Stephanie Ike Okafor - The Mind of Christ

We begin to say sexual promiscuity is freedom when it's bondage. We call pride self confidence when it's actually rebellion against humility and dependency on God. We begin to call greed ambition. When it's idolatry in disguise. Then we call biddenness boundaries. You see, there's all these fancied languages that are given to us when in reality you just have unforgiveness. And you say, you know, I'm just setting boundaries. Boundaries are good, But if it is unforgiveness dressed up as protection, it is still unforgiveness. That you have to bring before God. Then we call comparison inspiration when it's envy keeping you from your calling. We call New Age practices a spiritual awakening when it's an invitation to demonic forces. And then we call gender and confusion self expression. It's an agenda. This is the mold of the world. But I want us to get into the Word of God today and just how the Lord is going. To continue to minister and just what just a great expectation for what He's going to do. I love that the theme is just simply Jesus and one of the things that the Lord laid on my heart to talk about tonight. Is the mind of Christ. You see in Proverbs twenty three, verse seven. The scripture tells us, as a man thinks, so is he, and so in other words, your life will either rise or fall to the level of your thinking. It's not just this random you know. You know. Sometimes rather we think that we would find, you know, growth and success and progress and elevation when the right opportunities come, when the right people come, when we have the right connections, the right resources. But if you have a poor way. Of thinking, all of those things will come and it will be sabotaged. All of those things will come, and you will not perceive it properly. You see. It's interesting. Even when the Lord wants to do something new, we will see times in the scripture when he will say, behold, I do a new thing. Do you not perceive it? And it's not because you're blind to it, But how you think about what you see is what is flawed. And so the scriptures bring us into this understanding of the mind of Christ. Now, when we think about what we think about it can sound very complicated because how you think about different things it varies how you think about your parents. It's different from how you might think about your siblings, depending on the atmosphere that you grew up. How you think about your co workers, it's different from how you think about your friends, depending on how they trade you. But there is a solution that we see in God, that we see in she Jesus, that if from the foundational level we embrace this, it will change our lives for good. And so in Philippians two, from verse five to eleven, it says, let this mind be in you, which also is in Christ. Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant, and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in the appearance as a man. You have to understand that our Lord and Savior. You know, there is always this argument about you know, did he start on earth? No, he has been from the very beginning. In every book of the Bible, you would see the evidence of Jesus. They just did not call him Jesus. They did not know that his name is Jesus. He had not come in the form where man would know. Him with that name. But he has been evident from the very beginning everything in the scriptures. You see. It's so interesting when people want to argue the Bible and say, well, how do we have proof that this was done by God? How do we have proof? Because this was what men put together? But how is it possible that different letters that became chapters and were put together to be the Bible will all point to the same person. You see, even when you read about Abraham and this is I'm going in a different direction, but this is just to. Lay a foundation. But when you read about Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac, the scriptures will tell us that Abraham saw my days referring to Jesus, and when did he see it? When he took Isaac up on that mountain to be sacrificed. When Abraham saw the lamb, there was something else he saw beyond the lamb. He saw Jesus being on the cross being crucified. And do you know that that is the same location that Jesus, how many years later, will be crucified. The Bible, it is so every. Piece of it was put together by the Holy Spirit. He just used men to do it the same. Way he's had a call on your life, and there's something he's called you to do. But what you're doing is to reflect something that would show the glory and the nature of God on the earth. And so it says this Jesus, God made himself of no reputation, and being found as a man, he came to the level of his creation for you, and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in the appearance of a man, he humbled himself. It was humbling from him to go to being the creator of it all, to being. Born of a human. Humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death of the cross. Do you know how I mean? Jesus was not void of power. Jesus was not lacking the essence of who he is. There were times that he would say, I could even call a legion of angels. But he was submitted. While on earth, he was submitted to God the Father, that he would say, not. My will, but yours be done. And the scripture says, to the point of death, even death of the cross. He had restrained because from the beginning we see he made himself of no reputation. Jesus was never out to prove a point. His focus was always the assignment, and the assignment was humanity to be reconciled back to God. There were moments that he could have demonstrated his power to show the people that you think you have the ability to put me on the cross, Well, I could shut this whole thing down right now. But he had power under control because it was not about his reputation. It was about the assignment he was called to fulfill. It was about the prophecy on his life that needed to be fulfilled while he was on earth. And the scripture says, therefore God has also highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every need should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, in his obedience to God, in his humility, in his submission, though he is equal to God. There was he. Then, the man Jesus was elevated to a place that all authority was under the man Jesus. And it says and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to. The glory of God the Father. There's so much here to unpack, but I just want to want us to take our time a little bit. You see, it's interesting that the scripture would say, let this mind be in you. Why wouldn't maybe make more of an emphasis of the Holy Spirit. Because, first of all, the funny thing is that the apostle Paul, who is writing this, is speaking to believers. He speaking to Christians, He's speaking to those. Who have the Holy Spirit, and he goes beyond that and he says, it's not just that you have been saved, because salvation can happen in an instance when you receive the Lord, when you receive Jesus as your Lord and savior, when you when you realize your humanity and your need for Him, when you repent before him, the Holy Spirit will come. Into your life. But transformation takes so daily surrender. Transformation is when you die. Daily transformation takes time. That is why there is such a deception and culture when people just think that they can be exactly who they are, you know, based on who they were before they met Christ, and they can remain that way after they've met Christ. It is a deception. So the apostle Paul says, let this mind be in you, because what the Holy spirit wants to do in your life. He cannot force himself on you. He is in you, so he has the ability to influence you, but he will not force influence upon you. You have to be in partnership and agreement with him. So he says, let this mind, and you see when it comes to the mind, that the realm of the mind dwells in your soul. As believers, as human beings, we are not just spirit, and we're not just a body with a soul and spirit, or we're not just a soul that has a spirit in a body. We are spirit, soul and body. That is why infest Thessalonia's five twenty three. It would say, now, may the God of Peace himself sanctify you completely. And to be sanctified is to be set apart. Don't just give yourself to the ways of the world. Set yourself apart for the things of God. He says, May he sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Lord is looking at everything. He's looking at what you do with your body. He's looking at the influence that is given to your soul, and he's looking at if your spirit has received his spirit, Because when you say yes to Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells in your spirit, not your soul. He dwells in your spirit. And so the soul is the bridge between the body and the spirit, and it is influenced by whatever is fed the most. So if you only give yourself to the appetites of this world, because your body makes you world conscious, then your soul is influenced by society and culture and ideologies of the world. But if you feed your spirit, if your priority are the things of God, then your soul begins to conform to the nature and the ways of God. I remember, when I look back. On my crazy days, I don't even have a desire for that person. I don't even have a long gain for that person. What changed. I started to starve what was feeding the flesh and focused on what feeds the spirit. And so the soul would be It's literally like a sponge. It would absorb whatever you give it. It will take in whatever you feed it. But the soul is very critical because the soul is the seat of your identity. Again, the Bible says, as a man thinks so is he. But the mind is in the soul, your emotions is in the soul, and your will, how you choose, is found in the soul. So it is central. It shapes literally how you think, how you feel, and how you choose. But then why does the scripture say let this mind be in you, because you see, how you think will shape how you feel, and how you feel will determine how you choose. Everything goes back to the mind. Even science has started to catch up with everything that the Word of God already taught us. In neuroscience, they have discovered the connection between thoughts and emotions and decision making. It's all connected to how you think. I remember some time ago, I was, you know, I traveled with some of my friends and we were trying to get gas at this gas station and we ran into someone who was just blatantly racist, right just you know, there's only maybe two times I've met such people. And they were so offended, and I was chilling, I was enjoying myself. Music was in the car, I had some good food. And they were so upset, and I looked at him, I said, why is this affecting you so much? All he did was he said some things that he shouldn't have said. But what does that mean to you? That reveals more of his ignorance? Why should I be affected by someone else's ignorance? Why should my day be shifted? Why should I go from happy to sad because I had an encounter with someone's ignorance. The man was not physical against us in any way. He just said things verbally to us. But it's how you think, because how you think shapes your emotions. We heard the same thing. The same thing was said to all of us, but we had different responses. That is why you cannot just rely on your emotions to lead you. Because you see something the Lord began to teach me is that emotions are pregnant everything you know the Lord made. When you look at how God made creation, it speaks to also how He made you. When He made the trees and all of that. Everything God made has a seed in of itself so that it can reproduce. Even your emotions are pregnant with something. Anger is pregnant with destruction. So the Bible will say, be angry, but do not sin. Do not feed the seed of anger, because if you allow the emotion of anger to run your life, you will do something destructive that you would regret because you're relying on the emotion to tell you how to think, when the problem is how you think is what produced that emotion. Oftentimes, when we go through something that someone betrays us, if you feed it, if you dwell on it, it is pregnant for you to be suspicious of everybody. Then when people want to come into your life, have you keep them at a distance, not knowing that when God wants to bless you, he sends men, he sends people. But the enemy wants you to dwell on the betrayal, dwell on the hurt, because it isolates you from people. Jealousy is pregnant with death, death to your own calling, death to the things that God has told you to do. When you feed it, when you constantly look on the people that you compare yourself to, you will not take ownership of what God has called you to do because you're too focused on trying to be like somebody else, trying to walk in the lane of somebody else, trying to look like someone else, trying to dress like someone else, that you miss what the Lord is calling you to do. But in the same way that we see that in the negative, we can also. See it in the positive. When you feed the things of the spirit like love, you become pregnant with power. Because the love of God is when you move. Everything God does is out of his love. But you see, the things that come from God go beyond emotion to identity. That is why even when you see when the Bible talks about things like joy and peace, what does it call it? Fruits of the spirit? What is birth? When you feed the things of the spirit, that what is in that seed begins to grow. So you cannot just allow any emotion to to be the driver's seed of your life if it doesn't reflect the nature of God. Because all of this goes back to the mind. You see, when the enemy wants to have the advantage over your life, he doesn't have to do much if he has access to how you think. If he can control your mind. You know, renewing the mind, for a believer, it's not something that is optional. It is mandatal. That is why the scriptures will tell us. Even in Romans twelve, verse two, it says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That you may prove what is good, acceptable, and the perfect will of God. If you don't yield all of yourself to the transformation of the Holy Spirit, then it is even difficult to discern what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. You can't choose a spouse when your mind is not renewed. That is why culture would celebrate you having a list. And there's nothing wrong with having a list. I had a list, but I remember the list I wrote in my flesh, and the list I wrote in prayer, and the list in my flesh. I thank God he didn't give me that. But when I wrote when I was praying, that God revealed to me because you know who this man is, so reveal it to me. And sometimes many of us will have a list and all of it is just carnal. You want a man who has, you know, this kind of body, but you don't even work out. It sounded like confession. We will want a man that makes a certain type of money, But then we are not even aimens with that same ambition. We make lists that are so carnal because it's coming from the pattern. You see, the Bible says, do not be conformed to this world. It's coming from the ways of the world, and not us coming before the Lord to say God, who is this person? You don't know how to choose and discern the will of God. You move to places randomly. You just wake up one morning and say, know what, I don't want live in Toronto anymore. I just want to go to Michigan. Let me just drive my car. But what is causing you to do that? Was a heartbreak? You allow that. To determine the direction of your life, and not coming before the Lord to say, Lord, what's next? And maybe sometimes what's next is too soon? Lord, heal me, heal me that I can think like you, I can see like you. You see. What I love about this scripture is that when it says, do not be conformed to this world, to conform is to take on the direction of another just in the direction it is to take on the shape of another mold. It is to follow a part of a pattern of someone else. And who is it talking about? Because one of the things you will learn in the scripture is that there is a difference between Earth and the world. Earth is a location. The world is a system. It is a system that is trying to bring in to advance a kingdom, and what has taken influence. Over this world is the Enemy. That's why oftentimes you will see him in scripture in the New Testament when he is called the God of this world, not the God over the earth, but the God of this world, because there is a system he has created to influence people. You see, for many of us that may come from Africa, when we think of things like witchcraft, we have a certain image in our minds. When we think of anything that has. To do with the devil, we think of someone in the family or a neighbor who is trying to do witchcraft on you. It's bigger than that. It's about how do they advt kingdoms. The Lord is after advancing his kingdom, and the enemy is trying to advance the kingdom of darkness, and so he infiltraits. What we call culture. He infiltrates what we call, you know, societal norms, what has become acceptable in society, because if society accepts it and I do it, I'm not judged. But when you look at the way of the world, it is anti God. It's not just culture, it's not just tradition. It's not just what's on television. There is an agenda at play. There is a spirit driving something. And I was doing a little bit of research because I wanted to see what are some of the historical patterns of the world system and look at this all the way from ancient civilization pre one thousand BC to five hundred AD and for some who are new to the faith b c. Is before Christ ads, after the death of Christ. That was how they you know, they they spoke about timing, you know, during pre you know, civilized civilization. But during those times, the Canaanites and there were some others that practice child sacrificed and it was okay in society, and they did that in worship to their gods. There was a god named Molek and a god named Beale. And you see this in the Bible. It was all right. Sexual immorality and abortion was normalized. Said, these were not just cultural behaviors, It was a gender of a spirit. How can we terminate the answers that God sends to the earth? How how how is it that we can bring an end? Because every time God sends a child, he sends a solution, sometimes to a family, sometimes a city, sometimes to a nation, sometimes to nations. Everything we thank the Lord for a light, you know, the ability to fly from one place to another. It was a solution that was put in a person when God sent them to the earth, medical advancement. It was a solution God put in a person. And the enemy knows how he can maintain chaos is to abort solutions. How he can cause disorder in the family structure, is to make sexual immorality a norm. So even though from this time it died down, we will see that it picked back up again. Then we go to from five hundred to fifteen hundred a d. This was a time that marked the suppression of women. There were times that women were viewed as inferior. We still deal with some of that in certain spaces still today. Women were denied education, women were silenced. Why the enemy, you see, it's so crazy when there's so much argument about women and ministry and all of this, Because the Enemy knows the power of a woman even more than many. Christians do, more than many believers do. A woman. The very fact that a woman carries a woman in the natural, imagine what it reflects in the spirit. That is why you would see that behind every great move of God, there were women somewhere on the scene, because there is there is a way that God does things. The man reflects a side of God, but the woman, the makeup of a woman, also represents a nature in God. Women are not just called to bring forth naturally. There is something that they have access to in God, to birth movements, to birth revivals, to. Shake and shape nations. So the enemy knew how do we make the woman quiet, normalize it in culture, make it part of society, make it part of the law. And we think these things are random, it is not. Then, from the fifteen hundreds to the eighteen hundreds we see the Transatlantic slave trade where millions of Africans were enslaved and dehumanized. And it was not just about the slavery, it was what was used to dehumanize Africans because they will twist up the scriptures and make it look as though the God that we served was for us to be in that level of bondage, that this was the will of God. You see, you have to understand that say and plays the long game. Even though many people became Christians, what are we seeing happening today? Even within Africa, people are returning to what they call the gods of their ancestors. In the United States, many Black Americans are going back to worship things like if I in Nigeria, I said, I'm from there, you don't want any business with the Father. Because the enemy plays the long game. People think that that was the only way for Christianity to come into parts of Africa. And it was a lie. Christianity had been in Africa, and if you gave it time, it would have spread from Ethiopia into other parts of the continent. But the enemy wanted to find a way to sow a seed of corruption that. In times to come, he would remind black people, this is not your god. This is the god of your slave owners. This is the god of the people that enslaved you. He doesn't look at the now, He's looking at centuries ahead, and he would do it at an I'll put you time at a time when there is something that is supposed to be exploited from the nation of Africa that will shake and shape how worship. Is presented, how the Word of God is revealed. What we see. Happening in the nations right now with afrobeats is not supposed to be just limited to songs that make you dance and have a good time around the world. It is about the sound that is supposed to come out of Africa. But if the enemy can corrupt it, then what you only hear is afrobeats. It's the ones that make you dance, that make you go drink after the ones that make you dance and then volunteer sexual immorality. But there is a grace, there is a season that is opened up to Africa for its sound. So the enemy the same thing he did with Jesus. You see, after he tempted Jesus, the Bible said, and he left to come back at an outputune time. He understands times and seasons. He doesn't strike when it's cold, he strikes when it's hot. These things were not random. They were the. Manifestation of spirits, the agenda of a spirit. Then we look at the nineteen sixties to the nineteen eighties and that was the sexual revolution. Now it came back where sex outside of marriage was celebrated. We started to call it sexual freedom, pornography, adultery, and the breakdown of the family became normalized. You think this is normal, We see that even till today where people because of what you watch and what you see, you call it your freedom and you don't realize its bondage. Then in nineteen seventy three we see the legalization of abortion in the US. And this was not just about abortion being legalized. We focus too much on the road versas way. This was about it being normalized. The agenda was not about medical situations. The agenda was not for women who have experienced rape to have a choice. The agenda was. For it to be normalized. And that is why, till this day, over sixty million unborn lives have been lost. Until this day, the Lord even showed me, there's a lady in this room, and right now you're pregnant and contemplating an abortion because society accepts it. But what you don't realize is that when it is not something out of a crisis, when it is not something that is a medical emergency, it is a sacrifice you make and the altar is your convenience. And that sacrifice is not what the Lord receives, is what the enemy accepts. And whenever there is an altar with sacrifice, it causes an invitation. That's why when we fast and when we pray before God, we sacrifice our bodies we sacrifice our hunger, and what do we receive His presence? Sacrifice opens the door for an invitation. What many don't realize is that the enemy's agenda with abortion well so that you would invite the spirit of death into your own life. And it doesn't show up as death in a literal sense. It shows up in other ways. It shows up as weird medical issue in the family. It shows up as when something was supposed to happen in a moment it falls apart out of nowhere. It shows up in different things that will cause destruction in your life that you will never reach the place that God has called you to. And if you don't realize that. This was connected to a decision I made for my own convenience and you don't repent of it, say and still has. The upper hand. If you don't come before the Lord, then say I was wrong, because he is a restorer, he is a redeemer. But why the enemy makes this thing normal in culture is so that he can legally have his way. Because something you will learn about the spiritual realm, it is a legal realm. So as long as there's agreement, there is allowance. As long as there is agreement. Even though you might call the blood of Jesus boy, you have agreed with another spirit. You have given that spirit an invitation into your life. And so why am I saying this? There's so much more we can share. Even from two thousand to present, we see gender confusion and identity crisis, where culture teaches us that gender is fluid and subjective, opposing God's design. Why. Because man is not just about agenda. It's an office in God. Female is not just about agenda. She has an office in God. And so when the woman begins to believe she's a man, there is something she already denies of herself and God. It's an agenda. And now we're support we're called to believe that. We just have to be quiet because if we say anything, it could offend people. It's an agenda. It's not about offending people, but it's being like Jesus, who was full. Of truth and grace. I'm not saying the truth to make myself feel better than you. I'm gonna say from a place of love. And if I don't love you, I better be quiet. But when I have the revelation of God's love for you, I can speak the truth regardless of how you receive it, because if the kingdom of darkness has an agenda, then we should also align with God's agenda to advance his kingdom, because it's only in the advancement of his kingdom that we would see the manifestation of what he desired on the earth. But you see, when the enemy begins to have us call evil good and good evil, chaos starts to happen in our own lives. There were a few things that the Lord began to reveal. You see, it's just like some of the things I share. We begin to say sexual promiscuity is freedom when it's bondage. We've called pride self confidence when it's actually rebellion against humility and depending and see on God. We begin to call greed ambition. When it's idolatry in disguise, then we call biddenness boundaries. You see, there's all these fancy languages that are given to us, when in reality you just have unforgiveness. And you say, you know, I'm just setting boundaries. Boundaries are good, But if it is unforgiveness dressed up as protection, it is still unforgiveness. That you have to bring before God. Then we call comparison inspiration when it's envy keeping you from your calling. We call New Age practices a spiritual awakening when it's an invitation to demonic forces. And then we call gender and confusion self expression. It's an agenda. This is the mold of the world. Satan wants you to be conformed to his mold. And here is the truth of the matter. Before any of us came to Jesus, that was the mold we took. We were defined by society, We were defined by culture. We were defined by the ideologies. We were raised up in. So when you come to Christ, you cannot desire to stay that way. You cannot desire that. It cannot become a routine or a religious activity. That we come on to a beautiful conference like. This, we pray and we worship, and we go back to our filth without any conviction. We just continue like nothing ever happened. We have to come before the Lord Lord, help my mind, help me to live and be like you. And how do we do this. Let's go back to the scripture and Philippians two five to eleven when it says let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ. And then I'm gonna jump to verse seven. When it said but made himself of no reputation, that word means he emptied himself. He emptied himself of any status, He emptied himself of any pride, of any ego. He did not need to prove anything to anyone. He emptied himself so that he could humble himself to be found in the form of a man. And I believe there is such a beautiful. Connection to that and what we read in John fourteen, verse thirty, when Jesus is revealing that the ruler. Look at what Jesus says. The ruler of this world comes to me, and he has nothing in me. I was empty of anything he could prove from me. There was no pride in me, there was no ego in me. There is no selfish ambition in me. There was nothing that the enemy could use as. A leverage to cause me to fall. He was empty. And why I want to focus on this is because when the Bible said he made himself of no reputation, this was the emphasis the Lord placed on my heart. Because reputation speaks to the beliefs or opinions that people have of us, and oftentimes this is what keeps us bound, how we want to be perceived, how we want to be seen, how we want people, what we want people to think. About us and feel about us. That some of us start. Living fake lives just so that people would have a certain perception of us. I remember, and this happens to all of us. But that is why we have to come to the cross. We have to have self awareness of where is it that I fall and then come with a posture that, truly, God, even if I don't desire it, Holy Spirit, help me that my priority is Jesus and not self. Work on my heart, work on my mind. I remember, you know my mom. My mom is someone who loves fashion. When she's going out, she knows where she wants to shop. But on her every day there is a certain store she likes to go to any time she comes to the US. And it's not a store that you are proud to really want to go to, but you will find some gems in there, but she loves it for like everyday things. And I remember one. Time my mom was like, Hey, let's go to my store, and I was like, oh Lord, I hope I'm not calling this store by anybody, but you know what that is when your reputation means more to you than Jesus, than reflecting the nature and the heart of Jesus. Because whenever there is something you feel embarrassed by, then the people who do it, you have put yourself above them. That is not the heart of God, that is not the heart of a servant. And even when you come before God and you're asking the Lord to work on my heart, work on my mind, he will put you in situations. Some of you have found yourself in situations right now. And you are praying to God, get me out of this job, get me out of this thing, get me out of this apartment, get me out of this place. And you don't realize it's your answered prayer. That you are too focused on reputation and image. And the Lord knows that he cannot do much with you if your priority is self over him. Some of you may know this story. When the Lord called me the ministry, it was he There were things that I had to willingly do to literally strip myself of, you know, just the lifestyle that I enjoyed. And one of the things that were so difficult for me that would make me cry at night, and this would sound so vain and don't judge me. That was my past was taking the bus. I I who, wow, it was the thing that I would be in the bus and I would say, God, is this where it's at? Now? Is this my life? What is life? You start falling into depression, not because the depression has any weight. But how you think. And I remember one day I was in that bus and I was just complaining to the Lord and said, this is not my life. No, this is not my life. And the Lord said, what makes you any better than the people in this bus. That changed me forever from that moment because I didn't realize how prideful and arrogant I was, even though I knew the Lord, even though he would you see, don't confuse gifts for fruit. Just because you can move in the gifts of the Holy Spirit does not mean you embody the fruits of the Holy Spirit. I could prophesy in that bus, but I was arrogant in my heart. You want to make sure that your life reveals the fruits of His innate spirit. And so there are times that God will put you in what would be your own personalized wilderness, because He is after. The renewal of your mind. There are things that you are asking the Lord for and in your own way it is very vain. And the reason he's not giving it to you is because you don't see it right. You don't desire it for the right reasons. You desire it for your reputation. You desire it for how people would see you and acknowledge you, so you hide. You see, sometimes even when if you've ever been a victim of sexual abuse, it's a very hard thing to talk about. But sometimes the reason why people don't share is because they don't want to have the reputation of feeling damaged. They don't want to be known as that person who this happened to, so they hide it. Not knowing is that when you open it up, that's when Jesus can heal your heart. There are many things the Lord is saying, open it up to me. Don't run from the will, and don't act like the wilderness is against you. It's actually for you, because I need to do a work in your mind. You are still thinking like the world you came from, even though you said yes to me, the way of your life, what is produced out of your life is from that world, not my kingdom. And if you want to see authority in your life, if you want to see the hand of God in your life in a very unique way, if the prophecy concerning you will be fulfilled, your mind has to be renewed. And for tonight, what I just want to lay down is it starts with a question. Am I going to prioritize reputation or prioritize reflecting his nature? I don't know what you're trying to protect or you're trying to you know, it's so funny. I remember I was talking to a group of men and they said something which was so interesting to me. Because we and I. Don't know if any you know, I see a lot of beautiful women. I don't think anyone here and did plastic surgery. And if you did, no judgment. We listen, We don't judge. But I remember this group of men said something so interesting, and they said, women do plastic surgery for other women. I said, no, that's not true, that that's not true. It's because of y'all. They said no. They said, who do who do we end up marrying the ones without? And he said a lot of the things, and all of them agreed. They said a lot of the things women do is because they're in competition with each other. It has nothing to do with us. We entertain it, hm, but we're not married to it. I thought that was so fascinating because and just ask any brother, friend, real friend in your life about this, and I guarantee they we'll tell you the same thing. And remember, even my husband would tell me like, baby, no, you know, I just love you more without makeup. I said, that's great, that's great for you. Awesome, love it. I'm gonna do me. There's a way. I remember when I would have my natural hair just down. He's like, wow, you should always just go natural. I said, great, love it for you. But you would find out that many men the things they shared not Listen, women, there are things we do that it's just for us, you know. Just continue when it's for you, okay, Amen, And people would just admire it and love it. But when it is the product of jealousy or comparison, there's a problem. There's an isship. And I want you for a moment to just allow the Holy Spirit to examine your heart. Just stand with me. We're gonna pray. Thank you Jesus. See the things that the Lord amen, but no, just for a second, but let's just stay sensitive. There are things that the Lord wants to heal in us, wants to heal in you, wants to heal in me. You know, even this when I was getting ready, I had a wardrobe malfunction because I have a growing bally, so things are not fitting the way they used to. And I remember if this was me a couple of years ago and what I had in mind is not what happened, it would affect my mood. And in that moment, I was like, Wow, Lord, this is what happens when we surrender these aspects of our lives to you. See, there's some of you. There are places that you will be invited to and you wouldn't even want to go because you feel like, I don't have a thing to wear. But you know that your presence you carry. More than what you put on. I have seen where people would wear things that I mean, you would just be like, nope, can't wear can't rocket like that. But there is a way they carry themselves that it would become trending. Have you watched some of like, you know, fashion Week and how some of these tough designers I can't remember which brand literally had someone. Wear a trash back and walk the runway in a trash back. You know, for those who are from the from Western Africa, we have this thing we call gin I must go. It's a type of bag that is used when there's just no other bag insight and you just need to pack some fruits and vegetables or something. And it was something used by top designer for a fashion week. We will look at it and just look at it like, oh, look at this bag. But a supermodel will wear it and the world. Is like, wow, that is just high fashion. This is crazy. It's how you think. It's how you see a thing that really determines its value. It's not about the value other people. Place on it. It's the value you place on it. It's the way God reveals it to you. You can be in a place in your life where you might be sharing a room with someone else, you might feel like everything is working again. But if you see that season right, you will love it. It will not be the thing that causes you to fall into anxiety or depression or constant complaints. It will be the thing that will cause you to give gratitude to God that God you have brought me to a season where I can save, where I can build, where I can plan, where I don't have to put too much expenses in an apartment. How you see it is determined by how you think about it. That is why, regardless of where Jesus was, Jesus never complained about his accommodation, because even when he will say, the son of man has no place to lay his head, the earth was his. So even though physically when he walked the earth, it's not that he had some huge mansion that all the disciples could gather to. He walked the earth like one who was at the mercy. Of other people's obedience, but he was never moved by it. He was always in authority because of what he knew. What do you know about who you really are? All of us are going to go through seasons that would be perceived as high and low. But regardless of what is perceived as it is favor for your life, and if you think about it properly, your emotions would respond. Do you know what's so interesting? And this is no I mean I have very very close people to me that have experienced postpartum depression. I'm not in any way I'm speaking against that. It's a real thing that people experience. But what I want, what I want you to just think about. I have never met a woman who waited before the Lord for years to conceive, who's so the Lord ten years, eleven years, twelve years, have a. Child and experience postporum depression. There was a way they thought about that child. There was something that happened in their mind that when that child came it was the joy of their life, that there was no room for depression because it was the expectation. It was like God has finally responded to a prayer. Oftentimes, when we experience these things, Yes, there are things that science could say, you know, medically and all of that, but the emotion of it, sometimes it's tied to who we were. When we feel like we are. Losing ourselves because of what we are thinking, when we feel like adding another child, or this child is coming into what may feel like not knowing that if this child came from God, this child is coming with favor, this child is coming with increase. Yes it's gonna cost me something, but who this child is. If I think about it properly, it would bring joy and not confusion. It would bring peace and not chaos. It will not put me in a place of instability. It would make me feel confident that if God has entrusted me to steward after this child, there is something he knows about me. I want to tap into how you think. Don't let the enemy play you with just emotions. Trace the emotion to a thought and ask. The Holy Spirit is this thought from you. Or is this from the pattern of the world I came from. I just want you to lift up your hands for a second. Thank you Jesus. Even right now, Lord God, minister to your daughters, reveal unto them, what are the areas of our lives that require a mind renewal? What are we currently complaining about that if we had your mind, it would be what we are grateful for. Even right now, I'm reminded by Peter that when you, Lord Jesus. Walked the earth and you were about to be arrested, Peter in anger cuts off someone's ear. But you saw it differently. That's why you healed the ear of the one who was coming against you. Lord. We avail ourselves. That let the mind that you embody be in us. We avail ourselves to you and we know this is an invitation for disruption in our lives. But let your grace carry us through. Let us see the wilderness with the right eyes. Let us see what we may feel as though we have been forgotten. Let us see it properly, because you are the God who sees us. Your word says that you will never leave nor forsake us, and you will not start. Now. Let us see it right, Jesus. We want to be more like you, for that is the goal. Of everything, to reflect who you are on this earth. Christians was never about a title. It was about those who were like Christ. We don't want just the title of a Christian. We want to be like Christ. We want to be like you. For the thing that you have called us to do, Oh God, for the prophecy concerning the lives of your daughters to be fulfilled. The mind of Christ is required, for we cannot step into an identity until we. Think like that identity. And so I pray, Jesus, let the mind that is in You be in us your children. Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. And very quickly, if you know, I just have to do this very quickly. If you know, first of all, maybe you're here and someone brought you here. But you have not given your life to Jesus. You're not connected to a church home. And I want to encourage you. If you live in Ontario, in Canada, you live close to here, or you need to take a train, make this a place that you can call home. But if you have not given your life to Jesus, if he is not the Lord and savior of your life, just lift up your hand and you want to say yes to him. Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. And I'm just gonna do one more thing, and if that is you, I will just invite you to come very quickly to the altar. Just come down very quickly. Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus. You see, sometimes we come to church because they are beautiful people and we just like the environment of knowing that these are people that are loving. But you have not fully given Jesus your life. Because he's always been the God of your parents. You just knew the religious thing. You grew up in church, but you have not in your own way, say Jesus, I want to commit and surrenderm my life to you. So whoever that is, I just invite you to just come. Straight down, and I'm sure there are people that will minister to you. And it's nothing to be shy about. Amen. Amen. Amen, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. Amen. Can we celebrate Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus. You see walking with Jesus. It's not you know, sometimes I would hear people say, like, you know, when did you start your walk with God? They would say from the womb. You gotta revisit that right, because it's not about religion. It's not about just because I was raised in church. You have to say yes to Him. That's the reason whenever you see people who once identified as Christians and all of a sudden they say, you know why I'm gonna walk into something else, it's because they never met him. We just knew the God of their parents. Can we celebrate what God is doing? Amen? Amen. And just as they've given you something, I love this house, I love the pastors over this church, and this will be an incredible church home for you to grow in your faith. And I'm sure pastor they will be they will take them to a certain place so they will be able to walk you through all of this. And also, if there's anyone else that wants to come down. Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. And just finally, very quickly, oh look at that. Can we just celebrate Jesus? Amen? Amen? You see what is so beautiful about this. You will know Him in a tangible way, and no one can snatch that from you. There's so much that is happening in culture right now to snatch people away from the faith. But when you've met Him. For yourself, it is undeniable and it's just the best decision you could ever make in your life. Can we celebrate them one more time? Amen? Amen? And as the message was going on, if there were things that the Lord began to stare up in you, and he began to reveal to you the areas of your life that you're actually not depressed, that you're actually not that really anxious. It's just that you need to renew your mind. There are things you're complaining about that you should be having gratitude for. And the Holy Spirit began to reveal things to you. I just want you to join us at the altar and we're just gonna pray and you know, go on to the next thing. But just if that is you and the Lord was ministering to you very quickly, just join us at the altar. Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord, thank you Lord. You away God, thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. And the reason I'm doing this right now. You see, when the Bible talks about repentance, repentance is not just about for you to stop doing what you are doing. It is to turn the other way because when you are in the wrong direction is keeping you from the right one. And so there are moments in an altar call. What it represents spiritually is that I'm getting out from where I used to be to where the Lord is calling me to be. And so it's a prophetic act that represents the decision we're making in the moment. It's not just to just walk around and just say hi the people as you're walking, but that in your spirit, I'm saying this, so that this intentionality as you're walking out that Lord, indeed, I am walking away from this old mindset and I am inviting you to have your way in my life. Amen, one more time, let's just lift our. Hands before the Lord. Lord. I thank you. There is nothing we can do without your help, even to please you. We need you, We need the power of your Holy Spirit. And so Lord, I pray that your grace will come upon your children even now, a grace that would equip. Them for the journey ahead. I thank you, Lord Jesus, that there were things that you used to convict them about that they lost the conviction, the sensitivity to the Holy Spirit because they kept turning in the wrong direction. I thank you, Lord God, that they will come back to a place of sensitivity to your voice. I thank you Lord that as they prioritize obedience, as they prioritize reflecting your image and your nature, that Lord Jesus, that you will do things with them they never thought possible. I come against every attack of the. Enemy on their minds, Oh God, every stronghold of Satan, because of mistakes they have made. I thank you Lord that indeed you are a redeemer and a restorer, that Heavenly Father. When the enemy wants to remind them, because he is known as the accuser of the brethren, what call he brings accusations? Because there are many in this room, and it feels like their voice has been locked up. That there are things you have called them to voice out. There are things you have called them to say, but the weights of shame and guilt have kept them buried. Lord, freedom Now, in the name of Jesus, we. Thank you, Lord, because you do not use us for our own righteousness. Your word says that our righteousness are like filthy rags before you. There is no man that can boast in his goodness. We can only boast in you. So, Lord, I pray that there would be such a sweet presence of your holy spirit that will come upon them, and it would be the affirmation that the Lord does not care about your past. He cares about what you do with your present right now. He cares about the decision you're gonna make right now. He cares about walking with you in this momental eternity. He's not gonna hold your past against you, for he is also the redeemer of time. Lord, where your daughters. Feel like they have lost time in the wrong things, reveal to them your love. You another God that cast people away, You, another God that looks at your daughter's or even your son's in this room and say I am done with you. No, Lord, you bring them closer. Your word says you leave the ninety nine for the one, and that ninety nine are those that fell as though they knew everything. But you will go to the one who is who recognizes their lost, the one who recognizes that they need to be found by a shepherd. Lord, does your children come before you that. Lord. I need you to find me. I need you to heal me. I need you to reveal to me who. I am, not what the world of my mistakes have said about me. Lord, As you do so, empower them, strengthen them, Reveal to them that you are indeed the God that will never leave nor forsake them. Let the fruits of the spirit begin to develop in their lives. Create scenarios and circumstances that will cause the fruits of the spirit to be developed, and we will give you praise. Lord. I thank you that every work of Satan that has been working in the lives of your daughters be broken in the name of Jesus. Have your way. Lord, Lord, I thank you. I see that there are people I don't know who it is, but there's someone with a certain condition. And this just happened in the past two weeks, where a doctor had revealed. That there was something that will cause you to be infertile. Lord, I thank you that even the reports of doctors do not limit your hand, and so, Heavenly Father, we thank you that you would reverse that report in the name of Jesus, and let it be a point of contact. Oh God, that where your children are seeking you for healing, heal them. But they're seeking you because Lord, you are ever present in the time of trouble. Whatever troubles them, Lord, bring deliverance in Jesus' mighty name. Amen Amen, Amen f