The Danger of Subjective Revelation: Hearing God’s Voice

• Hearing God's Voice [01:11:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the difficulty of discerning God's voice, noting that God speaks through various means, including other people and Scripture, rather than always through direct audible communication.
• Trust in Silence [01:15:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor emphasizes that God wants believers to trust Him during silent seasons and when He denies requests, trusting that He is wiser than human desires.
• Scriptural Authority [01:14:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references Matthew 4:4 to argue that every word from God's mouth is essential for spiritual and natural life, linking the reading of Psalm 29 to the power of God's word.
• Trusting God in Silence [01:15:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines God's desire for believers to trust Him during periods of silence and unanswered prayers, rather than demanding specific prophetic words.
• Personal Testimony of Calling [01:16:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts his journey to becoming pastor of River Life, detailing his initial hesitation, the pressure from others, and the eventual confirmation through a specific scripture reading.
• The Nature of God's Voice [01:25:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the expectation of 'booming' prophetic words with the reality of God's 'silent' or 'still small' voice, using Psalm 19 and the story of Elijah.
• The Story of Elijah [01:26:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the biblical narrative of Elijah at Mount Horeb to illustrate that God often speaks through a 'still small voice' rather than dramatic signs like wind, fire, or earthquake.
• Inward vs. Outward Hearing [01:34:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that God is quieting external voices to force believers to tap into the 'whisper' or anointing already inside them, rather than relying on external prophetic voices.
• Spiritual Formation and Anointing [01:37:47 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines spiritual formation as learning to let the anointing in the spirit emerge to shape the soul, distinguishing it from external oil-splashing or external teaching.
• Danger of Carnal Christianity [01:39:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor warns that ignoring the inner voice leads to 'carnal Christians' controlled by feelings, thoughts, and wants, rather than the Spirit.
• Divine Silence and Redirection [01:40:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that God sometimes denies prayers or job offers (like his own interviews) to prevent believers from taking paths that are good but not God's best plan.
• Divine Guidance and the 'Anointing Within' [01:39:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that God leads believers through an internal 'anointing' or 'living water' that provides direction, contrasting it with external voices or personal desires.
• Divine Guidance and Trust [01:50:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor quotes Proverbs 3, urging believers to trust God and submit to Him rather than relying on their own understanding, promising that God will direct their paths.
• The Danger of Lukewarm Faith [01:47:44 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor warns against falling into 'lukewarm Christianity' when the 'move of the Lord' ends, sharing his personal experience of feeling lost when the spiritual intensity decreased.
• The 'Silent Voice' vs. 'Loud Voice' [01:49:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the craving for a 'loud voice' (emotional experiences) with the need to learn and trust the 'silent voice' (internal guidance) of God.
• Trusting God's Voice Over Human Desire [01:52:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor urges the congregation to stop relying on their own thoughts and instead lean on the Lord, citing Jesus' teaching that man lives by every word from God's mouth.
• Prayer for Spiritual Sensitivity [01:53:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor leads a prayer asking God to put a hunger and yearning in the people to hear His 'still, small voice' rather than just a booming voice.
• Single-Mindedness [01:54:49 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references James, warning against being 'double-minded' and living in two places, urging the congregation to live in one place.

• Sermon Illustration [01:16:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about attending a Monday morning prayer meeting at his retired pastor Harry Bazell's church, describing the desperation required to attend such early meetings and the subsequent feeling of needing to go to work.
• Sermon Illustration [01:12:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of a spouse yelling when mad to illustrate that God sometimes speaks through other people or in ways we don't want to hear.
• Sermon Illustration [01:16:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal story about attending a Monday morning prayer meeting with his former pastor, Harry Bazell, where he heard Psalm 78:22 ('Ephraim although he was armed with bow turned back in the day of battle'). He later returned to Morrisville, and when asked to be pastor, he hesitated. Eventually, a Kenyan man named Tom Malinga read that same scripture, which the pastor recognized as the 'word of the Lord' confirming his calling, despite the lack of a dramatic prophetic word.
• Sermon Illustration [01:20:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts a prophetic conference where a speaker gave him vague, non-committal advice ('undecided') regarding his potential call to Morrisville. He later returned to the conference, and a Kenyan man named Tom Malinga read Deuteronomy 32:15 ('Ephraim although he was armed with bow turned back in the day of battle'). The pastor realized this was the specific word he needed, interpreting the 'turning back' as a call to move forward (north) from his hesitation.
• Sermon Illustration [01:26:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the biblical story of Elijah at Mount Horeb to illustrate that God often speaks in a 'still small voice' or whisper rather than through dramatic signs like wind, fire, or earthquake, which Elijah had previously experienced.
• Sermon Illustration [01:34:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts his early Christian life where he had 'sensational preachers' and 'amazing preachers' until God 'cut all that out of my life' to force him to find the Lord for himself.
• Sermon Illustration [01:40:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal story about job interviews where he was promised the moon but didn't get the job, realizing later that God had a better plan.
• Sermon Illustration [01:41:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor mentions his wife Becky being interviewed by a Muslim lady at a newspaper in Morrisville, implying God's hand in that interaction.
• Sermon Illustration [01:40:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal story about job interviews where he was promised jobs but didn't get them, realizing later that God had a better plan.
• Sermon Illustration [01:41:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts a story about his wife Becky being interviewed by a Muslim lady who asked why she chose Mooresville; Becky answered that Mooresville chose them, illustrating God's sovereignty in choosing.
• Sermon Illustration [01:42:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about having a five-year plan to leave Morrisville, only to realize that God had a better plan for him to stay, and that his 'tribe' was actually there.
• Sermon Illustration [01:44:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts a dream where he saw his wife Becky watering shrubs in a specific house, which turned out to be the literal house they eventually bought, illustrating God's guidance.
• Sermon Illustration [01:48:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes a dream where he walked out of a cave into the night sky filled with stars, representing the glory of God, which helped him understand the 'silent voice' of God.
• Sermon Illustration [01:55:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor mentions 'Val' and a prayer Val prayed for the church, noting that while it sounds beautiful and fun, it is also a serious responsibility.

• Pastoral Charge [01:51:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > Stand up or lay down as a response to the sermon's message
• Pastoral Charge [01:53:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > Raise hand to identify with the struggle of wanting God to cooperate with personal desires
• Pastoral Charge [01:53:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > Raise hand to indicate need for prayer

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]
[00:02:58] How's everybody doing? Thanks for coming in, taking shelter from the pollen apocalypse.
[00:03:05] Straight up. My car was clean yesterday. It was orange this morning, so. Glad to see you all, all your beautiful faces. If you can hear my voice in the foyer, why don't you make your way on in?
[00:03:16] Let's get this party started. Why don't y'all stand with me? Let's enter into a space of worship this morning. I feel some anticipation. I feel something's good. Something good's going on today.
[00:03:50] me just say a quick prayer, then I'll get off the stage. So Heavenly Father, we enter into your throne room with praise and thanksgiving this morning. We just set our eyes upon you, Lord.
[00:04:02] We turn away from everything that the world's throwing at us, and we just want to worship your holy name. So we ask that you would stir something fresh in us this morning. We ask that you would
[00:04:13] turn our hearts towards you and that you would give us some new and fresh wind so that we could be in your presence. In Jesus' name, amen.

[00:44:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:44:03] I know we don't usually like to interrupt worship, but Larry Faldo just came up to me and shared something with me that he's been studying Torah, and this is so good.
[00:44:21] When we were young, we could never say, praise God, because God's name was too holy to be said.
[00:44:28] So we would say, Baruch Hashem.
[00:44:30] Baruch Hashem means blessed is the name.
[00:44:33] When we referred to God, we couldn't use Adonai.
[00:44:37] We couldn't use Elohim.
[00:44:38] We had to use the name.
[00:44:41] That's how he was referred to, unless we were in prayer.
[00:44:44] Yeshua means salvation.
[00:44:47] As Becky was saying, salvation in the name.
[00:44:51] Yeshua Hashem.
[00:44:55] So as we are, as the Spirit is leading to say all these things in the name, realize the power behind that.
[00:45:03] there there's there's power to release things in this room this morning as we release the name the name baruch hashem baruch hashem blessed is the name the name salvation

[00:45:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]
[00:45:43] lift that name up just lift his name up over your life lift his name over your circumstances

[00:46:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]
[00:46:15] lift his name over your worries and your troubles yeah lord we believe that you can cover it all we believe that you already have covered it all lord and your name gives freedom and gives life
[00:46:37] lord so we just say jesus jesus cry it out just where you're at jesus cover it all lord oh jesus you can break our chains any chains that i'm just feeling that if you've got chains that are holding
[00:47:52] you down. Just pray Jesus over him because he's the chain breaker. He already broke him on the cross. We just got to start living in that truth. So, oh, Jesus, over our depression and our anxiety.
[00:48:07] Jesus, over our stress. Jesus, over our physical ailments, Lord. Salvation, not just into heaven,

[00:48:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:48:19] but freedom from our brokenness. Yeah. Thank you, Lord, for all the good things you've given us.

[00:48:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]
[00:48:53] thank you for the freedom you've given us lord for all the things you've delivered us from yeah lord we just want to pour out all our praises upon you yeah lord we set aside all the things
[00:49:12] that are holding our attention all of the the busyness of life lord and we just say that you're above it all yeah lord stir in our spirits we just want to love you more yes lord amen while we're in
[00:49:41] this space of, of thanksgiving and glorifying the Lord, I want to use this opportunity to take up an offering. So ushers, if you want to head forward, um, we believe that the offering and sowing into God's kingdom financially is not just a checklist item. We believe that it is
[00:50:02] an active form of worship. Uh, so we just, uh, as this, as these baskets are about to be passed around. Lord, we say, have it all, Lord. You can have everything that we have. And so as we sow
[00:50:19] into this kingdom, as we sow into your kingdom in this small way, Lord, we just ask that you would multiply it, that it would be used in greater ways than we could ever imagine. Lord, take what we
[00:50:34] have and turn it into more. Take the 10 talents and make them 100. In Jesus' name. These baskets are going to be passed around if you want to pay cash or check there's also this qr code you can
[00:50:47] scan but let's just not leave this space of worship as as we take up this offering about jesus

[00:52:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]
[00:52:24] you know reinhardt monkey i followed him and in one of his meetings one of the ladies went to the morgue and got her husband out of the morgue and put him him under the steps where reinhardt monkey
[00:52:41] was standing and they started saying, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. And this man came alive. So y'all were saying, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Let us come alive. Alive. Yes, Lord. Amen. Restoration in the name of

[00:53:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]
[00:53:00] Jesus. Yes, Lord. For everything that has been broken and taken by the enemy. That's good. Oh, gosh. Okay. Someone's going to have to forgive me for this, but I want to go ahead and move into
[00:53:12] prayer of healing so val if you want to come up here i think it's important that we respond in this space so kids if you can just hang tight for a moment let's um yeah let's keep doing this

[00:53:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:53:21] business all right thank you oh by the way i've been praying for you i thought about uh you know the same god i've been praying to since february about you is the same god who is who's going to
[00:53:44] hear another prayer. Amen. So, Jesus is his name. In Jesus, there is healing. I'm reminded that when I first got saved, okay, the mothers prayed for me that I would get the Holy Spirit, okay and as they were praying for me i'm thinking okay i just got saved and these folks trying to
[00:54:21] give me the holy spirit i was scared okay and as they were praying for me i felt something came from my feet and all the way up to my chest all the way up to my head and that day i was healed
[00:54:40] I'm telling you this because there's a lot of talk about healing, but our children sometimes, they don't experience it, right?
[00:54:53] So it takes somebody like myself or yourself, who I have experienced it, to tell them about it.
[00:55:01] And another thing I want to tell you also is that don't stop, don't give up.
[00:55:08] At any time, at any point in life, the lord will show up when you least expected it the lord will show up so don't give up don't give in okay all right um i know you know time is constrained he's standing in like okay
[00:55:33] all right uh let me share a scripture real quick it's in luke chapter 5 verse 17 and it's there were there were um some teachers of the laws and pharisees coming what did what jesus was teaching
[00:55:52] okay and the scripture says the power of the lord was was present for him to perform healing the power of the Lord was present my prayer for our church for us and for myself and that we will experience this power that this power in this church the
[00:56:26] power to heal will be thick in this church and that other churches in the world will hear about this and that they will come to get healed and through that we will get our healing as well amen so let's wait the idea of any father God
[00:56:49] we thank you for your power your power to heal up well Oh Father God that you all Oh Lord will fill us Oh Lord with this power Oh Lord that Oh Lord that when people come, O Lord, that they will experience your healing, O Lord, that we will experience your
[00:57:10] healing, O Lord. I pray for those who are sick right now in the name of Jesus. We believe in your power, O Lord. We believe, O Lord, you are the Son of God. We believe in your name. You are
[00:57:23] holy, O Lord. You are healing, O Lord. Lord, we thank you, O Lord, for what you're doing in this place i pray father god this place will be your sanctuary for the healing of the nation o lord
[00:57:37] that through you o lord through your power o lord we will be healed o lord and the nation will be healed we praise you we glorify your name in jesus name i pray amen jesus be the name jesus be the

[00:58:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:58:01] name. Come on, lift it up. Jesus be the name. Come on, lift it up. Jesus be the name. Lift

[00:58:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:58:19] your voice. Jesus be the name. Who gets all the glory. Who gets all the glory. Jesus be

[00:58:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:58:29] the name. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name. Who gets all the glory. Jesus be the And while we're praying this or singing this, I thought I had a word for Nick, Nick Pell.

[01:00:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:00:42] I feel like the Lord is going to give you, well, he wants to give you the healing.
[01:00:49] Amen.
[01:00:49] But I also feel like, oh, Lord, I was seeing some anointing come on your hands.
[01:00:55] I don't know what it's for.
[01:00:59] It could be for healing.
[01:01:01] But I feel like the way you're going to find out is to start laying hands on people yourself and just seeing what the Lord does.
[01:01:08] what Val said, and that you'll find your healing fulfilled. Just reach your hands to Nick.
[01:01:20] Lord, we just thank you for Nick today. See that oil on his hands this morning, Lord.
[01:01:27] You're wanting to do something in his life new, out of character for him, but very much in character for you. So I just pray, first of all, you'd heal him. He needs a miracle in his body. He cleanses
[01:01:43] body lord detox his body of all the stuff that this world has put in him lord this toxic world and i also pray father that that you give him a bonus to lay his hands on people
[01:01:58] that desperately need you for for healing or for whatever father that you have thank you lord lord let thou's prayer come true for us lord just humble ourself to you this morning lord The world needs a place where Christ can heal people.
[01:02:21] Lord, I just ask you to help us to be those people, Lord, that can bring the healing of Jesus into this world.
[01:02:32] Thank you, Lord.

[01:02:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_15]
[01:02:34] Yeah, thank you, Lord.
[01:02:39] You're so good to us.

[01:02:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]
[01:02:52] Amen.
[01:02:54] It is good to be in the river this morning.
[01:02:57] Goodness.
[01:02:58] All right.
[01:02:59] thank you worship team that was brilliant somebody give the lord a hand clap of praise that's right all right kids you can be dismissed thanks for hanging in there with us uh we've got classes from infant through middle school um so there are some signs posted on the
[01:03:19] door first grade through middle school are in the back building everyone else is up here so go find your class parents if you could take them make sure they're checked in make sure they've got their stickers uh great and we are going to play a video while that happens jesus once told

[01:03:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]
[01:03:39] a story about a man who was beaten jesus once told a story about a man who was beaten wounded and left on the side of the road many people passed by and walked away but one person stopped
[01:03:55] a Samaritan. He cared, he sacrificed, and helped us through his life. And Jesus ended that story with these words, go and do likewise. Hello, everyone. My name is Yanjma Jetman. I'm a director of the Good Samaritan Ministries of Mongolia. There was a time in my life when I was like that
[01:04:17] wounded person on the road. On the outside, I looked strong. I was educated. I was capable and doing many things. However, but inside there was deep wounds from years of abuse, neglect, insecurity, fear, and unforgiveness. Wounds that I didn't even fully understand.
[01:04:37] And then in 2006, God brought someone in my life, Betty Mitchell. She became a Samaritan.
[01:04:45] She helped me when I didn't even realize how much help I needed. Through her, I experienced God's love, mercy, and compassion. Because the one person answered God's call to care, my life was changed. That experience shaped my life and my calling. Today, through Good Samaritan
[01:05:04] Ministers of Mongolia, we are doing the same thing, helping people become Samaritans for others.
[01:05:11] Jesus said, come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Our vision a simple world where no one has to suffer alone. We are raising local leaders who are willing to
[01:05:23] give their time, energy, compassion to walk with the people in their pain, suffering, and help bring healing to their life and communities. We want to be a safe place where the broken can be experienced
[01:05:37] God's love and the grace. Through GSM Mongolia, we provide counseling, healing programs, two years of field worker training for servant leaders, and weekly Bible studies where we share the gospel and God's law.
[01:05:51] Today we have nine centers across Mongolia where people gather for counseling, prayer, Bible study, and leadership training.
[01:06:00] Every week people come seeking healing, encouragement, and hope.
[01:06:05] And through these forums and centers, thousands of lives were being touched and transformed.
[01:06:11] Sometimes I wonder if Barry Mitchell had not answered that call, maybe none of this would exist today.
[01:06:17] But because of one person answered God's call, now thousands of lives being touched.
[01:06:23] One act of compassion with the help of the Holy Spirit can start a ripple that changes generations and nations.
[01:06:30] Today I invite you to become part of this story.
[01:06:34] Just as a good Samaritan cared for the wounded man, your partnership helped us to continue this mission. A $20 a month helps us train one local leader. $100 a month helps support the GSM center. A $500 a month helps sustain our headquarters and leadership training. You can
[01:06:53] also become a GSM pre-partner. Together we can provide counseling, training and outreach to people who needs hope and love. When you partner with the Good Samaritan Ministries of Mongolia, You help restore lives.
[01:07:08] Today, you can be that Samaritan for someone who needs hope.
[01:07:13] Thank you for praying for us, standing with us, partnering with us.
[01:07:17] Together, we can make an everlasting difference.

[01:07:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]
[01:07:23] It is.
[01:07:27] It's an amazing ministry, y'all.
[01:07:28] So you should definitely check out that website to find out more.
[01:07:33] Yes, that's Joy Janjma.
[01:07:37] Joy, an amazing minister.
[01:07:40] so you should also try and meet her if you haven't you should go chat with her so and she'll have more information if uh if you have any questions and flyers and stuff like that so all right i'm
[01:07:50] going to speed through some announcements real quick then we'll get byron up here um first things first not tomorrow but next monday the 30th is going to be our sojourns women ministry meeting for march that is uh here in the sanctuary at 7 p.m there will be some light refreshments and
[01:08:07] sometimes a fellowship and a special word from Adrian McCann, who is not here today, but you should definitely, uh, all women over 18 are, uh, both invited and encouraged to come check that out. Cause that's going to be a really good night of fellowship and, uh, growing together. And I'm
[01:08:24] sure Adrian, Adrian's got a really cool story from the bits I've heard. So you should definitely come check that out. Um, Friday, April 3rd, mark your calendars. We are going to have a good week,
[01:08:33] Good Friday, Holy Week service.
[01:08:36] That was awesome.
[01:08:37] If you went to the one last year, it was amazing.
[01:08:39] So this one is going to be equally amazing, I am sure.
[01:08:43] Corey is going to be leading that.
[01:08:45] So mark your calendars.
[01:08:46] That's going to be Friday evening, 7 p.m. here in the sanctuary on April 3rd.
[01:08:51] Lastly, if you take one thing away from everything I've said, take this away.
[01:08:54] Camp Morley registration is open.
[01:08:56] so if you have a child who is rising sixth grade or recently graduated senior uh then they should come to camp this is our amazing week-long stay away camp the testimonies from this place have
[01:09:11] been amazing um my life was personally touched and transformed each year i went to camp so highly recommend you get your kids there um registration is now open um i'm also going to shamelessly say this, stuff is expensive this year, y'all. So if you have a heart to donate or
[01:09:29] sponsor a student, if you would like to make some scholarships, come talk to me. I would love to help figure out how to make that happen. So, but yeah, Camp Morley registration's open. Early bird
[01:09:40] registration ends soon. And then after that, it gets more expensive. So here we go. Byron, why don't you come on up here, get your parade in and get you the mic. Only 10 minutes behind. I'm
[01:09:53] doing fine. Yeah. All right. Well, Lord, we thank you for your servant, Byron. We thank you for all the years of ministering you've done to him and everything that you've given that he can give
[01:10:05] to us. So we just ask that you would anoint his tongue and his mind, Lord, that there would be no barriers between what you have for us and what he's got to say. So we just say mercy and grace

[01:10:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:10:19] on us all in jesus name amen yeah y'all might need mercy and grace right don't tell me you don't because you do but but it's not just because of me it's because of you and the devil and other
[01:10:33] people yeah that was so good wasn't that man gosh i'm gonna sit there thinking i don't want to get up here after all that that was that was sweet man lord thank you thank you so much for for your
[01:10:46] goodness lord lord you're good you really are i'm just asking you to speak speak your heart to us a little bit more this morning or we're yeah thank you lord just catch us up lord into what you have
[01:11:02] for us in jesus name hey i'm going to read a really cool psalm a piece of a psalm here psalm 29 verse 4 through 9 and it's talking about the voice of the lord uh and the reason i'm talking
[01:11:16] want to just talk to you a little bit I really want to talk to you about hearing God this morning which most of y'all are pretty experts on that but I'm not have you ever heard people who say
[01:11:26] the Lord told me yeah people say that I'm thinking gosh never the Lord never talks to me like that you know they'll tell you the Lord told me you know daily almost and I'm thinking I never
[01:11:37] God never talks to me like that so I was trying to figure out how to get him to talk to me like that. And I think one of the questions I hear a lot from, especially younger believers, is
[01:11:47] how do you hear God? How do you know His voice? And that's a really great question, which I don't really think I'm very good at answering, to be honest with you, because further I've gone. But I just have this yearning in my heart to hear God's voice. That's what I
[01:12:06] really yearn for that. And there's been times in my life where I felt like the Lord has really spoken a lot to me and then there's been times when i don't feel like he's it feels like heaven's
[01:12:16] been silent and so you know trying to trying to navigate all that can be tricky in your life especially in the silent times it can be very tricky and just like any human being god speaks
[01:12:30] in different ways at different times uh to people you know like if you make your spouse mad they can yell at you well i'm just thankful the lord hasn't yelled at me too much in my life i probably needed
[01:12:44] him to though but one thing i've found out about the lord uh is sometimes god will speak to us through other people uh and even stuff we don't want to hear are you hearing me you know like
[01:12:59] and you're asking the lord to speak to you and he's trying to talk to you about something and he chooses to do it through other people.
[01:13:08] That's pretty, that can be challenging.
[01:13:11] Amen.
[01:13:13] Well, it says, the voice of the Lord is powerful.
[01:13:17] The voice of the Lord is majestic, majestic.
[01:13:19] The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars.
[01:13:22] The Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
[01:13:25] He makes Lebanon's mountains skip like a calf.
[01:13:29] He makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.
[01:13:33] You know, there's something in that more than what we're reading into it because Mount Hermon is like pretty much a powerful place where the devil has had some pretty significant influence.
[01:13:49] Yeah.
[01:13:50] So, anyways, I'm not going to go through all that, but I love all that.
[01:13:53] The voice of the Lord strikes with bolts of lightning.
[01:13:56] The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake.
[01:14:00] The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kaddish.
[01:14:02] which the voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forest bare.
[01:14:07] In the temple, everyone shouts glory.
[01:14:09] That's what we were doing, right?
[01:14:12] So that's what, you know, I think when I read that, I think that's really what I'm looking for in my life, okay, is for the Lord to speak in a very powerful, prophetic, and majestic way.
[01:14:24] We all should.
[01:14:25] You know, Jesus said in Matthew 4, 4, man does not live on bread alone, right?
[01:14:30] but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
[01:14:34] And so our very life depends on, our spiritual life and really our natural life depends on our ability to really discern and hear the voice of the Lord.
[01:14:46] And I've just found in my life, I've had things that I wanted and things I've asked the Lord to do for me, and He didn't do them.
[01:14:59] Okay?
[01:15:00] There's been prayers that I prayed that God didn't answer.
[01:15:04] But then years down the road, I realized that God is so much wiser than I am.
[01:15:10] And wiser than my prayers.
[01:15:12] Wise enough not to give me what I was asking for, but actually give me something better.
[01:15:17] And so, you know, there's a thing where God wants us to trust Him.
[01:15:22] He wants us to trust Him in the silence.
[01:15:25] Okay?
[01:15:26] And He wants us to trust Him when He doesn't give us what we want and answer our prayers according to the way we would like for Him to answer them.
[01:15:35] And so I just think that we're in a time where God is really trying to really bring us into a place of hearing Him on a deeper, deeper level.
[01:15:44] Even though we're drawn to hearing, you know, we all would love a prophetic word from the Lord to help us understand what we're supposed to do, right?
[01:15:56] i'll tell you this little quick story i think i've told y'all this story many times but this is this is great i love that they were talking about remembering how the lord you know in this in the
[01:16:07] worship this morning remembering is a powerful spiritual thing but uh used to be before i became a pastor i used to go to a monday morning prayer meeting at my old pastor harry bazell he was no
[01:16:19] longer the pastor uh but he was retired from pastoring but he had a monday morning at 6 a.m prayer meeting now you got to be pretty desperate to go to one of those prayer meetings i'll be
[01:16:30] honest with you especially on a monday and then you had a really hard job in front of you you know you go out that prayer meeting and go to work and then time you get home at night you just feel like
[01:16:40] what prayer meeting but i went to this prayer meeting for a long time and it was a small group of pastors and different people a lot of prophetic people would go to that but um one particular
[01:16:56] morning harry read the scripture out of psalm 78 and this was the scripture ephraim although he was armed with bow turned back in the day of battle let me say that one more ephraim although he was
[01:17:12] armed with bow turned back in the day of battle and when he read that scripture i don't know what it was i just thought wow lord when that day comes for me just remind me of this just remind me of
[01:17:27] this scripture because it really just sort of touched my heart well you know i kind of forgot about it for the next few years of my life i didn't ever i never thought about that scripture again
[01:17:39] until I got this invitation to come to Morrisville and preach one time.
[01:17:48] You know, so I did, and then they kept asking me to come back to Morrisville to preach.
[01:17:57] And, you know, just coming somewhere to preach is, you know, pretty simple, right?
[01:18:02] I mean, it's easy, mostly, you know.
[01:18:06] And it got uneasy when they asked me would I consider coming here and being pastor of what would become River Life.
[01:18:15] And so I said, well, you know, I'm going to make this really hard on the Lord like anything's too hard for God.
[01:18:21] But I'm going to make, God, if I'm supposed to do this, you've got to really speak to me.
[01:18:27] I can't just have somebody asking me to do something.
[01:18:30] Even though there was a part of me who wanted to do it because I felt called to be a pastor and all that good stuff.
[01:18:35] And there's a part of me that wanted that, but I was just not willing to do it without a really solid word from the Lord.
[01:18:44] And so I really began to seek the Lord for, you know, kind of this majestic word, this powerful word that would speak to me.
[01:18:53] And I would know exactly what I was supposed to do with my life.
[01:18:56] Because it was going to be a big deal for me to pick my family up and take my kids out of school, the schools they were in.
[01:19:03] And, I mean, it was just going to be a big deal.
[01:19:06] And so, you know, I went around and around praying.
[01:19:11] And then there was this guy who was from Kenya who somehow was visiting this area, hanging out with Chuck Moore, which is absolutely the most dangerous thing you could ever do.
[01:19:24] You know, if somebody's hanging around with Chuck, you know, this guy is seriously dangerous.
[01:19:29] And so this guy was convinced that I was supposed to come here.
[01:19:32] okay I mean he was convinced a thousand percent and he kept telling me and talking to me and trying to convince me that I was supposed to do it I even spent one day I agreed to meet
[01:19:44] with him and Chuck I took a day off from work and spent the whole day with Chuck and this guy listen to this guy trying to talk to me to tell me I was looking for this word from the Lord
[01:19:55] and you know at the end of the day well it was a nice day y'all y'all I'll see you later I got to go to work tomorrow.
[01:20:04] So I was really not getting anything from the Lord.
[01:20:07] And then there was this prophetic conference.
[01:20:09] This is kind of complicated, right?
[01:20:11] There was this prophetic conference I had, and all these well-known prophets were at this conference.
[01:20:15] And so we went, and we were there, and we were maybe hoping the Lord would give somebody, some of these powerful prophetic people, a word, and they would call you out of audience and say,
[01:20:28] the Lord says you're supposed to go to Morrisville.
[01:20:31] Or the Lord says, don't do it.
[01:20:34] Well, it didn't happen.
[01:20:36] But one day we were in the conference.
[01:20:38] We were in this lunchroom.
[01:20:39] They had a lunchroom there.
[01:20:40] You could have lunch.
[01:20:41] And we were in there just eating and hanging out.
[01:20:44] And one of the speakers, I could tell you his name.
[01:20:48] He's still around.
[01:20:49] He's a real prophetic guy.
[01:20:52] Someone came in and they're like, hey, this guy, this person, their name, he feels like the Lord has something for you if you want to talk to him.
[01:21:01] oh, yeah, I'm fixing to get this word from the Lord about this Mooresville thing.
[01:21:08] So it was kind of exciting.
[01:21:09] So I went over, and he started praying for us.
[01:21:12] And, you know, he just gave me the slackest words imaginable.
[01:21:17] I mean, that's the way I thought about it.
[01:21:18] Seriously, this is a prophetic word?
[01:21:21] Like, you know, oh, well, I see a dipstick in a car, like you put your oil.
[01:21:25] There's still oil in it, so whatever you're doing now, there's still oil to do it.
[01:21:29] and I see a fruit tree, and, you know, there's still fruit there, and it's just undecided.
[01:21:37] That's what he said. I thought, undecided? I didn't have to get a word from a prophetic voice to tell me it's undecided. I'm undecided. So after he finished praying, I told him, like, hey, this is what's going on. I didn't tell him anything. This is what's going on, and he said,
[01:21:55] okay, I'll tell you what, I'm going to pray the night, and come find me tomorrow. I'll see if the Lord will speak to me. So I still had a little bit of glimmer of hope of getting this word,
[01:22:06] okay? So the next day, I go back to the conference. I see the guy. I grab him like, hey, did the Lord tell you anything? No, I'm sorry. That's all I got, and just turned around
[01:22:15] and walked off. Well, I was disappointed, y'all, and so basically, do whatever you want to do.
[01:22:23] Like, don't tell Becky that, because she has different wants than me.
[01:22:29] Anyway, so, well, they asked me to come back to preach, and I thought, I told them, like, this is it.
[01:22:36] I'm just done with this.
[01:22:37] I'm done thinking about this.
[01:22:39] I'm coming out here.
[01:22:40] This is the last time I'm coming.
[01:22:43] If the Lord doesn't speak to me, then I'm out.
[01:22:47] I told them that.
[01:22:48] So I'm out.
[01:22:49] Bye, y'all.
[01:22:50] I'll see you later.
[01:22:50] So we come in here, and we do preaching, and then after the preaching, the lunch, and this guy, Tom Malinga, the Kenyan guy, he's there, and we go over to Chuck's house, and we go out there, and we sit in the front yard in chairs, and he starts up again, trying to convince me that I'm supposed to be here, okay?
[01:23:13] And I'm sitting there thinking, I don't want to do this.
[01:23:16] I want to go home.
[01:23:17] That's the way I'm thinking.
[01:23:18] I want to go home.
[01:23:19] I want out of this conversation.
[01:23:21] I'm done with Mooresville.
[01:23:23] And then he read this scripture out of Deuteronomy where the Lord said to Moses, you've been around this mountain long enough.
[01:23:31] You need to turn north.
[01:23:33] Okay.
[01:23:34] And, you know, we lived in Pineville, which was south.
[01:23:39] Everybody started laughing.
[01:23:41] Like, oh, that's the word of the Lord.
[01:23:43] For Byron to come, it's time you went around this round tent of trying to decide long enough.
[01:23:47] You get that?
[01:23:48] Now it's time for you to turn north.
[01:23:50] And everybody was laughing, thinking it was the word of the Lord.
[01:23:53] And this is literally what I said to myself.
[01:23:56] I said, yeah, ha, ha, ha.
[01:23:59] It's going to take more than that to get me here.
[01:24:02] That's what I said to the Lord.
[01:24:04] And so I was ready to just get up at that moment.
[01:24:06] But I was being, you know, social and nice on the outside.
[01:24:10] But on the inside, I was like furiously upset and wanting to be done.
[01:24:13] but then then then he read that scripture Ephraim although he was armed with bow turned back in the day of battle and when he did I knew that was the word of the Lord for me and then I had to convince
[01:24:31] Becky I didn't say a word of the I got in the car I said Becky we're coming she said why literally that's how she said it and I tried to explain it to her but she was furiously mad at me
[01:24:46] about this y'all she said well okay if you think it's the lord you know it took a bit to get her on board yeah but the lord finally got her on that's another story but my point is here is
[01:25:00] we're sometimes we're looking for the word of the lord and we're looking for some big boom like from from a prophet or something where really there's another way that god wants to speak to us
[01:25:11] and this is and i wanted to read this one out of psalm 19 this is beautiful uh scripture the heavens proclaim the glory of god the skies display his craftsmanship day after day they continue to speak night after night they make him known they speak without a sound or word
[01:25:32] their voice is never heard and so i felt like that word that's the kind of word the lord gave me to come here it was a it was a like a almost a silent voice it wasn't a big booming thing it was
[01:25:47] silent it was no one knew at that moment harry bazell when he gave that scripture didn't know that he was giving me a seed for down the road in my life that where god would bring it bring it
[01:26:00] forth and so we had to really i mean i love the prophetic booming voices the powerful life-changing moments. But there's also the other times where God, His voice really is almost silent in our life. Like I was mentioning earlier, the prayers that were not answered.
[01:26:21] But really that was the voice of the Lord saying, this is not the best for you. This is not what I have for you. And I think we had to really learn how to hear that voice. I think about Elijah,
[01:26:34] the story of Elijah everybody loves Elijah most even non-believers know something about Elijah going up to heaven and Elijah called fire down from heaven but you know he got messed up as a lot of us know like most Christians do he got discouraged after his greatest victory when he
[01:26:53] called fire down from heaven he got afraid he got threatened and he and he ran away and he went wound up going to Mount Horeb, which was really the mountain of the Lord, expecting for the Lord to
[01:27:04] really do something for him probably there and speak some mighty thing like he did when Moses went up there on that mountain. But God didn't do it. It says there were, you know, like a wind,
[01:27:16] a fire, an earthquake. But it says the Lord was not in any of those. You know, those are all things that God had already, God had spoken many times in scripture through the wind or the fire
[01:27:29] or the shaking, but this time he wasn't speaking that way. And the Bible says that there was a whisper, it was a whisper that came, a gentle blowing, a still small voice, the different translations use it, a whisper. And Elijah knew for somehow that was, the Lord was beginning
[01:27:50] to speak to him, and he says he went out, and it was like the Lord was saying to Elijah at that moment, like, Elijah, you know, come back to me, because Elijah was broken at that point. Elijah
[01:28:04] had fulfilled something at that point, and he was kind of lost in life, but it was like the Lord was saying, Elijah, come back to me. Come back to me, and I'll give you what you need, and the Lord
[01:28:17] actually did speak to Elijah about his future and about his future purposes. Because see, in Elijah's mind at that point, his future was very dark and dim. And so it's just a powerful time when God
[01:28:33] begins to speak in our lives like this. And God, I believe we're in a time where God is looking for people to really hear him on that level that's what i desire i mean i desire the other i'm always
[01:28:50] going to desire it okay i'll never quit wanting god to do that but you know probably every day of my life i'm like i'm wanting to hear i'm wanting to hear the lord and i'm not necessarily
[01:29:05] thinking it's going to come from the outside but i'm thinking it's going to come from in here I'm thinking, I need to hear that whisper.
[01:29:14] I need to hear that gentle blowing in my life because that's really kind of the word that sustains us on a daily basis.
[01:29:21] Are y'all with me this morning?
[01:29:24] Yeah, yeah.
[01:29:26] So I believe we could always receive words from the Lord through gifted prophetic people or preachers.
[01:29:33] I'm not disqualifying any of that.
[01:29:35] Don't get me wrong, I love that.
[01:29:37] But I am saying there's something more that God has for us.
[01:29:40] okay? There's something more that he has for us. And maybe you're walking in it. I don't feel like I'm walking in it enough. That's how I really feel about my life. I don't feel like I'm hearing the
[01:29:51] Lord like I want to hear him like that. I went through a time where I didn't really get any, nobody was giving me prophetic words for a couple years, you know? But you know what? During that
[01:30:03] time, I was very satisfied because I felt like I was hearing that whisper a whole lot. And I just feel like we're we're just in a season where God has kind of quietened a lot of voices out there
[01:30:15] he's quieting them down but that doesn't mean he's he's not talking it just means that he's saying I want to talk in a little bit of a different way to you let me read this little
[01:30:27] verse out of are y'all okay yeah man I'm doing good here on time maybe it says in Luke 9 uh you Now Jesus was going to, he's wanting to go to pass through a Samaritan village.
[01:30:43] And they wouldn't let him.
[01:30:44] They just did flat, would not.
[01:30:46] They just said, no, you're not coming through here.
[01:30:47] Because, you know, the Jews and the Samaritans were not friendly.
[01:30:52] Okay?
[01:30:52] There were just issues between them.
[01:30:55] In fact, any of the rabbis in that days, and most Jewish people, if they had to get somewhere that was like on the other side of Samaria, it was a straight line, they could walk.
[01:31:05] They would not walk through that.
[01:31:06] They'd walk way around just to avoid them.
[01:31:11] And that's how bad it was.
[01:31:13] So, you know, they rejected Jesus.
[01:31:17] And then it says, when his disciples, I love this.
[01:31:19] When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?
[01:31:26] And I said, yeah, get them dirty Samaritans.
[01:31:30] Just as Elijah did.
[01:31:32] But he turned and rebuked them.
[01:31:35] and he said you do not know what manner of spirit you are for the son of man didn't come to destroy men's lives but to save them and then they went to another village so elijah called the fire down
[01:31:47] they wanted to do the same but jesus uh was saying something to him about about their spirit okay see this is this is a key right here he said you don't know what spirit you are uh see what they wanted
[01:32:03] is they wanted to have this power like we all do.
[01:32:06] We pray.
[01:32:07] We're praying for the power of God to come.
[01:32:10] We're praying for the miracles of God, for anything supernatural that God's doing.
[01:32:14] We're asking the Lord to do that.
[01:32:16] But Jesus was saying, listen, you're asking for this power, but you're lacking something inside of you.
[01:32:24] You're lacking the formation of the Holy Spirit in your spirit.
[01:32:28] You don't know what spirit you are of because you inwardly are not what you're supposed to be.
[01:32:33] to be able to carry that power that I want you to carry.
[01:32:37] That's what he was telling them there, okay?
[01:32:40] But that's why the, you know, Scripture says to, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13 and 14, he mentions the love of the Father, the grace of Jesus, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, the communication of the Holy Spirit,
[01:32:57] because that's really what enables us to really carry the power of God and be able to use it wisely.
[01:33:05] Are y'all with me on this?
[01:33:07] And what Jesus was saying, apart from that, apart from that communion and the Holy Spirit building you up on the inside, it will be dangerous for your life and for the people around you for you to be able to use that power like Elijah had.
[01:33:25] Am I talking to anybody in this room?
[01:33:27] I hope I am.
[01:33:28] um there's a danger in building your life on outward moments of spiritual power are you hearing me well i hope somebody in this room's hearing me okay because listen we're revival people you might not be but we are me and becky are i'm saying we we were born again in a revival we
[01:33:54] we're big in the revival we will never stop being big in the revival i don't care what anybody says It's in the Bible, okay?
[01:34:02] But the truth is, you can't build your life on that.
[01:34:06] You must not build your life on that.
[01:34:09] It's a danger.
[01:34:11] You have to build your life on something inwardly, okay?
[01:34:14] Those things are meant to help you.
[01:34:16] They're meant to enable you.
[01:34:18] But if we don't get this thing inwardly within us, where we begin to walk with the Lord inwardly, then we're going to really struggle with our Christian life.
[01:34:30] So there'll be times in your life when God will turn all those voices down around you.
[01:34:35] And the reason he's turning them down, not because they're bad, it's because he wants you to begin to tap into something that you already have inside of you.
[01:34:44] He wants you to begin to hear something in you versus hearing what everybody else has to say.
[01:34:52] It's really the truth.
[01:34:53] It was one of the great learnings of my early Christian life.
[01:34:56] It's when I got saved, I was, you know, we were in this church.
[01:34:59] It was really great.
[01:35:00] the Lord was really moving. And, you know, we had all these amazing preachers that would come to this church. I mean, we had sensational preachers come to this church. I mean, these were like some of the greatest men of that generation that really carried the word of the
[01:35:15] Lord, you know? And man, it was awesome for me until one day where the Lord cut me, cut all that out of my life. He turned all that down. And it was really for me to find the Lord for myself,
[01:35:31] not to find the Lord through these other people. And that's what the Lord wants to do. He wants us to grow us up where we can begin to hear. It doesn't mean we don't hear the Lord through other
[01:35:43] people, because obviously that's part of God's program. But if that's all we have, then we're in danger in our life. We're not formed inwardly. The love of God is not finding a full expression in us. Are you with me? And so I just think where the church, where the body of Christ is in America
[01:36:06] today, North Carolina today, Morrisville today, is that's where we are. We are here to learn how to hear the Lord inwardly and let the Lord begin to build us up inside of us so we can begin to
[01:36:20] know him inwardly before we know him outwardly. And I think that's going to be the key to our future. I really believe, let's read this one. Oh, Lord, help. Everybody, this is a great scripture,
[01:36:35] 1 John 2, 27. It says, as for you, the anointing, don't you love that word anointing? How many people don't love it raise your hand i need to see if you're not loving that word there's something
[01:36:48] bad going on with you we needed the anointing the anointing which you receive from him remains in you and you have no one no need for anyone to teach you but as his anointing teaches you
[01:37:05] about all things and is true and is not a lie and just as it has taught you you remain in him So every believer has this inward anointing in them.
[01:37:17] Every one of us.
[01:37:18] If you're a believer, if you're a follower of Christ, there's an anointing that's in you.
[01:37:22] It's not far away.
[01:37:23] It's not something you had to go out.
[01:37:25] You don't have to get anybody to splash oil on you or do anything.
[01:37:29] You got it when Christ came into your life.
[01:37:31] You're walking with an anointing inside of you.
[01:37:35] That's what it says.
[01:37:36] You have this anointing in you.
[01:37:39] Okay?
[01:37:40] Your spirit is made alive.
[01:37:43] That's the problem.
[01:37:44] Your spirit was made alive, that's where that anointing is.
[01:37:47] It's in your spirit, which doesn't mean it's in your soul, and it doesn't mean it's in your body.
[01:37:53] That's what spiritual formation is, is learning how to let that anointing that's down in your spirit emerge in your life and begin to shape your soul, conforming your soul into the image of Jesus.
[01:38:08] Then it begins to affect your outward life.
[01:38:12] Are y'all following that?
[01:38:13] you know and i'll tell you this when we begin to ignore that anointing and i'm going to tell you this from personal experience that's when your flesh starts wanting to take over when we begin
[01:38:27] to ignore that because see that's that spirit is in you that anointing is in you to help you to teach you and to lead your life okay and that's when the temptations start coming And temptations are always going to be around.
[01:38:43] And if you're being tempted, doesn't mean you're a bad person.
[01:38:47] You're just normal.
[01:38:51] Just because you feel tempted about something doesn't mean you're bad.
[01:38:54] But what happens, are y'all following?
[01:38:57] What happens when we begin to ignore that voice inside of us, it's easy to give in to temptation.
[01:39:03] It's easy to start walking in the flesh.
[01:39:05] It's easy to start being what Paul called carnal Christians, where our lives are controlled by what we feel, what we think, what we want because we're not listening to this voice inside of us that may be telling us something else.
[01:39:25] And so that's where the church is now.
[01:39:27] And that's why we've had a lot of problems in the church is because we're not following this thing inside of us.
[01:39:34] Jesus said, out of your belly, meaning your spirit will flow rivers of living water.
[01:39:39] He didn't say it's gonna flow around from everybody else all the time.
[01:39:43] He was saying out of your belly.
[01:39:45] Did y'all catch that?
[01:39:46] Out of your belly, out of your belly, out of your belly, there's rivers of living water, speaking of the Holy Spirit that's in you.
[01:39:56] And so he wants to begin to talk to us out of our spirit and begin to lead us and guide us.
[01:40:04] He wants to lead your life.
[01:40:06] He wants to tell you where to go and where not to go.
[01:40:09] He wants to tell you what job to take and what job not to take.
[01:40:12] That's why sometimes God doesn't answer your prayers.
[01:40:15] I had we had situation as a situation it was crazy some of the things the Lord did would go to these job interviews they're promising you the moon and then you don't get the job
[01:40:27] I've had that happen to me so many times because I was always looking for a better job more money when I was in the engineer world I mean that was my second job is looking for another job
[01:40:37] but I had I mean I and I would be so disappointed at times because the job was attracted to me It was a good thing, and it didn't happen.
[01:40:49] But looking back, I realize, oh, I'm so thankful.
[01:40:52] I am so thankful God didn't do that because God had a better plan for my life.
[01:40:58] You know, one time Becky got interviewed by, are you all okay?
[01:41:01] One time Becky got interviewed by this newspaper in Morrisville.
[01:41:05] It actually was a Muslim lady who interviewed her.
[01:41:08] She asked her a bunch of questions about being a woman in ministry.
[01:41:13] Remember that?
[01:41:14] And one of the questions was, why did you choose Mooresville?
[01:41:18] I thought that Becky gave such a great, I thought her answers were pretty good.
[01:41:22] I gave her most of the answers, though.
[01:41:25] I'll coach her.
[01:41:28] But she said, the woman said, why did you choose Mooresville?
[01:41:35] And you know what Becky said?
[01:41:37] We didn't choose Mooresville, Mooresville chose us.
[01:41:40] And you see, that's what I'm talking about.
[01:41:41] God wants to choose some things for you.
[01:41:44] God has some choices for you that he wants to make for your life.
[01:41:48] And even though in the moment it may not seem pleasant, in the moment it may be difficult for you, and you may not think it's the best thing for you.
[01:41:57] I told Becky this, and she got mad at me when I told her.
[01:42:01] I told her this recently.
[01:42:02] Hey, Becky, you know what?
[01:42:03] When I came to Morrisville, I had a five-year plan.
[01:42:06] I was coming here for five years, and then I was leaving.
[01:42:07] You know what she said?
[01:42:08] If I'd have known it, I'd have never come.
[01:42:11] If you thought she was going to come here for five years.
[01:42:13] And I'm going to tell you why I thought that.
[01:42:15] Because in my mind, my tribe was in Pineville.
[01:42:18] My people were there, not here.
[01:42:22] Okay?
[01:42:22] But you know what I found out?
[01:42:24] My people are here.
[01:42:26] Those were, that era ended for me.
[01:42:33] And we need to really, really realize that the Lord knows some things that we don't know.
[01:42:39] And God always has his best for you.
[01:42:41] Always.
[01:42:42] Even when it's difficult and trying to.
[01:42:45] Because when I came here, I had a lot of grief in my life about my tribe, about my friends that I was having to separate from.
[01:42:52] It was painful to me.
[01:42:54] But I'm so thankful now, honestly.
[01:42:58] So it says, the anointing within brings guidance and protection because it teaches us.
[01:43:04] It helps us to discern what God is doing and what God is not doing.
[01:43:09] Instead of depending on everybody else to tell you what God's doing, there's something inside in you that wants to tell you what He's doing.
[01:43:16] You know, there's this anointing that wants to tell you, hey, those voices are not good voices for you.
[01:43:23] Those things are not good for you.
[01:43:25] This is what I have for you.
[01:43:27] Go in this direction.
[01:43:28] You'll see.
[01:43:32] Because the world's full of voices.
[01:43:34] Christianity is full of voices.
[01:43:36] And we need this voice in here to tell us the voices out there that are going to be good and the ones that are not.
[01:43:46] The anointing within is for everyday life.
[01:43:49] okay it's not just for doing ministry it's for your everyday life it's for your home it's for your family it's for daily decisions that we're involved in and making things we're doing how we handle our finances you know how we handle relationships everything where we live where
[01:44:07] we don't live that anointing is you know the house i'm living in right now is i was we were we lived back here for a long time and we've always thinking about moving and i had a i was
[01:44:21] in china i had a dream and in the dream uh that's what i saw was i saw becky standing in the front of this house watering some shrubs that was the dream so i felt like the lord was saying it's time
[01:44:36] to move so i come home and says let's sell the house and move so we started looking for places to live. And we wound up buying this house. And one day after we were in the house for a few months,
[01:44:48] I thought, oh my gosh, this was the house in the dream. This was the literal house in the dream that I saw. That's the anointing within. That wasn't a big booming voice. That was a little
[01:45:03] dream, a little glimpse into what God had. And I didn't even know it, but God led us to that house.
[01:45:09] we had two we made an offer on a house and and the people wouldn't take it even though it was the highest offer and you know what they said to us well somebody else already made an offer
[01:45:19] and even though it was less we're going to honor their offer I'm thinking y'all crazy you should take take the money and run that ain't the way this world works but you see God didn't
[01:45:30] want us in that house he wanted us in this house God God has some choices for some people in this room he won't have some things for you but we're going to have to let him do it um the anointing
[01:45:43] within supports the anointing upon so if you want god to use you you need to be able to hear this voice inside of you to be able to navigate it's that anointing upon jesus was anointed with the
[01:45:56] holy spirit and power it actually rested on a on a person being the lord himself who had a powerful anointing within. And Jesus had wisdom, and that wisdom was flowing within him to know what to do
[01:46:08] and what not to do. Jesus only did what he saw the Father doing. Guess how he was seeing it?
[01:46:14] It was not coming from out here. It was coming from in here. And that's how we've discovered that, is we tap into that thing inside of us. And it really will help you in whatever ministry
[01:46:25] and whatever service God has called you into, being able to hear that voice inside of you really help you to do that better and i know you're saying well i wish the lord would help you
[01:46:38] that's a joke y'all what's wrong with y'all so anyways i'm gonna end here so you know i want to go back and read that psalm 19 one more time i don't usually read scriptures the heavens proclaim the glory of god the disguise display his craftsmanship day after day they
[01:47:06] continue to speak night after night they make him known they speak without a sound or word their voice is never heard so yeah one time we had this move of the lord in at river life that
[01:47:22] was really beautiful for a few years and then it came to an end that was not a beautiful time for me y'all you know what i mean have you ever been involved in something that was beautiful
[01:47:32] and then it came to the end and you kind of felt lost well that was where i was i felt i felt lost I felt like what what am I doing now you know I mean I don't want to be a kind of Christian where
[01:47:44] my best is behind me you know and you know you see a lot of believers that really when the Lord really moves strongly they're get on fire for the Lord and the Lord uses them then when the Lord
[01:47:56] quits doing what he's doing like the move of the Lord ends they kind of fall away or fall back into you know uh lukewarm christianity have y'all ever noticed that it's a very sad thing so i was really
[01:48:11] asking the lord about all of that trying to find some direction for my life you know because when the lord's moving you don't have to find direction it's taking you you know it's just taking you the
[01:48:26] river's taking you but all of a sudden the river quits flowing you're standing still and you're wondering what to do. And I had this dream. Boy, oh boy. In this dream, I was in a cave, okay?
[01:48:39] That's a great start to a dream, being in the cave. But I walked out of the mouth of the cave, and I walked out, and it was nighttime. And the skies were covered. It was in the stars.
[01:48:53] It was the glory. It was that scripture there. The glory of the Lord was shining.
[01:48:59] It was like the most beautiful thing.
[01:49:01] And when I saw it, all of a sudden it was like I came alive on the inside.
[01:49:06] It was like I was full of life.
[01:49:08] I was full of vision.
[01:49:10] I was full of everything that I wanted from the Lord.
[01:49:15] And I was no longer, I wasn't disappointed in the dream.
[01:49:18] I wasn't broken in the dream.
[01:49:19] I was like, it was everything for me.
[01:49:24] I mean, just looking at the stars.
[01:49:27] And you know what the sad thing was?
[01:49:31] I really missed the interpretation of the dream.
[01:49:35] Because now I know what the Lord was telling me then.
[01:49:39] He was telling me that I'm bringing you into a time where I want you to learn about that silent voice.
[01:49:48] And the reason I missed it, because I was craving that loud voice.
[01:49:53] And nothing else was going to satisfy me.
[01:49:59] Are y'all hearing me?
[01:50:03] And so I just feel like that I didn't really take advantage of it, but later I did when I kind of figured it out.
[01:50:11] When God didn't do what I wanted Him to do, just tap into the voice inside of me and let that voice become familiar to me again.
[01:50:20] And I just believe that's something that we need to really do, y'all, is let that voice become familiar to us again.
[01:50:29] And the scripture I was getting this morning for some people in the room was out of Proverbs 3.
[01:50:38] It's a famous scripture.
[01:50:39] Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
[01:50:43] Don't lean to your own understanding.
[01:50:48] In all your ways, acknowledge Him or submit to Him.
[01:50:52] And He will direct your paths in all your ways.
[01:50:58] So you may be in a time where things are not working for you the way you would like for them to do.
[01:51:05] Maybe it's just about the voice of the Lord.
[01:51:07] But if you'll trust Him, He'll direct you.
[01:51:11] I can promise you that.
[01:51:12] He will direct your path and He will direct it into the life of purpose that He has for you.
[01:51:17] And it's going to be the best for you and it's going to be the best for your family and it's going to be the best for everybody around you.
[01:51:24] Amen?
[01:51:25] So I want you to stand up if you can.
[01:51:30] If you can't, you can lay down.
[01:51:34] The Lord's good.
[01:51:35] I hope the Lord spoke to somebody this morning.
[01:51:39] So I really want to go after this, okay?
[01:51:41] I feel like there's some people in the room that you are trying to get somewhere or get something and God ain't cooperating with you okay and I really want to speak to you and I want you to hear what I'm saying to you
[01:51:56] it's what I'm telling you about tapping into that inward voice and trusting him you're going to need to do that right now are you hearing what I'm saying you're going to need to quit fighting this thing
[01:52:12] and quit trying to force what you think you want and let God direct your path.
[01:52:19] That put your trust back on Him and stop with your own understanding, your own thoughts.
[01:52:26] Stop leaning on those and begin to lean back on the Lord.
[01:52:30] And I believe the Lord will begin to talk to you.
[01:52:33] Okay?
[01:52:34] And He might not tell you what you want to hear, but I believe He'll talk to you.
[01:52:41] You hear what I'm saying to you?
[01:52:43] Jesus said, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from his mouth.
[01:52:50] And for your future and my future, for it to be the right future, we need that word that's coming out of his mouth not coming out of our little heads or what we want or what we think we want.
[01:53:02] And I know that's challenging.
[01:53:04] And I got some things in my life that I'm super bothered about that I would like to have some answers for.
[01:53:18] So there's a little bit of empathy in what I'm saying to you.
[01:53:22] So if that's you, just raise your hand.
[01:53:23] I just want to just pray for you.
[01:53:26] And I'm going to ask the Lord to help you.
[01:53:29] I can raise my hand with you on some areas of my life.
[01:53:33] Lord, you see the people in this room.
[01:53:35] There's people that need answers, Lord.
[01:53:36] We all need answers.
[01:53:37] We all need something from you, Lord.
[01:53:40] Lord, I just think it's a time where we can begin to trust you in a fresh way and a new way, Lord.
[01:53:46] I think it's a time, Lord, where your Holy Spirit wants to, that anointing within wants to begin to speak to us, within us.
[01:53:53] and we begin to hear your voice in a different way, in a new way, a fresh way, we begin to hear from heaven within us, Lord, within our spirit, Lord.
[01:54:04] And so I ask you, Father, I ask you right now in Jesus' name, for every person that needs some answers and needs some help with their life, Lord, I'm asking you to begin to do something fresh.
[01:54:19] Put that hunger in us, Lord, that yearning in us to hear you.
[01:54:25] Not just to hear the big, booming, powerful voice, but to hear that still, small voice, that gentle whisper that comes, Lord.
[01:54:34] Lord, I ask you to do that.
[01:54:37] I thank you for it, Lord.
[01:54:39] Let's just wait here just a couple of minutes, okay?
[01:54:47] You know, James says this.
[01:54:49] He said, hey, don't be double-minded.
[01:54:55] Don't live in two places.
[01:54:59] You can't live in two places.
[01:55:00] He's saying, get in one place and live in one place.
[01:55:08] The Lord settled some things for you.
[01:55:10] I'm really thinking about what Val prayed because he prayed a pretty serious prayer for this church.
[01:55:33] I mean, that's not a prayer to be taken lightly.
[01:55:36] We really need to ask the Lord more about that because that's a serious responsibility in a lot of ways, what he prayed.
[01:55:46] It sounds beautiful and fun, which it really is, but it's also pretty serious.
[01:55:52] I don't want to take anything the Lord said.
[01:55:54] If the Lord's inviting us into that, We need to really ask the Lord to help us be a kind of people who can bear what the Lord wants to do and not let it mess us up.
[01:56:07] Amen.

[01:56:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]
[01:56:15] Let's invite the ministry team forward if you all want to come up here and help people respond to this message and to what Byron was talking about.
[01:56:26] If you need hands laid on you, we've got some amazing people who are dedicated to partnering with you in that mission.
[01:56:35] Um, so yeah, we're just going to take a few minutes here and stay in this space and let some ministry happen.