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Going Beyond Ministries with Priscilla Shirer- Identity in Christ"},"lengthSeconds":"3662","ownerPro

Jun 04, 2021
Lord Jesus, we, your sons and your daughters, are literally sitting on the edge of our seats anticipating what you came to tell us tonight, father, we are so glad the other is here, but we didn't actually come to see each other. we came to see you so speak father we are listening in the name of Jesus Amen I will tell you that I was a little naughty teenager I gave my parents of the four I gave my parents a run for their money I was the one who was always thinking about things to do when I was a teenager and one of the things I decided to do was my freshman year of high school.
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I decided I would change my name. I came up with a little nickname and decided to change my name. name now just to give you a little bit of context for that choice. I went with my three brothers and we all went to a small private school around the corner from my parents' house, the house they still live in to this day. Brook Hollow Christian School was the name. from school and we went there from kindergarten to 8th grade, then our first year we transferred to the neighboring public school district, so just to give you context, the largest class my class ever was at this private school It was about 20 kids at its peak by the When I got to eighth grade, there were about 13 kids in my eighth grade class, ninth grade, so I transferred to Duncanville High School, it's one of the largest school districts in Texas.
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More Interesting Facts About,

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In fact, it looks more like a college campus than a high school. when I transferred from 13 students at Brick Hollow Christian school to freshman, you're at Duncanville High School, there were 753 kids in my freshman class, not in high school, just the freshman class has 753 children, so it was a completely different context for me and these were

going

to be people who most didn't know me. I didn't know them, so I thought it would be a fun opportunity to change my

identity

completely. I would change my name and give myself a new name. I had heard about a student I met through other acquaintances at another school.
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Her initials were DK and people called her DK. I thought she was smart so I adopted this nickname. My new name was DK. Now I remember telling my friend from class. young people in the church we had grown up were in church together, she was already in the Duncanville High School district, so I remember telling her about my plan. She's the only one who knew about my little plan because she knew she was

going

to be the connective tissue between me and most of the new friends. I was going to do, so I said listen girl, when you introduce me to the people at this new school, don't introduce me as Priscilla, go ahead and introduce me as DK, she said girl, what I said, yeah, she introduced me as DK and So.
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I remember arriving on the first day of school. I remember walking into this new, huge, new world, on this new campus, and I remember her introducing me to people. She looked at me curiously to make sure she was still okay with this. It was still my plan before she started introducing me to person after person as DK. I introduced myself to my teachers and new friends as DK, and long story short, it became popular on the LAT during the four years I was in school. there wasn't a single student there wasn't a single teacher there wasn't a school administrator or a principal or a sports coach who didn't refer to me as DK most people didn't even really know my name was Priscilla everyone called me DK in fact anyone in that whole season of my life, so the people or the coaches on the court from other schools where we competed with them in different capacities, they all called me DK, it was emblazoned on all my sports uniforms, it was emblazoned on my jacket Letterman every person at that stage of my life called me down, in fact still to this day if someone refers to me as DK on social media or someone yells in the mall hey DK or in the aisles of the supermarket yeah someone refers to me as DK.
I automatically know it's someone who knew me at that stage in my life because everyone called me DK. Now this didn't bother my parents too much, they didn't really say anything about it until one day I remember getting sick at school. I had a fever. so they had to call my mom to come pick me up. I remember lying on that little cot behind the curtain they pull up at the nurses' station and I remember hearing my mom approach the counter there at the nurses' station. I remember hearing her say I'm here for Priscilla and I also remember the nurse saying, and I remember hearing them go back and forth for a few moments before they decided she was here to heal Priscilla, so my mom picked me up and took me home. .
She didn't say anything to me the first night because she didn't feel good the next day or the day after that she waited until I was 100% until she surrounded me in a corner with the mom everyone knows. What am I talking about when I say mom, me and she said now Priscilla, I want to make something clear about something that neither me nor your father has minded, this whole little matter of nicknames, it hasn't bothered us at all, we know it's been only a little. High school experiment is no big deal, it's all been fun but she said: I want to make something clear: graduation is coming up and when graduation comes they will have a ceremony someone will have a microphone in their hand they will say your name and your name will be be amplified in that room she said not only that but they are going to hand you a piece of paper and she said when they hand you that piece of paper there better not be a D or a pie in sight and she said this is the The reason he said the reason is because it doesn't matter what others call you, it doesn't even matter what your name is, there are only one or two, me and your father, who have the rights and the privilege. to give you your name, only the one who gave you life has the authority to identify you.
I came tonight and flew from Dallas, Texas, this afternoon because I want to say a word of

identity

about you tonight. I really want to remind you who. I want you to know that it doesn't matter what other people have called you, it doesn't even matter what you called yourself, there is only one who has the right and the authority to tell you who you are. I want you to know that other people are not qualified to name you and that Circumstances may have made things difficult for you but in reality they are not powerful enough to define you.
I want you to know that your story may have marked you but that's how it is. I'm not allowed to tag you. I want you to know that what your mom called you and what your dad did to you may have hurt you and may actually require real emotional work and years to get out of the illness that comes with it. ingrained in your life, I understand that, but I want you to know that it does not have the power to shape the entirety of who you have been called to be, listen to me, you are not defined by your past, you are not defined. by your behavior you are not defined by your failures you are not defined by your struggles you are not defined by your feelings you are not defined by your circumstances you are not defined by the here today gone tomorrow false ideologies and philosophies of our current culture you are who God says you are.
You are a blank spot that does not change Your father has given you a name Did you know that he has said that you are a chosen race You are a royal priesthood You are a person who has been redeemed and chosen? adopted and qualified you are not a mistake you are not an afterthought you are not a liability you have been created in the same image of God that means every aspect of your physique means the skin you are in means the texture of the hair that is on your head means the structure of your body every unique aspect of your physicality in my physicality has been made in the very image of God, that means that any person or any system that seeks to diminish the value of the uniqueness of Who I Am is actually anti-God because I am an expression of God's creative genius, but not only does that not only mean that you are physically created in the image of God, but did you know that even your personality is a unique expression of the creative? genius of God you are made and equipped with the uniqueness of your personality and your temperament in the image of God you are not an introvert by mistake you are not an extrovert by mistake you are who God created you to be even your weaknesses are not actually a burden, they are an adaptation uniqueness of God because your weaknesses simply become a platform for God's strength to be shown through your life and then, when we surrender all that we are physically and in our personality, when we surrender all that we are to God and Put faith in His Son Jesus Christ and give Him our body and our personality to use as tools, instruments for His glory.
Well, now the Holy Spirit of God settles within us and now we are becoming temples of the Holy One. Spirit of God The real presence of God lives within me, that means with this presence in me, well, now I am a conqueror, that is what I am. I am a winner. This issue of identity, all of you, is very important because the enemy wants to. There is so much to twist and change your identity, your image of who God has created you to be, because you will live or live by what you believe to be true about who you are, which is why this issue of identity is so critical that it is one of the theological threads we see woven throughout the pages of Scripture from beginning to end.
There are some theological principles that are relegated to a portion of the Bible, perhaps to a book or a Testament, but not to the identity. Identity is from the beginning in Genesis, you read about it all the way to the end, all the way to the maps at the end of the book, you see this theme of identity from the beginning, we see God calling a dark man named Abram out of a dark city and The first thing he does when he finds this man is change his name, he changes his name from Abram to Abraham and after changing his name, he changes the GPS coordinates of his destination. because that's what happens when God changes your name, changes where you're going, changes where you're going to end up, changes Abraham's name and says Abraham, now I'm going to create a new group of people from you.
I will be mine and I will be theirs I will set them apart they will no longer be who they used to be they will bear my name my provision and my promises and my blessing will be their staple food they will be mine and I will be theirs if only they will choose to align with their new identity if they will only align with their new identity if they will only behave according to their new identity not how they feel not according to their circumstances not according to what other people are saying about them, but if they simply act as if whoever I call them is who they really are, they will see my blessings explode in their lives, but the children of Israel in the Old Testament are exactly like us if you read the whole Old Testament.
You see that time and time again you are all seduced by the idols of culture. Time and time again we see the children of Israel fleeing in fear from foreign enemies. Time and time again we see that they continue to forget who they are. Are they not living up to the standard of who God calls them to be? They continue to bow and bow and conform and live below the standard to which they were called, that they were freed from 400 years of slavery to receive the blessings of God. They can't enjoy it, we literally find in these two verses that I'm going to read to you in just a second, we find the children of Israel actually in the land of milk and honey, they're in the real estate of Canaan and they can't enjoy the blessings. , they are in the place where God's blessings are supposed to abound, but they cannot enjoy them simply because they did not understand this identity problem properly, which is why we live in a time where If you have not realized, we are the enemy that is rampant with this identity problem, we can say this because everything is being redefined the things that God has already given definitions that everyone is trying to redefine, but you are who God says you are. who he has created you for, but everything for the children of Israel and everything for you can completely change when God meets a person and reworks his vision of their identity, it is the hinge that changes the course of a life, so in judges chapter 6 if you have your Bible and you want to come with me you can take a tour it will be on the screens judges chapter 6 I just want to read two verses because these two verses have been bothering me recently these two verses we find God showing up and meeting with a person, you know I think the reason you are in this room tonight is because he intended to meet you, are you the only one?
In other words, he came just to meet you and if he can change your perspective. of who you are, if he can make you begin to align your thinking, your perspective and your behavior to match who he has called you to be, he will change the course of your entire life, judges, chapter six, let me tell you before you read . In these two verses, the children of Israel have opened themselves to attack by the enemy because of this identity problem because they do not live in alignment with the truth, the enemy has continued to come for them again and again, the Midianites have devastated them so severely. for seven consecutive years they can no longer even enjoy their communities in Canaan they are running in fear they have abandonedTheir homes now live in the caves that are on the sides of the mountains because they are fleeing in fear of the enemy because of this issue of identity and in the midst of a culture a country that is suffering because of this misplaced identity judges chapter 6 verse 11 and 12says this then the angel of the Lord came and sat under an oak tree that was in Oprah that was from joash the abbot recites how his son Gideon someone said that Gideon Gideon was beating the wheat in a winepress to save it from those all the Midianites have gone verse 12 says that the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: let me tell you who you are, the Lord is with you, oh mighty warrior, these are the two verses that are the hinge in the story of Gideon, we know Gideon , do you know him. the guy who placed the fleece in front of the lord just to make sure the lord knew what he was talking about, you remember Gideon because he is the one who went into battle with 300 soldiers as the underdog and one of the victors against 140,000 Midianite enemies .
He's the guy who we know the highlights of his story, but a lot of times we jump over these two verses and these two verses are the hinge that changes everything, please don't let the first line of these two verses fall out of your mouth. shoulders as if they are no big deal the angel of the Lord came and sat with Gideon under the shade of this oak the angel of the Lord came the scholars say that this was the great presence of Israelite history in the original Hebrew language this translates of the Malec Yahweh is the phrase Malak Yahweh Yahweh that you recognize in other words, this is not a normal angel, in other words, this is the presence of Almighty God coming out of the heavens and interposing itself in the landscape of planet Earth, this is God Himself determining that the situation is so dire that the situation so deeply needs their presence that there is one individual who is important and significant enough to change the trajectory of not only their lives but also the lives of everyone around them who I'm going to come down from the heavens and take care of this myself.
The angel of the Lord came to meet a person who needed a change in his identity. I can't get over the fact that God keeps coming for me like that. I can't get over the fact that the angel of the Lord loves me so much that he will keep coming for me and chasing me and making sure to show up to speak to me when I need him most. I want you to know that you never will. Lost in the crowd that no matter how big this gathering gets, no matter how big the church gets, you need to know that you are never lost in the sight of God, that your friend may not realize it and your spouse may not realize it.
Mind you, your employer may not know that your coworker may not be aware of what is going on around you, but you need to know that the angel of the Lord has his eyes on you and knows exactly what is happening in your life and in its circumstances, so the angel of the Lord goes out and goes out. of heaven we should never casually shake off that the God of the universe, I'm talking about the God who held the Son in place all day, made sure he didn't move, he's the one who made sure the Earth rotated on its axis at just the right speed today so that you and I could sustain life here and he is the one who made sure that it rotated at just the right pace to make sure that at the right time the sunlight was exchanged for sunlight.
Moon above us today, he is the one who will hang every star in his place tonight. Not only will he know their number, but he will know them all by name. He is the one who controls the agony of the universe I am talking about. the galaxies of the universe that scientists have not yet discovered, our great God is controlling the launches of the universe and even while he takes care of all that, he is trapped in this room tonight to come here and see about you ever. We shouldn't casually shrug off that he loves us so much that he keeps coming for us.
Did you know that's the story of the entire Bible? Did you know that in every book of the Bible that is the story he is trying to get? He is trying to show you how in Genesis he came for you and then in Exodus he came for you and Allah vidiq how he came for you in numbers in Deuteronomy Joshua and the judges, he keeps trying to find ways to come and get. you until the Old Testament is closed and for 400 years it is silent and it seems that there is no hope it seems that the enemy has won and will not come until the new testament is opened and Matthew says that God himself put on skin he basically said I'm going to come down here and take care of this myself.
He loved you so much that he keeps moving heaven and earth to come after you, so in the Old Testament we continue to see the molecular appearance, it is called theophany, it is a The appearance of God in the Old Testament is that of the preincarnate Jesus Christ coming out of the heavens and entering time and history, so we see the molecular aspect appear and most of the time when it appears in the Old Testament, it comes to an individual who needs to be reminded of his identity most of the time when the molecular finds it critical enough to show up it's because there is a person who forgets who he is it's important to him that you remember who you are enough for him to finish a full 30 minute message on the subject tonight so that when you leave when I get out of this place tonight we are not the same people we came here with, so molecular weight keeps showing up, it appears in the book of Genesis for a lady named Hagar who was discarded and was misused and abused by the people she was supposed to They were supposed to cover her, protect her and love her, they discarded her and she sits in a dusty desert feeling abandoned and forgotten and unknown and right there in the midst of her loneliness and isolation is molecular to Hagar and reminds her of who she is.
Oh Hagar, if you are in the room tonight because the people you were supposed to trust betrayed you, the people who were supposed to love you like you were supposed to be. able to count on the person who walked up to the altar and said I would do it to you, who promised you a lifetime and yet betrayed you and turned his back on you, know that in this desert where you were sitting feeling alone and forgotten you need to know that the molecular will come and find you in that desert Hagar, but he not only appears before Hagar, he appears before men like Moses, he appears before Moses when he is in the dry dust. desert tending sheep a job that is below his salary and educational level he was raised as a Prince of Egypt this is not the job he expected to have to face but for 40 long years he has been in this barren, dry and dusty situation and because of the way in that it is there as a result of the consequences of your own actions, I wonder if there is someone in the room sitting in dry, dusty, sterile circumstances, but honestly, when you look back, you realize that you did it to yourself .
I wonder if there has ever been a time in your life where you've been sitting right in the middle of some fallout and you honestly can't blame anyone because when you look back you realize it was a decision that you knew wasn't right? should you have taken? You made it a relationship that you knew you shouldn't have allowed. I don't know about you, maybe this doesn't happen in Miami, but listen, there are entire seasons of my life that I look back on and don't even recognize. that person over there. Can I get a witness at the house today?
There are entire seasons of my life that I look back on and can't believe the decisions that were made. I can't believe the relationships I allowed. I can't believe the paths I took. way down, I can't believe the influences I let into my sphere and into my space, when I look back, all I can be grateful for is the liberating power of Almighty God, so maybe you were sitting right in the middle of the consequences that are yours I have good news for you The bushes of Moses burn in deserts like that and when this bush burns I want to tell you that this is not a normal fire, this is the molecular mechanism to remind you who you are They are nothing more than Hagar, he not only does he appear before you and Moses, he not only appears before you, he also appears before you.
If you're the Hebrew boys standing in the middle of the fire, I mean, there's trials all around you in your whole life. it's hot right now once you get over one thing there's another thing and once you get over this thing there's another thing life feels like a fiery furnace the hebrew guys can testify to the fact that sometimes when you're in the fire it no Don't get yourself out of there, the molecular weight just meets you so that you know what it feels like, so that you have a testimony of what it is like to have the presence of God covering you so completely and completely that you can get out of a stage of the life that is like an oven and not even smelling the smell of smoke, that is the protective care of the molecular, this is what God does, he protects and continues to appear to remind us who we are.
We are even when we are in the consequences of our own sin, even when we have been abused and misused by other people, even when we are in the midst of trials and circumstances in our life, he keeps coming and he keeps coming because you want to say that. To him, he cares deeply about you, the future and the trajectory of your entire life depends on whether or not we believe that we are who God says we are and that we can do exactly what God says we can do, oh. I am very grateful. I remember watching The Today Show several years ago.
This was when Campbell Brown was the lead reporter for The Today Show. The children were small. I have three children. They were small. I remember sitting on the edge of the bed folding a pile of books. Doing laundry and I was watching The Today Show every day that week. Campbell Brown was doing a report on world religions. Every day was a different religion. That day I saw it, they were doing a story about the Buddhist faith and I remember not. I don't know much about Buddhism, so I thought I'd look for a moment at how she and her camera crew had traveled across the world so that they could not only travel through the world she described, but also travel down a winding path. . for hours to get to the side of a mountain where they climbed 268 stairs so she and the camera crew could stand next to one of the five Buddha statues found in and around the area, so she made the story from there.
I could see the statue behind her as she described the Buddhist faith. There are many layers of thought that I had while she was talking about Buddhism, but one of the things that she said, I can't forget it, she said that people who subscribe to that faith The goal of at least once in their life is to save enough money to be able to travel to the other side of the world to be able to drive for hours on this winding road and climb 268 stairs to be able to get to this position on the side. of the mountain so that at least one there once in her life can pray to her God little G, so I'm looking at this and thinking if I had to save all that money and fly halfway there. world and drive down that winding road for hours and climb 268 stairs to pray.
I would never pray. Can I have a witness at the house today? Nobody has time for that, but as they go up to talk to their little genie God. our God, the only true God, all of you, he comes to speak to us, oh, it's good news, it's good news, it's the message of the gospel. Amen. I can't get over the fact that he keeps going down. I can't get over the In fact he keeps patronizing me and loves me so much he said he would keep coming for me so we keep coming and he keeps coming and he doesn't come just for a moment judge chapter 6 verse 11 says the angel of the Lord came and He sat down, meaning he curled up under the shade of the same tree that Gideon was under on media nights, right outside his window, and the angel of the Lord not only came, winked at him and nodded and continuous. about his day no, he came and felt at home in the situation with Gideon this is what the New Testament writer John would say in John chapter 1 verse 14 he said the word would become flesh and he dwelt among I want you to listen the impact in John's voice the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we were able to contemplate the glory of God the Father John you could not believe that it came to my eyes about the saint Eugene Peterson of the message Bible would put that same verse in this way the word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.
This is the beautiful thing about our God. He continues to incarnate and move into the neighborhood. That means he is completely committed and aware of what is going on in his marriage. He knows what's going on. the corners of your heart I want you to know that he knows the details of your financial dilemma I want you to know that he is fully committed, he doesn't just sit on high and look down and wink and nod mm-hmm he's in it. the business of what's going on in your relationship. I want you to know that he is fully aware of what is happening between you and your mom.
You and your dad? he is completely aware of what is happening in that group of friends where you. If you are suffering a little betrayal and conflict, he is fullyaware of what is happening in your ministry, in your work, he knows what is happening to your teenage daughter or your adult daughter, you need to know that your God sees you and is completely immersed and and and him completely. He gets involved with the details of what is happening in your life. I want you to know that there is not a single tear that you were crying that is being lost in the fibers of the carpet on your bedroom floor, each of those tears is being captured in the palm of the Almighty.
God sees you and his eyes are on you there is not a night you spend awake fighting over what you are going to do with that issue the hours you spend awake and your spouse sleeps they don't even know how your heart is It is in crisis and how can you not sleep.At night, because of that problem you were facing, you need to know that your spouse may not know what God sees, sees, comes and sits under the shade of that oak tree, is immersed and committed to Gideon and I want to make sure . you are aware of the fact that verse 11 says he came verse 12 says he appeared to Gideon verse 11 he is there but Gideon doesn't know it it is not until verse 12 that there is some kind of supernatural revelation from Gideon's eyes then who realizes the presence of God nearby, we do not know if 20 minutes passed or if it was 48 hours, we do not know how long, but there is a period of time here where Gideon is completely unaware that God's presence is there, but that does not make God present. less there just because you are not aware of it.
God is completely immersed under the shadow of that difficult situation in that circumstance and is studying Gideon even though Gideon is not aware of his presence, which means that he sees the lines of worry and frustration on Gideon's forehead. . He is fully aware of the fear and nervousness that Gideon would have had while he hides from the Midianites. He is fully aware of everything that is happening as he watches Gideon go on and on about threshing wheat, the tedious, mundane work that Gideon would have been involved in, he is fully aware of all those details, even though Gideon is not aware of his presence, that means it is possible and it is for God to be near, hovering, presiding and aware of everything that is happening in your life even when you are not aware of him when you cannot trace his hand trust his heart he it's there he's there and by the way I can tell you that threshing wheat was generally an outdoor activity The flats were at the top of the slopes, the reason they were at the top of the size of the hill is because that's where it blew the wind and the purpose of threshing the wheat or beating it was to dislodge the chaff from the wheat with less nutrients and when they were in an outdoor place, when the guy was dislodged, the wind would drive the chaff away, have you read that poetic phrase all over the In the Old Testament, the wind drove away the chaff, so threshing would normally take place outdoors. on the top of a hill, but where we see Gideon here in verses 11 and 12 is not outdoors, he is in a winepress, a winepress was the opposite of where a threshing floor would be, it was usually in the deep concave part. depression at the base of a rock so it is in a place to hide, the reason is because if the wind blew away the straw, its smell could reach the Midianites and if the Midianites realized that there was another harvest, they would return . to plunder the Israelites again, so when we meet Gideon in these two verses, he is hiding, he is afraid to try to prevent his harvest from being discovered.
When we see Gideon in this passage, he is trying not to be found and in the place. where he is trying not to be found, the angel of the Lord finds him, let me tell you why this is good news, this is good news for any of you who have family members, loved ones or children and are trying not to be found. They have dug their heels into the ground, they were willing to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ, no matter how much you share with them, no matter how much you pray and ask the Lord, it seems like they are running away from God and he will never be found I want you to know that there is a Dog from heaven who will find them wherever they are there is no way to hide from the Almighty God he will find you he will see you even when you have turned your back on him he still does not turn his back on you Isaiah 65 says I let myself be found by people who were not even looking for me Hello, I wonder if we had listened, I think if I took this microphone and we just started right here in the front row and went around this entire room, we would be here well into 2020 bearing witness to the people who were found when they weren't even looking for a relationship. with God, so finally Gideon's eyes open, he realizes, he realizes. that God is near this is one of the constant prayers of my life open my eyes is what the apostle Paul prayed and Ephesians chapter one me praying that the eyes of your heart be open so that you know some things that you cannot know unless May he open your eyes so that you may know what is the hope of calling and choosing you so that you may know what are the riches of the glory of the inheritance of the saints that has been dispensed to you, sons and daughters, so that you may come to full consciousness. of the presence of God I don't know if there has ever been a greater emotion in my life if you have experienced it you will know what I am talking about a greater emotion than when your eyes are open and you begin to detect God's fingerprints on your circumstances, sometimes it's the gift of hindsight, it's when you get to a certain stage and you look back and say, oh God, it was all in that same guy who was doing everything that is.
When you recognize that what someone else calls coincidence is actually the sovereign hand of God working things on your behalf, it's exciting just when you look back and see God's fingerprints and realize that it wasn't a coincidence that He was just there. at the right time to meet the right person to be in position for that place. It just so happened that everything came together, it wasn't the stars that aligned in your favor, it was the creator of the Stars that orchestrated it. the details of your life the sovereignty of God in action is the manifest presence of God I appreciate his omnipresence I am grateful for his omnipresence omnipresence means that God is everywhere at once omnipresence means that when I get on a plane and fly back to Dallas God is not only going to go with me and He is not still here with all of you, that is omnipresence, omnipresence means that He is both in my house and in Joe's house, that is omnipresent and although I am grateful for His omnipresence, what I What I am looking for is his manifest presence.
I don't just want to know that he is there in theory. I want to see him at work. Oh, churchgoer, aren't you tired of hearing about what he did in the Old Testament? Aren't you tired of? When you hear about how he raised Lazarus from the dead in the New Testament and how he brought down the walls of Jericho in the Old Testament, aren't you grateful for the testimony, but doesn't it whet your appetite to want to see it for yourself? same? I used to when our church was smaller. Mary and Martha have been to our church and can attest to the fact that it is as big a church as theirs was when it was smaller.
We used to have testimony service. I don't know if any of you. Have you ever been to the kind of church where they have an old school testimony service? I'm talking about where the mother of the church comes to tell you what the Lord has done for her when I say that the mother of the church some of you don't I don't know what I mean, I mean the days when you didn't dare to dream about wearing skinny jeans in the house of God, there would never be tennis shoes in the house of the Living God, so the church mother would come in and she would come in a suit.
I'm talking about a complete suit where the skirt actually came with the jacket. She bought them together. It was a complete suit. I didn't just have the jacket. I didn't just have the skirt. she had the shoes that matched the skirt that matched the jacket probably in patent leather and then she wore pantyhose because she wouldn't dare not wear pantyhose in God's house remember you could hear them when your mother walked down the hall and then she Not only would you have the handbag to go with the jacket to go with this, the skirt to go with the shoes, but no church mother outfit would be complete without the oh yeah, yeah, you all went to the same kind of church the one I went to, but it was Never, Ever, just a normal hat, there was always some kind of hat situation, I mean, it was something in the hat and I remember she would come up to the front and grab the microphone and first honor bye bye. who is the head of my life, she would go over all the details and then give a testimony of what the Lord had done in her name and I remember sitting in the front row next to the piano and I remember seeing the pen and all of you.
She honestly asked when she was 10 years old. I remember thinking, man, if that thing flew away, we'd have a really good service today, but I was listening to the testimonies of what God had done and I remember in my church celebrating what God had done. I finished and I remember how old I was, but I remember there was a change where I heard the testimony and I still celebrated it, but it really whetted my appetite. Now the testimonies were like divine antagonists that agitated my soul. I wanted to hear God's voice like this. I wanted to experience God like this if he was still doing that kind of thing.
I wanted to know what it was like to not only celebrate him in other people's lives, but to hope that he could also move into my life and in a meeting like this one you're in these days, this is the kind of environment where from time to time what he does is simply use it to stir your soul and mess with you so that you are not satisfied with being a Christian in name only just come to church just read a verse a day to keep the devil away that is no longer your goal now you want listen to God you want to see God you want to experience God and let me tell you something once you start experiencing god you are ruined for the church as it always ruins you because what you are looking for is what Gideon had the opportunity for your eyes to be open and to that you could see what you've been reading about your whole life so once Gideon's eyes are open God says two things says let me tell you who I am and let me tell you who you are says Gideon says brother sister that's why I came tonight I came to tell you two things this is who I am and this is who you are I know the Midianites are right outside your window I know your marriage is in trouble I know the bank accounts are low I know the struggle at your job is hard I know the ministry is sinking I know you are struggling in your parenting I know you have concerns in your heart and mine.
I know things are tough right now, but even with those Midianites right outside your window, I'm here to remind you that I am who I said I am and that I can still do anything I want. He said I can do it, he looks at Gideon in the turmoil as he is currently hiding in fear and trembling and says the Lord is with you just like I said He always would be, we know Gideon didn't believe him because he spends the next verse discussing what is what God said, he says, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?
In other words, I don't believe you, but God says your beliefs don't change the truth of how you feel. it doesn't change who I am your circumstances don't determine whether or not they rule who I am I'm still sitting on the throne I'm still God I still made the trust and I will still fulfill it so God comes and says he, the word that says, this doesn't change even with your circumstances, this doesn't change, I'm still on the throne, okay, let me tell you why this is important because we live in a time where everyone is told that you have your truth. you have your truth you have your truth and I have my truth here there is a little truth there is a little truth everywhere you look there is a little truth truth they tell us that there is no longer a standard however you feel it is true for you but there is a standard he doesn't change he's the same yesterday, today and forever he doesn't change and he doesn't change he's still the only true God he's still sitting on the throne and whether it's politically correct or not to say it, there is still only one way to have a relationship with God and it is through Jesus Christ, so he comes to Gideon and says: I will remind you of this truth because the truth is going to change everything.
Enters. I'm still who I said I am, but he said: I didn't just come to Gideon to tell you who I am. I came to tell you the truth about who you are. Remember that Gideon is currently operating in fear and insecurity and speaks to a person who is currently behaving in a way that is out of alignment with the truth, comes to him in the middle of that lapse of behavior and integrity and tells him even though you I see oppan right now operating in a way that is totally congruent with my truth, I have come to remind you. you who you are that you are not your behavior you are not your feelings your circumstances do not dictate and change the intrinsic value of who you are as a son or daughter of the Most High God I have come to remind you that you are still who I said you are and you can still do everything I said thatwhat you can do, enter even right now while operating in fear and insecurity.
I came to tell you that you are a powerful and brave warrior and if Gideon I can get you to do it. Come out from under these shadows, if I can get you to start acting, behaving and thinking in a way that is congruent with the truth, that will change the course of your life, Gideon, you have no way of knowing that in the year 2019 they will be there. a group of people gathered in Miami who will read Judges chapter 6 and chapter 7, Gideon, you could never know that there will be chapters of the Bible, the very word of God that will be written about you, you have no way of knowing.
Gideon, if you come out from under these shadows and stop operating according to the way you feel, stop operating according to your circumstances, stop allowing the enemy to dictate the way you behave, you don't even know, Gideon, you're about to leave. from the shadows of this tree and you are going to go straight to your house which is what judge six says, you are going to go to your house and you are going to break the idols that are indicative of your entire family line for years, you have all been worshiping Idol, but They will break the curse of idolatry on their home if you believe what I have declared to be true about you?
Do you understand that your entire family depends on you? Do you understand that your sons and your daughters, your grandsons and your granddaughters, our great-grandchildren, whom we may never see? You realize that they are counting on you to rise up and be who God has called you to be. Do you know that all of his generational curses can be broken if you control your identity, but not only that Gideon you have no way of knowing? that not only will there be a chapter six of judges, but, for Gideon, there will be a chapter seven of judges because you will leave your house and you will be able to go directly to battle against the Midianites and with 300 soldiers as the underdogs against 140,000 Midianite enemies.
You are going to win a battle for the entire nation, an entire nation is going to be changed because one man controls his identity, do you know what would happen if the men and women of God who are in the House today controlled their identity? who they are, do you realize how the entire nation will be transformed when God's people simply recognize who all the enemies are? he doesn't want you to know who you are oh, he's just trying to make you believe that you are him the way you feel that you are the way you behaved that you are your past that you are your circumstances that you are what other people have called you or you are what you are You have labeled yourself as long as you do not rise up and be who God has called you to be, you are not a threat to the kingdom of darkness, but once the sons and daughters begin to fully assume that I am who God said I I am, I can do what God says I can do, I will behave in alignment with the truth of God then everything begins to change and everything begins to change the enemy is a cow thing why are you not receiving this message tonight because he knows that if we go out from here and we do the right thing, our entire family line will be changed in the name of Jesus, he knows it. that not only will our entire family line be changed, but he knows that there is an entire nation that will be completely transformed once God's people find out who they are and Gideon, you don't even know that a new testament is coming, Gideon, you have no way .
To know that in the new testament there will be a book called Hebrews Gideon, you can't even recognize the fact that there will be a great hall of faith in the book of Hebrews and that the writer will need a way to close the chapter, you can't even imagine to Gideon that when the writers sit in the back trying to figure out how to close the Great Hall of Faith, the writer is going to conclude the chapter by saying I don't even have time to tell you everything about Gideon. I am going to say that this is a man who by faith conquered kingdoms and performed acts of justice and obtained promises and closed the mouths of lions and quenched the power of fire and escaped the edge of the sword by testimony he became strong he became a powerful man of war and he put foreign armies to flight simply because he realized who he really was, so if you don't mind when the ban comes, I figured there would be no better way to close out tonight than by simply reminding you who you are. a child of God you have peace with God the Holy Spirit lives within you you have access to the wisdom of God you are reconciled with God you are not condemned by God you have been justified you have the righteousness of Christ you are Christ and masseter you are completely forgiven and you are tenderly loved you are a sweet fragrance of Christ to God you are a temple in which God dwells you are blameless and blameless you are the salt of the earth you are the light of the world you are chosen by Christ to bear fruit you are a joint heir with Christ you share his inheritance with him you are united to the Lord a spirit with him you are a member of the body of Christ you are a saint you are hidden with Christ and God you are chosen by God you are a child of light you are holy and share the heavenly calling of God you are sanctified you are one of the living stones of God being built in Christ as a spiritual house you are a member of a chosen race you are a royal priesthood you are a holy nation you are a people for the good of God created to sing the praises of God you are firmly rooted and built up in Christ you are born of God and even when he does not can touch you you have the mind of Christ you can approach God with boldness, freedom and confidence you have been rescued from the dominion of Satan and you have been transferred to the kingdom of Christ you have been made complete in Christ you have been given a spirit not of fear but of power oh your needs are met by God you are royalty in the kingdom of God you have been bought with a price and you belong to God you have been adopted as a child of God you have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit you can be sure that all things cooperate to the good of those who embrace him and others called according to his purposes you are free someone needs to hear that today you are free from any damning charges against you, nothing and I mean nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. you have been established anointed and sealed by God you can be sure of this very thing: the good work that God has begun in you will be faithful to carry it to completion you are a personal witness of Christ you are a citizen of heaven you are a coworker of God you are seated with Christ in heavenly places you are the work of God and you can do all things through Christ amen if you are in this room and you have not been living in alignment with the truth you know that you have been living in a way that is congruent with the way you You feel either what you have been told or the lies the enemy has been feeding you, you are like Gideon operating out of fear and insecurity instead of aligning with who God has called you to be if you want to free yourself from that poorly molded identity today and leave this room with your identity in Christ intact so you can change the course of your life if you know this word was yours don't even think twice just run forward I can't wait to pray with you today will be the day of rest of your life, come on, not against me, I am who you say, I am, I am the chosen bacon, it is me again, I am, I am, you are, I am, I am, I am, Lord, I pray for my brothers and sisters right now in the name of Jesus I ask you father against every plan of the enemy to deceive every plan of the enemy to distract every plan of the enemy to discourage I ask you right now in the incomparable name of Jesus Christ that you can avoid every plan of the enemy, Lord, I pray that these believers be equipped with the mind of Christ.
I ask for a helmet of salvation upon your heads in the name of Jesus so that the plans of the enemy may be expanded, Lord, if there is any plan, any battle, any head. any curse of the enemy I pray to be destroyed right now in the name of Jesus and my fraud that has been poured out on Calvary father I pray for supernatural courage from the Holy Spirit so that from today she and he can walk aligned with your truth we do not say more to the enemies that pass against us Lord no more of being taken for fools no more of being taken advantage of we are walking in freedom and fullness and health beginning right now in G the serpent right now in Jesus name Lord, I lift the discouragement of their lives in the name of Jesus, would you cover them with courage in the name of Jesus? a holy boldness in the name of Jesus to walk with authority you are who God says you are you are chosen you are free to walk freedom you are victorious walk in victory you are his, son of my God, he will empower you with his Spirit, so father, I pray right now in the name of Jesus so that your spirit may rise in your people, father, make them no longer able to live in a way that is incongruent with the truth.
What I'm saying is make them so uncomfortable, make it so uncomfortable for us not to live in alignment with you that we can't do it anymore. Lord, interrupt our sleep at night, make it easy for us not to honor you with our lives. father for all those who walk with shackles in their lives in some area, I pray right now in the name of Jesus, that you loosen those shackles in their lives, father, pray for freedom in the name of Jesus, Lord, I pray that you you take the taste of drugs out of someone's mouth. remove the taste of alcohol from someone's mouth remove the desire of immoral relationship from the mouth of someone like me now in the name of Jesus change your desire Lord heal a marriage right now in the name of Jesus as you unify under the umbrella of whom you have I called them to do it today in the name of Jesus father to speak victory over your sons and daughters victory in the name of Jesus we give ourselves to you Lord we honor you at this moment but we thank you in advance for what you are going to do for how are you going to free us and set us free and change our lives and wipe the tears from our eyes he has your back he has your back he's on your side look at me look at me this is what you're doing now this is it Are you ready?
Before making that decision again, you pause. The Holy Spirit will give you a holy pause. Before you make that decision again, there will be a holy pause where for just a second you can take a breath and ask yourself: is this decision? in alignment with what God says I am or not, if you find that you are about to do what you always do and you see that it is from a place of insecurity or fear or you are missing something that does not align with the truth, then that is the moment you say Lord, by your spirit, restrain me from doing what I always do and help me to live differently and then, whether you feel it or not, you start acting like you are God, who God says you are.
I'm not going to tweet that. I'm not going to Instagram I'm not going to say yes to that relationship I'm not going to go on this date I'm not going to treat this person this way I'm not going to respond this way I'm not going to react this way I'm not going to fall for the same way because I am no longer who I used to be now I am who God has called me to be in the name of Jesus in Jesus

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