a community. Right. It may involve challenging establish norms, traditions, or ways of thinking and promoting new ideas or behaviors. It may involve leadership, communication, and strategic initiatives aimed at cultivating a culture. And here is one of the key things that reflects specific ideals or objectives. Culture is a mirror. It reflects something you see. Sometimes when we think about culture, we think about, you know, culture is the way, it's just a way of life. It's a way of the people. And if that was the case, then why does it change. Because if it's just a way of the people, then the culture and the eighteen hundreds should be the same culture today. But why is it that the culture of the eighteen hundreds is not the culture that we see today. Because culture is not what is derived from the intellect of humanity. We don't wake up one morning and decide we want to change how we dress, we want to change how we do our hair. There is something that the culture is reflecting, and we see this. One of my favorite scriptures you know, or places in the Bible to study, is the Garden of Eden, because in the moments we read about in the Garden of Eden, it speaks so much to the depth of the same patterns that we see. Because in the Garden of Eden, after the fall of Man and when the Lord is like, Adam, where are you? And he's like, you know what? He was afraid because he's naked. And you will think that the first thing God would tell him is did you eat of the tree? But the first thing God asked him is who told you? And then he says, have you eaten of the tree? But the first question is who told you. One of the things I've learned with the Lord is that the enemy's greatest tactic is to masquerade his thoughts as your own who told you. First of all, there was no dialogue between The serpent did not even care about Adam. In that moment the serpent was talking to Eve. Adam was by Eve, but he was not speaking to Adam. The Bible does not record any moment that the serpent was speaking to Adam, so it was not that after they had the fruit, and then the serpent says, by the way, you guys are naked, you should be afraid. No, Adam, it would appear as though Adam just had this understanding that he was naked. But the Lord did not look at it as though it came from his intellect. He says, Adam, who told you the same way. We see that when Adam was was before he had disobeyed the Lord. And it's so I mean that scripture is so fascinated, But I don't have that much time, because you know, the Bible even tells us how Adam did not Adam was not deceived. That's a whole different thing. But I want to honor the time that I have right. And so when we see Adam naming the animals. Again in the garden of Eden, right when the Lord had, you know, created all the animals and put them in the garden, and then he tells Adam to name them. And I love every time in the scripture that you see something that the Lord pays attention to, because the Bible says and he was watching Adam to see what he would name them, because Adam, okay, I've made you know what, We've formed you in our likeness, in our image. Let's make sure you think like us, because that's the whole point of forming you in our image, in our likeness. And so naming the animals that should be something that could just be random, Adam, whatever you name them, that's the animal's business. The Lord was watching him to see what he would name them. So what would appear as though it was from Adam's intellect was influenced and informed by a spirit being. So when he fell, now he was submitted to a different kingdom. And what would appear to be his intellect and his wisdom was informed and influenced by a spirit. So then the Lord says, Adam, who told you see, when we look at culture, when you see how we went from a time where women honored their body to a time where women being the more naked you can be, we call it fashion and then and then we mask it up and say it is called body positivity. This is a deception. There is nothing positive about that. There's nothing positive about going to hell because that is what you're surrendering to another kingdom. Do you know? It alarms me. One of the scriptures that keeps me at the feet of Jesus is when it says many will come and say, Lord Lord, we did this in your name. Many is the part that terrifies me. It didn't say a few. That means there are many who believe that they are following Jesus and they never met him. Because you cannot give Jesus lip service, your image must reflect his nature. So when we talk about shifting and shaping. Culture, you first have to understand that culture is not influenced by what you think or how you feel. And whenever you easily just jump on trends without discerning who what is the spirit behind the trend, then you don't even realize that although you're saying with your words, Jesus, I love you, your image is representing a different kingdom. That's why Jesus will say things. He said, get away from me, and then what he now says is I never knew you, We never had intimacy. You talked about me all day, but you never reflected my image, because to reflect his image comes from a place of intimacy. You see, we're in a culture and another deception of our culture. It is this obsession of purpose. What is my purpose? What is my purpose? What is my purpose? And when we don't, we lose sight of the fact that we all have the same mission. Now there are different assignments, there are different ways that mission is expressed, but we have to first get to the basics to know him and make him known, and that is how we begin to position ourselves to shift and shape culture for the Kingdom of God. You don't have the right to know what your assignment is in God. If you don't know him, you don't have a right because it starts with knowing him. And then when you now come to a place of making him know, it is the overflow. When the Lord called me in to minist you. I remember the first time I had to preach, and I said, Lord, I don't sound like preachers I watch so I'm a little nervous. I said, don't I arne you supposed to. I don't shout I said, matter of fact, I think I have a child's voice, and the Lord said, no, my child. What you do in front of people is the overflow of what we have. It's not you're not going in front of people, You're not reading or studying just to preach. It is the overflow. And when you keep that in your heart, you would always recognize it starts with the everything that you do for God to start from the place of intimacy. You see, it is so pivotal. This theme of this conference is so pivotal about shifting and shaping culture because there's something that we understand that must take place before the Lord returns. And it says that the Gospel would be preached to all nations. This is the agenda of Heaven that the Gospel must reach all nations. And because of that, there are people when you have taken the time to really invest in intimacy with the Lord and he releases you, not you're releasing yourself out of zeal, because there are many people that are zealous. Right, the sons of Skiva had zeal but no revelation. So when you have come to a place of having revelation of this Lord that you want to live and give your life for when you are postured in a place that now He can influence and inform you as a vessel, because that's all we are. We are not the ones that shape or or shift culture. We are the vessels that do it. It is the ability to shift and shape culture is spiritual. It's a spirit that empowers it. It's a spirit that backs it up. But you have to make yourself available to be a vessel in wherever God has placed you, whether it's on a pulpit, whether it's in techno, whether it's an education to be a vessel. That the Lord will begin to reveal. That's all. I loved how we talked about prayer, that the Lord will begin to reveal things to you and in your partnership with him, whether it's through prayer or whether it's through practical things that you need to do. There was something that recently the Lord gave me this assignment and it's one of the biggest things ever will I've ever had to do, and this will be some time around next year. And when he gave it to me, I said, Lord, this is different, and he said, no, this must be done, and I don't have I was like Lord the resources for this. Where is everything going to come from? And he said, I will show you the pattern, I will give you the blueprint, and I will draw everything to you that is needed. And I began to see him do it. And it was so interesting because literally a year from that day, because this is going to be sometime in April next year, and there was a particular day. This was just few what is maybe like a week ago or so, a few weeks ago, and I was I was on Instagram. Now I know doctor Kuma statish Kuma was supposed to be in town. But even the fact that he was supposed to be here was strategic. It was purpose by God. Because I was just minding my business. And the Lord tells me, because I and personally I had never I was not aware of who this man was. And the Lord tells me, I want you to learn about this man. Look him up. So I went on YouTube. I was asking the Holy Spirit, did I watched this one? He said no, watch this one? He said no. Then there was an interview. He said watch that, and then the man began to speak about how you know, because they had they built this eighteen thousand seed of facility in fifty two days. And then the Holy Spirit said, look at the calendar, what's today's day? And I realized what the Lord had called me to do would be fifty two weeks from that day. And he said, if I can do this in fifty two days, I can do you that in fifty two weeks. So there are gonna be works. There are things that the Lord will assign you to do that even from the place of prayer. And this assignment came from the place of prayer. There was a prayer assignment that the Lord had given me and three other people for us. This was literally right after I had given birth. I gave birth on August twenty seventh. I got home on September one. September first, we started this prayer assignment for one hundred and twenty days concerning Hollywood. And on the first day he gives me an instruction concerning Hollywood. And so when you position yourself as a vessel, then the Spirit of God will begin to inform and influence your vessel to shift and shape culture. Now, why this is so key. One of the things the Lord began to reveal to me those who were postured in this manner, there is going to be a grace that brings ease to the things connected to your life. Now, Amen, sounds beautiful, but it also is death because to truly live for God, it goes against the grain, It goes against what is being promoted in society today. And it's not just about the things that you have to recognize that God watches you in the moments of what you speak against, and he's also watching what you tolerate. Because you're like, well, that's my friend, that's my sibling, that's my aunt. I don't want to offend the person, but God is watching. If you don't know how to be faithful in your inner circle, how can he use you in the world. You see many times or asking God to send us out as missionaries. But then within our families there is dysfunction and we don't know how to speak the truth to a family member, but we want to speak it on a microphone. We don't know how to talk about Jesus to a cousin, but we want to talk about Jesus to strangers. Doesn't work like that. But if you make yourself available to the spirit, you see there was a time when Jesus was talking about that the Father knows what you want. You you know you want, You're don't worry about what you would eat, what you would drink, what you would wear. He says, the Father knows all these things. He says, seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all this would be added on to you. But you recognize that he's talking about basic needs of life. What you wear, what you eat, you know, what you what you're gonna drink. But he says, these things are attracted to you when you seek first the kingdom. You see, there's some things that you are struggling to. There's some people. As I was praying, the Lord began to show me how there's some people and you're just praying to get by. There are things that should be it's your basic need, it's your basic necessity in life that you just need to get by. But there is a cadence, and in this hour, more than ever, because we are in the last days, this is going to be heightened in the times where if you are seeking your personal needs first, you're gonna struggle a little bit because there is a grace that is assigned to those who will seek first the kingdom, not seek first self. So I encourage you that during this conference, there are many things that the Lord wants to reveal and listen with your spirit, because it's gonna record WHI are something from you. It's gonna cost you, but that is a cost that is worth it. You See, yesterday, as I was tuning into the service and I was praying as when the service was wrapping up, and shortly after that, I had an encounter. I saw this angel I had never I've never seen such an angel like that before, and I began to wonder. I said, Lord, this is a different type. I've never seen. How the angel looked. Everything about the angel was just very different. And that the Lord began to take me into a series of visions. But there was one particular vision, and I see where there was a table laid out and people were getting ready to come and eat, and you know, instead of water, they had these big jars of milk, big cups of milk ready for the people. And as I was walking in, there was a witch. I saw her, but she didn't notice me. So what I saw where she was trying to sneak but she had this powdery substance in her hand and she poured it into the milk, and I noticed her and then the first thing that came to my mind is she has poisoned this milk. And then the voice of the Lord said, feed my sheep. And then I began to ask the Lord. When I came out of the vision, I said, Lord, what is this you're showing? And he said, this is the message for the times you see their people. I love it. When Pastor was talking about in thirty years from now will your children know God? Because there are many who are coming into what they believe is the Fold. There are many who are saying yes to Jesus, but they it's not really Jesus they're saying yes to. There is a false representation of Jesus that is being portrayed, and so the milk is being poisoned. The milk is corrupted. People are coming to the Lord for self. They have lost sight. I mean, you have ministers who don't even represent Him in his holiness, and so what they are portraying before you is live as you please. Jesus is accepting of all. And you don't realize that Jesus will meet. You wherever you are, but he will not keep you there. But if you have ministers who are not even embracing a call to rise up higher, and then imagine the type of also calls they're doing. And so the milk is poisoned. Because here is the thing. When the true gospel is preached, there is transformation. And when there is transformation, that is how the gospel spreads to the ends of the earth. When culture is shifting, and when culture is transformed, it is a mark of the Gospel reaching the ends of the earth. And so when we don't see change is because the gospel is not what is being preached. When we see many people advertising how many souls came to Jesus, but there is no change in the land, it's because it's not the gospel that. Is being preached. The name of Jesus is being used, but it's not the. Gospel that is being preached. I want to pray. You have to recognize that there is a connection between when the scriptures say in the last days write in those days, many would say, Lord, Lord, Lord, we did this in your name, We did that in your name. But there's also a scripture that talks about how many false prophets will arise and deceive the people, that many false those that will say that they're the Christ. Many false anointed ones will arise. There is a connection because there are false people, people rising up using the name of God and deceiving people to think that they have come into relationship with God, but they've never met him. And that is why the mandate of the season, the mandate of the hour, is for us to feed the sheep. I love it. I was listening yesterday in Apostlar Roman talked about you know, and that was even in the prayer moment. To dedicate your life, to give your life to the Word and to prayer. You have to know this word. You see, many people are being deceived because they don't know the Word for themselves. All they have is idols in their hearts. So when someone speaks according to your idol, you agree. You say, wow, that must be God. That amen. You have idols, you don't have word. If marriage is an idol in your heart, even though the minister is preaching false, it's false. It's given you a lot of false teaching. You say amen. Because of the idol in your heart. You have to know the Word for yourself, and you have to give yourself to prayer. This is what will cause you to endure these times, and it is your mandate. It is not your mandate because only for those who are called as on this on the pulpit. No, you're called to represent God in everything, to represent God in your city, to represent God in your business, to represent God in every sphere that He has placed you in, to represent him. That is why the first assignment is to know him, because when you know him, you can't you can't not. You see, when you have a when you have a close friend, people start to know who your friends are based on your language, how you talk, start saying the same things. You sound alike. It's just like a marriage when you're married. When you hear me, you hear my husband. When you hear my husband, you hear me. We start sounding alike. We start saying the same things. Our jokes I have. I'm very corny in my jokes, and he is becoming corny too. We should when someone is around you, they should sense the fragrance of Christ. This is what relationship with God is truly about. It's not just lip service. No, God does not need you just to speak. He needs you to model after him. He said he created us after his image and likeness. That's not natural, that's spiritual, and so we should represent his image wherever we are before the Lord comes. This must happen, and so Heaven is looking for those that they can breathe on, those that would avail themselves to say, Lord, I am about your business. Because this must happen. The Gospel must reach the ends of the earth, the true Gospel. Let us pray. Just stand with me. We're going to pray. Thank you, Jesus, Heavenly Father. We worship you. We thank you, Lord for what you are doing in this place and the hearts and in the minds of your people. We thank you, Oh Lord, that in order for us to shift and shape culture, we must be shift and shaped according to your image and to your likeness. And to Lord, I pray that you would mold us, and that you would begin to expose anything that is not of you, that cut it away. Lord God, I thank you for your pruning that causes us to bear more fruit. And I thank you Lord for that which has taking place through this conference, the light in the revelation that is entering your people to cast away the darkness of their understanding and the darkness of their perspectives. That Lord God, as light comes in. It will transform them, that they may avail themselves as vessels to transform the world. And so we give you all the glory, give you all the honor Holy Spirit. Do only what you can do in this row. Glorify Jesus through the lives of the sons and daughters of God. In this house we thank you Lord in Jesus' name. Amen.