I'm driving to a customer site or something and it, you know, it, it, it doesn't necessarily
like align with something.
It's all of a sudden just, oh man, oh goodness.
Like you just, I never thought about that.
It's just, just, yeah, it's just kind of out of nowhere.
Do you feel his presence?
Yeah.
Do you feel his presence when you run?
All the time.
And that's why, and that's why it gets addictive.
Yeah.
I wonder.
That's that.
Yup.
I usually pray before I run.
So yes.
Okay.
That's cool.
All right.
Yeah.
So, you know, don't, don't, don't limit yourself.
Billy Joe Geordi, our pastor used to call it the breakfast of champions and because he
would start the day, you know, with prayer, which was, you know, great and amazing, but,
you know, it's funny how different people have different ways and, and different, you
know,
Brother Hagen was a nighttime person.
Speak up.
I just, Brother Hagen, I read him a Bible college that I went to.
He was the opposite.
Everything he did was like at night, late at night, because he wasn't a morning person,
you know?
Yeah.
I don't consider myself a morning person either.
Usually up till, I don't know, almost midnight every night, but still get up at six or try
to.
Yeah.
Right there at.
Yeah.
So, yeah.
And for me, a lot of it is music.
You know, if I've got music on or if there's worship on, sometimes some of the places I
hear most clearly is in my car.
Why?
Because I can get in his presence when I'm driving and I can put in worship and I can
pray in the Holy Ghost while I'm driving.
I've got the cruise control on and it's just me and Jesus time and people probably think
I'm talking to myself and I'm just praying in tongues.
So, you know, the first thing, the first thing you cannot be out of his will, if you're seeking
his face and if you're getting in his presence.
So that's, that's, that's probably number one.
And then, you know, don't, don't try to get into works, just really just be sensitive.
I mean, some people need structure and they need that daily structure.
And then, you know, other people, they have structure, but then, you know, they're sensitive
all day long.
Awesome.
Anybody else have anything you want to add in that, that from the learning?
I guess I try not to understand everything I hear just to hear what he has to say.
And I'm always asking questions, Lord, what about, what about, what about, so I have no
idea even sometimes if it's answers to that, but, but I know he says things that I just
don't quite know how that fits in.
Eventually I will.
Yeah.
I always agree.
Eventually I will.
Yeah.
I, I used to journal a lot.
I haven't journaled much in the last year, year and a half, but I found that I heard
a lot more from God than I thought I did when I actually took time to write it down.
Even if I thought it was weird or wonky or strange or in picture form or whatever.
And then I would go back and be like, dang, that was right on.
So, you know, yeah.
So anyway, um, I think there's like a beautiful, like when he was talking about journaling
Lee and it's like, um, just recognizing, I think when we recognize that he's speaking
to us and we're taking that to heart and acknowledging it and taking it seriously, you know, then
he's like, wow, I've got, I have her attention.
I have his attention and they're hearing me.
And I think that the more we do that, then the more we hear him, you know, throughout
the day.
And it was really, I don't know how to, how to express it, but it's very liberating when
you realize that you can walk your full day, like having conversation with him and him
being a part of everything you're doing because he lives in you.
And I just remember before I really got ahold of that, it was always more about designated
times with him.
But when that switched, it was an all day long thing.
And, and, uh, more than that's when everything became more intimate and closer and more beautiful.
You know?
Yeah.
And then you'd see him in the context of the day, in the little bits.
And that's when real relationship comes.
Go, Renee.
I'm going to back up to the title of the Bible study, I think, is what you're talking about
is what is God's purpose for our life.
I think, in general, we can go back to the Great Commission, when we go look at Mark
16, 1615, it talks about what they want us to do, what God, what Jesus said to do with
our lives.
So...
Yeah, you just jumped to page three.
You're doing good.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Nope.
I'm just going to let you...
Nope.
I'll jump.
I've got a whole page full of notes.
I'm like, writing.
So anyway, I will talk when you get to that point.
No, it's really good.
I'm just glad I'm here, and you're just confirming things.
Well, it's interesting, because people think, oh, I don't know what to do.
Well, generally, Jesus says, this is what we're going to do, okay?
What I want you to do.
Yeah.
And it's not always...
Yeah.
How do I want to say this?
We tend to think our calling is tied to our gifts, tied to our intelligence, tied to our
credentials, tied to our job, but that's not all of it.
Yeah, God can use those things, but it doesn't limit him to those gifts and talents.
He has something a lot more planned for your life, but sometimes people get a word in their
life, and they're given this word, a specific word.
This is what you're going to do in your life, a prophetic word, but they'll run away from
that word.
So they run away from their actual calling, and they'll run away from God when they've
been told, this is what you're going to be doing, but when you run from him, you run
from his presence.
And then you run from that constant guidance, that constant, okay, I'm going to direct your
steps here.
But when you're running in the opposite direction, and you, like we talked about, you're not
making time for him, or listening in those quiet times, or those thoughts, you're running
away from God, and you're running away from your purpose.
And then you'll be like, I don't know what I'm supposed to do here.
And we're constantly wondering, what are we supposed to do?
Why don't you take a step back and think, did he already tell me something I'm supposed
to be doing?
And I ran the opposite direction, kind of like Jonah, you know, Jonah was told to go
give this news.
And he's like, I'm out of here.
And look what happened to him, you know, when he ran away from the calling that he was supposed
to do.
So I just wanted to interject that.
So the Great Commission, we all have a purpose.
And maybe whatever your purpose is in life, probably is going to be attached to that general
the Great Commission statement.
So yeah, I'm gonna let you roll with this.
No, no.
And I'm gonna go piggyback right off that because ultimately, we can live life and do
life and be rewarded for what we did with our talents, because we were talented.
And then what reward goes into eternity with us for that versus somebody who maybe didn't
have a specific talent, but they walked in what they knew what God was telling them to
do, they're going to walk into eternity with rewards for their obedience.
Because you're right, Renee, we're not going to take our college degrees with us.
We're not going to take our bank account with us.
You know, when somebody when your caskets in the hearse and it's taking you to the cemetery,
you know, you're moving van and your bank account isn't going there with you.
It's just you and Jesus.
And at that point, when and, and I'm just going to jump right ahead and number one,
if you're really in relationship with him, then number one, you're going to be saved.
Okay, you're gonna, you're gonna have surrendered your life.
And, and you're gonna want to be in relationship with him because not because it's a rule,
but because you love him.
And because you love his presence, and because you love his word, and you want to walk it
out with him.
So that's first.
And then the next thing, and I love this, is you're going to be loving, okay, if you're
if you really
love God, then the love of God is going to pour out of you.
And that was John 13, 34, a new commandment.
I give you that you love one another, even as I have loved you,
that you also love one another.
So, you know, we can say absolutely that we are supposed to be saved and we can
say absolutely that we're to love people and to let our love for God
flow through those relationships.
Okay.
The next one is Romans 12, one and two.
Okay.
So we know that we're to be saved.
We know that we're supposed to love our brothers.
But the next thing we know that is the will of God for our lives is that we're
supposed to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
So this is Romans 12 verse one.
Therefore, I urge you brethren by the mercies of God to present your bodies
as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind so that you might prove what is the good will, what the good will of God
is so you may prove what the good will of God is that which is good and
acceptable and perfect.
Okay.
So right there is really that process of renewing your mind.
Okay.
And for me, renewing my mind is thinking about God, listening to people preach,
you know, getting into the word.
The one thing about studying the Bible is you can study one thing one year and come
back three years later and you can see it completely different because God has just
done a different work in you and you're on this journey and the journey is what he is
into.
He isn't necessarily into you getting into the final destination.
He's into your process of you becoming a child of God and being transformed.
He is, and I can prove that out over and over again, that it's the daily, it's the
growing in knowledge.
It's the process that he's glorified in.
And we know, according to the scripture right there, that that is the will of God.
Okay.
So it's his will that you get saved.
It's his will that you're loving.
It's his will that you would be transformed by renewing your mind.
Now, in all of those things, you're building a relationship.
Okay.
And you're getting to know him more and you're getting to know his character.
Like sometimes we'll hear people preach and Grant will go, that's just not God's
character.
Because why?
When you have a relationship with him, you're like, that doesn't feel right.
Okay.
Well, I'm just thinking about what did God through Jesus Christ tell the disciples to
do?
Go to all the world and make disciples of people.
Yeah.
Now I'm sure all those guys are sitting around Mark.
When I think of something, Paul, the other, and everybody was thinking, well, and they
all know their abilities.
And, you know, I don't like to do that.
And I've never been very good at that.
And I don't know how I'm going to ever do this.
How would I ever meet him?
And that goes with us too, because when he calls us with, and sometimes calls us into
something that's completely foreign to who we are, but that's the growing process.
And then if we trust him to empower us by revealing who he is and then empowering us
to be able to do something that we, in our own mind, never thought we could do.
Right.
Yeah.
And let him move you because, you know, the first time I had the notation or the
indication that I was to pray for somebody in the middle of the hardware store caused
me to pause because of right away, my surrounding.
And if somebody sees it, what will that be?
And so forth.
And it was just like, it just overpowered me and that all went away and I did.
So God has got us.
figured out, and he knows what he wants of us, but it isn't always easy for us to transform
that without, well, we can't do it without his guidance and his willpower, and we become,
and then we have, then we understand the will of God, is that, you know, whether it happens
next door or whether it's next year or whatever, that's the important thing is that we have
been transformed in our mind, I can do it, and the first of that is there has to be a
first time, and when that happens, then we realize that he will empower us to do anything
he wants us to do to fulfill that original thing, and that's make a disciple of people.
Amen.
You know, usually, I love this saying, if it's not big enough to scare you, it's not God.
I love that, because generally, if the Lord is really asking you to do something, you
can't do it without his presence, without renewing your mind, without being humble and
calling out to him and asking for a fresh anointing and asking for wisdom and, you know,
the ability to multiply whatever gift you have, you know, if you will just ask him,
he'll show you, but what he wants more than anything else, because, you know, especially
if you're really smart or you're really talented or you have the ability to do certain things
in the natural, it's really easy to want to take the credit yourself, but when you're
doing something that is so over your head that you have no idea how the heck you're
ever going to do it, then generally, he's in the middle of it.
And he's going to purpose your life that brings him the most glory.
Amen.
That's what he's going to do.
Yep.
Because that's happened several times when I've preached and I had prepared a sermon,
I'm in the middle of it, and all of a sudden, words are coming out of my mouth that never
went through my brain, and I'm thinking, where did that come from?
And he takes over, you know what I mean?
Yeah.
And you're speaking something and you can just feel the unctioning of doing it, and
then step back and breathe and say, well, I'm sure glad he came along when he did.
This thing would have been a mess.
Yeah.
And when that happens, you understand that all I have to do is dedicate myself or work
at dedicating myself to hear him wherever he wants me to go, and he'll take care of
that.
If I just am obedient and open my mouth, if that's the case that needs to be done, or
stand and pray with somebody, whatever that is, because he just needs the body.
He needs my voice, he needs my function, and he needs my heart, and he changes that heart
in me every time it happens.
Amen.
A good example of a heart change, you know, a change of heart.
Think about Paul.
He thought he had a purpose in his life at first, right?
But we all know on the road to Damascus, what happened, and God got a hold of him, completely
changed him, and, you know, the rest is history after that.
So, yeah, you might be down one path thinking you're doing what you think you're supposed
to be doing, and then something will happen to you, it's like, whoa, puts you in a tailspin
and puts you in a position, like you said, Leanne, doing something that you absolutely
have no idea why you're doing it or how you're going to do it, but that's when God shows
up.
That's how he shows you that it's him.
He's the one that's, you know, turning the wheel or steering for you.
And the biggest person you got to get over is you.
Yes.
Okay?
When you get over yourself and your inadequacies, then he can really use you.
Because we put too much pressure on ourselves.
Yeah, because we, you know, especially, I think if, well, if you've been in a certain
environment where it's about rewards or, you know, expectations or whatever, you know,
but the God loves and he gets glory out of using people that don't have the ability to
do what they're doing.
But, I mean, Kayleigh McEnany, the press secretary for Trump.
She's a great example, you know, um, uh, she loves God with her whole heart,
but she has a debate background, uh, a competitive college debate career that
came in really handy for her, you know?
And so you just never know how, you know, God will use you.
I know there's a guy that, um, works with Andre in, in, in bringing the Jews,
um, you know, help and, um, like this guy is a billionaire and he has an anointing
to take money and make money so he can give money and, um, and this guy is used
over and over again, you know, to lease entire airplanes and, and bring people
in or do things, and I remember meeting him for the first time when I went down
to Mexico and Jewish boys, um, because it was his heart, you know, he had this
anointing, um, but you know what?
All the money in the world isn't going to make you happy.
What's fulfilling is knowing you have an anointing to make money and you're
using that for the kingdom and then he gets the glory for it and, and nobody,
and nobody, you know, those are, that's, that's what he takes into eternity with
him, so you, you just never know.
I love Matthew 7, 11, go, go hop in.
It's like, uh, you know, a lot of times when people want some, want you to
volunteer, like for something for the Lord, if it's easy, they'll say yes.
I can do that.
Well, it's just like, you know, when I, when I was playing football, you know,
the coach would say to me, can you get me a, can you get me a yard?
Yeah, no problem.
I'll get you a yard.
You know, it gets a little more complicated.
It says, well, can you get me 10 or 12 or 15?
I know I can get the one, but you need the team to work with you to get all the
other, you know, the same way of God, you know, yeah, I can do this for you, Lord.
But man, I don't know if I can do that.
Well, he wants you to yield yourself so he can use himself through you.
Yeah.
And that's why he gives everybody different talents and different
abilities, because we all can't be eyes.
We all can't be the ears.
We all can't be the arms, you know, so we all have something to offer.
Yeah.
I can, I can tell you working at victory, um, the business administration
guys are the most important men in the ministry bar none.
We know a guy, um, he's an accountant.
He does accounting for some of the biggest ministries in America today.
We did.
He's retired now.
And, um, you know, if you're going to do something for God, you want to do it well.
And so, you know, whatever it is that is your gifting, then,
you know, you want to use it.
So the next one is be sanctified or be set apart.
And this is first Thessalonians four, three, and in first Thessalonians
four, three, I jumped ahead.
Here we go.
And, um, so this is, um, for, this is the will of God.
So obviously we, you know, again, well, how do we know what the will of God is?
You're sanctified your sanctification.
That is that you abstain from sexual immorality and that each of you know
how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful
passions, okay, so, um, there is a level of sanctification that as we love Jesus,
um, that our bodies are going to glorify God.
And, um, and so that's a good scripture.
The other one is first Thessalonians, but this goes to chapter five or say team.
And this is we're so we're supposed to be thankful.
Okay.
Rejoice.
Always pray without ceasing in everything.
Give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Okay.
So what are the things in the natural?
Okay.
That we know is clearly from the word as well, where we're supposed to be born again.
Okay.
We're supposed to be loving and kind and demonstrate the love of God to others.
We're to renew our minds.
We're, we're to be sanctified and, and we're to be set apart.
Okay.
Why?
Because we love him and we have a relationship with him and then we're to
be thankful for, for what he's done for us.
And then what happens from there is, um, then, you know, we can begin to walk,
walk things out.
Um, I want to talk a little bit about King David in Psalms 23, three.
Okay.
And this is, um, King David and he's saying you, God lead me in paths of
righteousness.
Yeah.
For your namesake.
It was when he was a shepherd.
David trusted the Lord and he knew that it was God and he knew that God was
going to lead him. Now think about David. Let's go back to his journey. When
the prophet came to figure out who was going to be king, he didn't go for the
tall good-looking brother. He went for the youngest guy out in the
field playing the harp, talking to God. But God knew who he was going for. God
knew the man after his heart and it was found in the field alone. It was found
one-on-one. It was found in the quiet place. So never underestimate the days of
small beginnings. And his father, the way his father talked about him,
he said, this useless one, this one that amounts to nothing. That's because he was
conceived out of an affair with somebody else. He wasn't really part of the family.
So you know, you don't always, you don't always, we have a
tendency to judge people our way and God has a way of looking at people in his
way because he ultimately knows the heart. And that's the only one that can.
God is the only one that sees your heart. Somebody else might have an inkling, they might think
they know you well, but God is the only one at 100% can see everything in your
heart. Yep. And this, I love Philippians 1.6. This is a great scripture that was
shared at my recital and it's true. He who began a good work in you will be
faithful to complete it. Okay? And that's a promise we all need to stand on. We are
all on a journey. We are all at different stages in the journey and it's really
not fair if you start comparing yourself to somebody else. Comparison kills joy.
Just start your journey. Okay? Begin to seek him, begin to know him, begin to seek
his face, begin to know his ways, begin to know his character one day and one
thing at a time. And then over the course of your life, you're gonna look back
and you're gonna see this beautiful pattern. Was it always easy? No. Was it
beautiful how he preserved and cared for you in the middle of it? Yes. Yes.
That's the beautiful part. And, you know, if we all knew the end from the
beginning, you know, we might do a lot of things different or, like Renee said, we'd
run and or we try to do it our way and and make things happen our way. So, so
when you're in that transition season, then what do you need to do? Well, the
first thing is just when you're in those seasons of waiting on him, number one, ask
for wisdom. Okay? That is, we are, we're supposed to ask for wisdom. We're
supposed to say, okay, God, show me what to do. Show me where to go. This is James
1 5. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to
all without finding fault and it will be given to you. Okay? It will be. Isn't that
a good promise? It will be given to you. He will give you wisdom. And, um, as you
are walking it out, if you just ask him and, you know, so many people, they've,
they've, you know, never thought to just say, well, God, I, I really need to know
what's the next step, you know, where, where is all of this gonna go? But if you
ask him, he'll give it to you. This is Matthew. No, yeah, you're right. And you
know what? This is so good, Grant. You're right. You, he isn't gonna give you the
whole thing because let's, let's go back to, um, what ultimately he, he's gonna ask
you to do something that's probably bigger and scarier than what you're
really ready for. Okay? So if you're asking him for wisdom, he's probably
gonna give you one step. I'm gonna turn all these, um, all of a sudden my
announcements went off on my phone.
If you're asking for wisdom, and you're asking about what to do next, nine times out of 10,
as you're walking it out, he's going to give you one step, okay?
So, for me, one step was, you know, coming to Tulsa, and then another step was going to ORU,
and then another step was nannying for Richard and Lindsay Roberts, which was another thing that
happened was Billy Joe and Sharon, and the opportunity to work at Victory. You know,
I didn't, if I had known that I was going to train worship leaders, something that wasn't even
invented yet, but it's not, no, nobody was, was training contemporary worship leaders.
Well, no. It's going on in the world. Well, it's going on in the world now,
but back then, think about music. What was music back then? It was Carmen, okay? It was
contemporary Christian groups to a certain extent. It isn't like it is now, where you have people
playing contemporary Christian music on the platform, on the dailies. In 91,
there is no such thing, you know? So, how did that work out? Well, I just shut up and got out
of the way. That's really, that's simple. I was willing to make it all about the kids and not
about me, and it worked out great. Why? Because, you know why? God wants to build the kingdom.
It's not about you. Think about it. If he, if he's really asking you to do something,
he might ask you to do something that's bigger than you, but it's going to build the body.
It's going to build the body of Christ. It's going to, back to Merle's initial point,
it's going to be about discipleship. It's going to be about raising up
and multiplying yourself in others, so that they too can walk it out and raise disciples,
because that's, that's his will. And so, this is Matthew 7, 7 and 8.
Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.
Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives.
The one who seeks, finds. And the one who knocks on the door, it will be opened. Okay? So,
when you're finally at that point, when you're in, in relationship with him, and you're in his
presence, and, and you're learning to renew your mind, and then you're walking in a whole new
walk that you've never walked before, then the next step is begin to ask him. Okay? And,
and then when you begin to ask him, then, then, then the next kind of series of the process starts.
Okay? So, so this is kind of the next phase of what comes
next. Anybody want to add anything? Have anything you want to throw in there?
Anybody want to throw anything in before we go into the?
I'll just, I'll just say something. It's just, what a, what a privilege. What, what an amazing
thing that we can knock, right? Yeah. You know, I, I think about that all the time when I go to,
you know, morning prayer service. I just say, thank you, God, for the privilege to stand at
your front doorstep and knock. You know, that, that we're worthy to be able to ask those questions,
and that, you know, we're not the little peasants that have to sit at the bottom of the hill. I mean,
that's, to me, that's a privilege. That's, that's, that's like saying, son, you know,
come and knock on my door, and I'll give you an answer. I mean, that's, yeah, just kind of one
of those just amazing things you just kind of think about, and just, I don't know. It's good.
Makes me happy thinking about that. Yeah, yeah, and I love those. I love those situations in the
Bible where someone, whether it was Nehemiah or Ezra or somebody was in a situation, and it looked
really bad, and they asked, like, I believe it was Hezekiah asked for 15 additional years, you know,
and God answered, and then you go, wow, well, what if he hadn't asked, you know, then, you know, but
he's so good, and he loves us, and, and he.
Go ahead. No, he was gonna die. God said he's gonna die. He's gonna die
But he he went in front of the board. So it wasn't about
What if he wouldn't have asked right? He'd have been dead, right?
God told him he's gonna die. So yeah, but he asked for 15
And god gave him more, you know, that's the mercy of god, right that we ask
That he will change things for us not change his word. That's how we change situations
Right and walking out and stepping out in faith and
Believing in the gifts of the spirit do exist today. Yeah, and I it's sad when
when individuals
are trying to do all this stuff in the flesh and not
You know because the holy spirit's going to manifest when he wants to manifest and he's going to manifest what gift
at that time and that purpose he wants to manifest
and
for people
You know, you have to accept that holy spirit
When you're a believer you have holy spirit and you you have to learn how to discern that voice
And that does come like we talked about spending time with him
um, and and just renewing your mind, like you said we have to do that, but
But desire the gift giver more than the gifts, you know, that's right
That's what I I kind of like these gifts are great
but my desire is to know more of god and to and then then everything just kind of
Falls into place for you and he starts just handing them out
He's not going to stop giving you gifts, but but it does say to ask for them
It does say in the scripture to ask for them every single year. We would send kids on missions trips
um all over the world
And sure enough if you would talk to the kids and you would say oh this is going to change your life
You're going to see the supernatural you're going to know god's real
Then they went on a mission trip doubting wanting to see proof
that
God was real but the kid that didn't approach it that way
The kid that went on the mission field and just said god. I just want to love your people
And I want to get to know you
And I just want to share your love
And I know and I love you
that was the kid that saw blind eyes open and
um, you know feet club feet turn out and ears pop open
because
They weren't seeking the signs and wonders. They were seeking god
You know
And that's when he comes
that's that's when he
Comes when he comes I love it. Okay
Go ahead
and they're patient
until god decides
When that's going to happen right timing right timing
And you know, a lot of people have the attitude that well god just holds everything back because he's god and I I can't have anything
That's not it
The holy spirit sees the whole picture about it about a situation
And that's why he can say okay, this is what I want to move in this way
This is what I want to happen in this way, right?
It doesn't mean god's trying to hold something away from you or somebody else, right?
It's just he sees the whole situation, right?
Everything and it's right if we saw the whole situation. I'm sure we'd look at things different too
Yeah, but that's why we have to trust him
God will say I want you to go here and I want you to do this
And you kind of get uncomfortable but if god told you to do it
Then it's written in your book
That you're supposed to do it and you can do it. Yep
Because god won't ask you to do something. You can't do he sets nobody up for failure, right?
He breaks through every situation. So if god tells you something
And that's why a lot of times it shuts people off and they always say god said this god say okay
And why aren't you doing it?
You just ask him point blank. Okay, why don't you do it?
Well
All right, then don't talk about that anymore. Yeah
If god's telling you to do something and you do it, don't tell everybody god's saying this this this and you don't do it
You know every once in a while, you know
God will have somebody correct somebody it's in love
but you know a lot sometimes
people
Need a little bit more of a head head-on situation to get a message through
You know and if the bridge is out
And you're the last one there
And god says be firm
You can be firm
And you can walk in love and you can get the message across i'm not talking about being mean
I'm, just talking about, you know walking in the love of god. Well, and and if you really think about it that last message is love
Because he doesn't want to see you
end up going off the broken-ended bridge, he is going to send people to warn you, and
at that point, you know, you just hope people have the humility to hear.
You know, I was going to make a comment before when we were talking about, I can't remember,
it was Renee who was talking about Paul on the road to Damascus. You know, I've had people say
to me, well, if God doesn't force anything on me, then how come Paul had this forced on him?
I'm thinking, don't you know the character of God? How do we know how Paul was praying?
He might have said, Lord, if you're real, I want to know, right? Well, he found out.
I mean, we don't know how people pray. A lot of times, oh, how do I get in this situation?
Well, what have you prayed? Have you been, like, forcing God's hand to move you in a situation,
and maybe he's let you walk there because you were forcing him so much, so you would get a
little taste of it? You know, it's not a good thing getting ahead of God, I'm telling you what.
It's nice to walk, you know, a little bit behind him and let him lead the way than it is to get out
in front of him, you know? So, yeah. Okay, so a couple other principles,
and I love, and it goes right along with what Renee was saying. If you'll just repent if you
miss it, and you'll just keep your heart in that attitude of humility, then he can put you right
back on track, and you can miss it over and over again, but you know what? If you are quick to
repent and you're humble, he'll have mercy on you in that situation, and sometimes it can be even
more fruitful because you've learned something really valuable. So, I think repentance is a
word that isn't real popular right now. It's what we're supposed to do whenever we take communion.
We're supposed to judge ourselves before we judge anybody else. We're supposed to pull the plank
out of our own eye before we try to pull the plank out of anybody else, and that means
just looking in your own heart, okay? So, if you're repenting, and then like Renee said, go. If you're
obeying the Great Commission, therefore go and make all disciples of all nations. You know, Matthew 28, 19.
There is a difference, too, between saying, I'm sorry and saying, Lord, forgive me. Yeah.
There's a big difference. A lot of people are sorry for something that happened,
but when you humble yourself and ask for forgiveness,
that's a whole other plane. I mean, that's a whole other walk with God, you know.
Okay, back to Matthew 28, 19. So, go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them
to observe all that I commanded you. So, that's where that teaching gift comes in, okay? We're to
make disciples. We're to teach, okay? And we're to remind them and meditate on what the Word says, and
that, Lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the age. And so, that discipleship process is
really supernatural. I love that phrase. The discipleship process is a supernatural process.
It's something that happens over time. It's something that you grow in. It's something that
there's anointings that are transferred. If you sit under someone with a great teaching anointing,
that anointing will be transferred unto you, and then you carry it, and you transfer it on
to somebody else. Amen. Okay, so what can we do to just practical things? I love this. First off,
search Scripture, okay? In that process of transforming your mind, it's really good to get
a good study Bible and to begin to learn to use it. I have my old Thompson chain here, my big one
that I taught out of for years, but the first one that I had, the very first Thompson chain Bible
changed my life. And I didn't start reading chapters and verses because the Bible was too
weird and hard to understand. I went to the back and did the topical studies, and God used it. And
that's where the journey began. So, begin to study. And then, don't buy a Bible that you can't mark up.
Because the most valuable part of my Bible now is how nasty and ugly and marked up it is.
Because it's got all my little notes from people and dates and outlines.
And when somebody said, and you know, this happened there.
And I've got little markings where scriptures were in songs.
I got all kinds of stuff in here.
I got my kids doodling in church in it.
Okay.
And that's dear to me.
Because I remember when Josiah was sitting next to me in church and he was doodling in my Bible.
Okay.
It's my Bible.
And it was a holy season with my son doodling in there.
And you've got to have something that you can personalize.
Okay.
And that's, it's fun to get a new Bible that you can mark up again.
But I always go back to this old familiar thing.
I remember the first time I marked in my Bible, I thought I was doing something wrong.
You weren't brought up that way.
Yeah.
Especially if you don't happen to open it in front of somebody that doesn't believe in that.
They look at that thing.
Whoa.
Yeah.
Oh, this is so holy.
Yeah.
How dare you write it for your mother?
Yeah.
How dare you?
When in reality, you know, I love those pictures of people that doodle and draw in their Bibles and outline things because they love certain scriptures so much.
It's so personal.
So, you know, just learn how to use good study tools.
There is some online Bible software that's very reasonably priced that I use a lot.
I have a Logos word search Bible program that I have had for probably 15 years and every year there's an update.
I pay the money for the update.
So, you know, and then I have my standby study.
The Thompson chain changed my life and I always taught my kids in my Bible classes how to use it.
So do it.
All right.
So the next thing is, is really pray for wisdom and we talked about that earlier, but you know, if you're reading, if you're having trouble with, you know, finances, look for people in the Bible that were managing finances.
If it's marriage, study marriages.
If it's children, study children.
If you're trying to understand something that he's spoken to you, study prophecy.
Whatever it is that you're needing wisdom, then go right to study that, you know, right now I'll go to YouTube and I'll look under topics of sermons.
I need to hear.
Okay.
And I heard a sermon this week.
Actually, I talked about it earlier today with Renee when I talked to her.
There were five ministers that gathered just randomly, not because it was a conference.
They just got together in Kansas City from three different realms of like, like Holy Ghost, Kansas City prophets, Mike Bickel, and then over here is Francis Chan, who doesn't necessarily believe in the gifts of the spirit.
And then they had Diedrich Bonhoeffer and then two other pastors.
I've never heard of.
And they began to talk about the importance of Diedrich Bonhoeffer and I.
No, but Eric Metaxas wrote the book about Diedrich Bonhoeffer.
And anyway, Eric was there and they began to teach about everything that Bonhoeffer experienced in the church in the late 20s and into the 30s.
And that led to Adolf Hitler is the same sort of pattern we're seeing in the church right now.
And the body of Christ is raising up a generation of Bonhoeffers.
They love everyone and they love the body of Christ.
But there were there were people in Germany that said, well, you know, Adolf is quote Martin Luther and Adolf is quote in scripture.
I mean, he can't be all that bad.
And Bonhoeffer is going, wait a minute.
This isn't right there.
There's something about this.
And through that, he wrote the cost of discipleship.
And then from there, you know, he started the confessing church.
And at that point, he ended up counseling all those guys that went through the Valkyrie plot.
He is the pastor that pastored all of those military leaders when they knew that Adolf was taking Germany in a funky direction.
I think he's going to go down as probably the most influential theologian in the last hundred years.
There's no doubt because his life now is even more significant now because we see the parallels.
Anyway, it was really good.
Um, and the body of Christ is, is going to have to wake up and have wisdom.
Okay.
And the last two things are just really super common sense here.
Did we lose somebody or something?
Buzz.
It's okay.
The last two things is fasting.
Uh, we've talked about fasting in the past and it's powerful.
And what it does is it shuts your flesh up so your spirit can hear.
And, um, it helps, um,
yeah, not at first, but yeah.
But what it will do is, is, is in that habit of that, it, it breathes spiritual
power and, um, when you fast, you don't always get your answers when you're
fasting, you get your answers to prayer later, but when you're doing it and,
um, he, Jesus fasted before he began his public ministry, you know, how
good is that a great example.
Okay.
And then the other thing is just trust and wait.
Um, the timing of the kingdom is everything.
Okay.
The, the timing, it isn't just about doing the right thing.
It's I love how Grant brought that up earlier.
It's really about being at the right place at the right time, meeting the
right people that position you to be used by him and, and, um, timing.
Um, I know, um, Terry law preached a sermon called come before winter out
of it's either first or second Timothy.
And, um, Paul, I believe is giving Timothy instructions about the timing
and the importance of when are you, when are you going and Terry law?
Of course, I, I love him and his ministry, but he had an angelic encounter, um, up
in Edmonton, Alberta, and, um, he, he, um, was working in the wheat fields and
he had a divine encounter and an angel came and told him that he would be going
to oral Roberts university and he would be, um, he would be going to, or,
you, you know, he would be going.
And at that point, you know, they, they're up in a farm in middle of Canada.
Like, how is that all going to happen?
And, um, a man there prepared for him to go.
And when, um, I don't remember the exact sequence of events, but when
the man told him to send him.
Okay.
So then yeah.
And, and, and it, and it, part of it was that he knew it was going
to come because of this angel anyway.
So the man heard from God to send him.
He comes to, Oh, are you, he sets up a band of praise and worship band living
sound and living sound in the seventies went, took music behind the iron curtain
to East Germany and to Russia and Eastern Europe.
And, um, my kids is piano teacher.
Barbie Cottingham was a part of that.
And, um, so we used to hear Barbie stories and then, um, Andre
Gosserowski, who we met in Israel.
His family was part of the Polish connection when living sound went over
to Poland and started doing this contemporary worship and the, the guy
that of course would eventually become the Pope of the Catholic church said.
This is amazing.
I want this.
The Holy spirit is here.
Look at what is happening to these young people come and, and, and then
kind of, you know, the rest is history.
And now, you know, when you think of Terry law, he was the guy that was on
the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq and, uh, uh, taking care of the Kurds.
And, um, and his daughter, I know Kathy.
I worked with Kathy and Scott.
So yeah, I've had his kids in class and, you know, those people
were really on the front line.
Um, you know, when, when we're watching the video this week of Afghanistan.
And, um, you have friends and, you know, uh, Rick Altizer flew in one time, one
of our really close friends is now missionary in Florida, flew a plane,
like a corkscrew into the Capitol because they were shooting,
trying to shoot down his plane.
Baghdad.
Yeah.
And he brought in Bibles on flash drives, believe it or not.
And, um, those Bibles were distributed on flash drives.
Um, all over the middle East, the biggest move of God, the biggest.
This move of God right now in the earth is in the Middle East.
And it's really hard to watch.
When Dad Hagen prophesied before he passed in 2003,
he talked at the end about 2002, 2003, 2004.
And it would be like an Eskimo looking at a tree,
like they've never seen it before.
And there are many in the body of Christ
that believe that what happened through that whole Iraq
war and that whole situation back around 2001,
2002, the soldiers brought in the gospel and then
missionaries.
And then Terry ended up working with General Sada.
And then General Sada gave very, I mean the whole,
I mean if you want to read the story, buy the book Storm
Chaser.
It's a riveting true life story of how God will use you.
But it started with an angel and a farm boy in Canada
who was willing to walk it out, even though he
didn't have the ability.
And he had had a very abusive father, very abusive father.
And God made provision.
And the rest is history.
So you just never know if you're willing to step out and obey
how he'll use you.
Amen.
But we do have to step out.
Yeah.
So there is that process.
And I guess the word tonight is, man, enjoy the journey.
Don't get bogged down.
And everybody's always talking about getting to somewhere.
Yeah, like you're going to be happy when you finally
get there, when God just wants you to be happy.
All the way through.
That's why it says be content in everything.
In everything give thanks.
Everything is all the way along.
Because, well, why should I give thanks
when something really bad is happening in my life?
Because you give thanks and you praise God,
he changes situations and circumstances.
Kesley, I can probably use you.
I mean, we met you through a very bad situation.
Yeah.
But what the devil meant for bad,
God has turned around for good.
Amen.
You know, God, he's the only one who can do this stuff.
I'm not saying the Lord took her out of the picture.
I don't mean that at all.
But the devil is the one that comes to kill, steal,
and destroy.
But God is the one that can take whatever is bad
and make it into something good.
And he's the only one that can.
And there isn't any guarantees that in the middle of that,
that there isn't going to be a lot of adversity.
A heartache or what?
Right.
We're all going to go through things.
And there's going to be disappointments.
And I can't tell you.
I love Terry's stories.
I can't tell you how many time he was at gunpoint
and the communist government in Russia
was going to throw him in jail.
And they sang anyway.
So you just don't know.
And what's funny about it, as you obey,
there's something about when you obey,
there's provision on the other end of your obedience.
Like God is going to expect you to go to this place
because then you're going to be ready for the next place.
And then when you get to the next place
and it's the right time, there's also going to be provision.
There's going to be provision.
So if there's something that he's doing in you,
then enjoy the journey.
And don't resist the process because there's
something very rich and very beautiful even in the hurt.
Amen.
Anybody have anything they want to add?
I was thinking this week, I wonder
which one of us would like to volunteer to be Jonah
to go to Afghanistan.
and pray them pray those people in. Now you may have to go by the Atlantic Ocean, you know,
start in a boat, you might run into somebody that will pick you up from there and go from
but I'm just thinking, all I can think about is how that process started out and Jonah didn't
want to go. He thought these people aren't worth the time I'm giving them and yet in the end what
happens? Well if I understand it right, those people slaughtered a lot of his family in earlier
days. Yeah, he had a challenge too. Yeah, that'd be very challenging. But look what the prayer,
when it finally struck, it changed those people. Right. You know what I'm talking,
that's the only thing that's going to change that whole situation is God moving in a great
mighty way. Yep. And change the hearts of those people. Yeah. I just, it's just been sticking
with me this year and this week about Jonah. Is this an opportunity for Jonah to
to bring in a people that need him more than anything else?
Well, we've had some conversations with that one night with Mike Hyman who was a missionary
in Oman and he would tell stories about how when they were arrested and being held
in Middle East police departments. Yeah, they were going to kill him. They were going to kill him and
he just talks about how there is just this overwhelming presence and anointing and
boldness and strength that, you know, even Bonhoeffer when he was in jail before he,
Bonhoeffer was executed two weeks before the surrender. And if he could have just held on
two more weeks, the whole world could have benefited from this amazing theologian that
is still rocking the world today and makes you fiercely proud to be German.
And, you know, you wonder, you know, you know, if he could have just waited the two more weeks,
but he talks about the glory that would come, you know, in that. So I'm sure Paul said the same
thing. Yeah. You know, and I think the other thing that's really important, and I always shared this
with my kids, and I think my kids ended up marrying the right people. Okay. If God is really
asking you to do something with your life, then he's going to form someone who's going to enable
you to walk that with you. Okay. And it will compliment you. Okay. And so I can definitely say
100% Sean and Jenna compliment each other in that they understand things spiritually.
And I can 100% say that Josiah is 100% going to be the guy that will walk with Gabrielle. She's,
I'm telling you, she, there's ministry. Now that little girl, she just audited all the employees
at Oral Roberts University. She is a brain. Okay. But inside that little brain that runs a mighty
Excel spreadsheet and can tell you every penny of every single benefit of every employee at a
university, but well, this is what she did, but the bottom line is her heart's ministry. So,
you know, Paul was a tent maker and he made tents before he ended up stepping into ministry.
So don't despise the job that you're in, because that's provision too, you know,
you got to have provision for ministry and that's really important. And then, you know,
as you're seeking the Lord about relationships, then you really got to seek who's somebody who's
who's somebody who's going to walk that out with me. And if they're, and if, and, and, you know,
the, the, the phrase is equally yoked. It's like the yoke of oxen on two ox. If, if one ox is
pulling this way and dragging the other ox, that's not a lot, that's not a lot of fun.
Okay. So if you're, you know, if you're really called to do something and I'll pick Terry Law's
kids, Scott and Kathy, I mean, those two are beautifully matched to carry Terry's ministry now.
into the next phase and there's pictures right now they're posting of their time in afghanistan
you know and so you you see you know what they did on the ground with the people and and it's
becomes very personal when you're hearing the stories and you know you've watched them walk
it out and anyway yeah let's pray father we come before you tonight in the name of jesus
and lord we thank you for the word of god and we thank you for just simple illustrations in
your word lord thank you that we are transformed and we can come to know you and know your
character and learn to love you lord we love you with all of our heart and lord we ask that you
would use us in this season in this hour in this day that we would run the race before us faithfully
that we would run to win that we would run with endurance that we would not grow weary
in well-doing for in due season we will reap if we faint not and lord we know that in running it
out for you you will grace us and anoint us to to do your will in the earth father i thank you
that for every day that we have left on this planet god that you lead us and you guide us
in this season lord that you show us what to do and where to go and lord that we would not
only know what we're to do but lord that each and every one of us would be at the right place
at the right time to make the right appointment because you were doing something in our lives
father thank you
yes praise you thank you oh thank you lord we will not miss it our children will not miss it
our grandchildren will not miss it they will walk into the fullness they will they will walk
in the blessing oh man i feel the holy spirit they will walk in the blessing they will walk it out
they will see what we could have only imagined yes they will know jesus they will carry his name
they will carry the word of god they will carry the holy spirit to those that don't know they
will be a light in the darkness they will go where his presence is not known and lord we thank you
that you are doing it in our in our lives and in our children's lives and in our grandchildren's
lives lord be glorified lord let us all be at the right place at the right time
that we would fear for no thing because you are the good provider you are the good shepherd
and that we're walking this out with you in divine destiny being prepared and being fashioned
into what you would have us be
lord speak to each of us through the word through each other through dreams
through visions speak to us through our conversations speak to us while we do the
daily things lord we just want to hear from you we want to be led by you
thank you father