1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,480 Well, they were crazy enough to give me not one session today, 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:11,880 but two, and I know we're sad that Irene couldn't be here, but 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:15,640 I am glad to be able to fill that spot and speak to you one 4 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,800 more time before our time here is done. 5 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,280 How many of you are grateful for your pastors? 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:27,480 Pastor Sarah Matt, thank you for their leadership, that vision to 7 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:31,480 create moments like this, to invest in you, the women of the 8 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:34,720 house, and all those that are visiting and joining the next 9 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,200 level family. And I even get to be with you 10 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:42,040 tomorrow on Mother's Day. I mean, I mean, I don't know 11 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,840 where it is in the contract that a mother should actually speak 12 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,360 on Mother's Day, but somehow it happens. 13 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:51,320 So my kids released me. And so I'm excited about the 14 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:54,320 whole weekend with you. But I really want to put this 15 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,160 message into you before you go out of those doors, back to the 16 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,160 world that you left, back to the family, back to the kids, back 17 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,360 to all the responsibilities. And, and this is a message that 18 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:07,320 God began to write on my heart a little while ago now. 19 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:10,720 And it's become something I feel so passionate about that I've 20 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:12,960 written an entire Bible study about it. 21 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:16,960 I don't normally do that, but I really feel a mantle on my life 22 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:20,520 to put this into the heart of women and then ask you to go and 23 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:23,920 put it into the other lives of the women around you. 24 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:28,760 It began by God reminding me of a story that I grew up with. 25 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:34,560 We had certain fairy tales, certain stories as kids that 26 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,440 were our favorite and one that I used to love that my mum used to 27 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,560 tell me was a story known as the ugly duckling. 28 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:43,600 I don't know whether you know that story or not. 29 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:46,160 It's a fairy tale. And, and if you don't know the 30 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,520 story, I'll, I'll, I'll give you the short version of it. 31 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:54,000 But really the story is about a bird that is in a nest. 32 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,840 And as all the little eggs begin to hatch, this particular egg is 33 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:02,440 bigger than all the others, and eventually this egg in the 34 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:04,240 middle of the nest begins to hatch. 35 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:08,039 But when this bird comes out of the nest, it doesn't look like 36 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:10,919 the others. In fact, the others look at the 37 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,520 bird that looks grey and it looks a different colour than 38 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:16,360 them and it looks a different build than them. 39 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,840 And they label this one bird that has hatched with all the 40 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:25,600 other birds, the ugly duckling. This bird is rejected by all of 41 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,720 the others that have just been hatched out of their eggs. 42 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,120 And it's shooed away from its nest. 43 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,000 And the story goes that this little duckling tries to find a 44 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,480 family. It goes over to a litter of 45 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,480 kittens and seems to find if it can be adopted by them. 46 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,120 But they reject the ugly duckling. 47 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,880 They tell it to go away. It goes to the farmer's house 48 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,440 and even the farmer and the farmer's wife ushers the ugly 49 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,040 duckling out of the house. And so this story goes that the 50 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,840 ugly duckling just finds itself alone, and it feels like it's 51 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:03,720 been rejected by everybody. And it has this idea that 52 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,200 there's nothing good coming to it in life. 53 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:10,320 And as it shelters from the rain and as it lives a life of 54 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,200 solitude, eventually it's on the water one day. 55 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,400 And as on the water one day, it's admiring the incredible 56 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,560 beauty of the birds around it. They're in the sky above it. 57 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,960 And on this one particular day, as it's on the water, the bird 58 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:26,240 looks down. And when it looks down on the 59 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:30,080 water, it sees in the water this beautiful white swan. 60 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,080 And it wonders to itself where in the world this white swan 61 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,920 came from, because it thought it was on the water alone. 62 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,720 And in that moment, the ugly duckling realizes the reflection 63 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,880 in the water is its own reflection, and that all along 64 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:50,720 this ugly duckling had been a baby that was growing up to be 65 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:54,880 this beautiful white swan. And as it's realising this is 66 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,800 who it is, the Swans that are flying above call to this bird 67 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,280 to come and join them and fly with them. 68 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,720 And the story of the ugly duckling at the end sees this 69 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,760 duckling part of this family, this community of beautiful 70 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,720 Swans. I was reminded of that story 71 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,360 because I felt God challenged me to challenge you. 72 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:22,240 That so often many of us have a poor reflection of who we really 73 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,360 are. We must understand who God has 74 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,760 made us to be. We have wrongly labeled who we 75 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:32,960 are in Christ Because maybe, just like the ugly duckling, you 76 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,760 too had an upbringing or maybe have gone through a season where 77 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:39,440 you felt rejected or wrongly labeled. 78 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,000 Or you felt like people didn't accept you for who God created 79 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,560 you to be. And maybe somehow you've lived a 80 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,840 life that has isolated yourself and you've not recognized your 81 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:53,160 true beauty because of all the things that have been said about 82 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:57,400 about you and to you. And I today want to help you get 83 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:01,120 the right reflection before you walk out of these doors so that 84 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:05,000 you leave this room understanding who you are, whose 85 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:09,200 you are, your true identity of a daughter of the King, that you 86 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:12,320 don't walk out of this door thinking that you are somehow 87 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:16,880 rejected or somehow an ugly duckling in the family of God. 88 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,040 We have to get the right reflection so we can live at the 89 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:26,040 right elevation in life. The Bible tells us in James that 90 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:30,760 the word of God is a mirror. It says this in James 122. 91 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:36,320 Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, but 92 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:40,320 do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word 93 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:44,840 but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his 94 00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:50,400 face in a mirror and after looking at himself goes away and 95 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:52,640 immediately forgets what he looks like. 96 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:57,720 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives 97 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:02,600 freedom and continues in it, not forgetting what they have heard, 98 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:06,440 but doing it, they will be blessed in what they do. 99 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:10,240 What is the Bible saying? It's saying it's no good that 100 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:15,120 you just come to the conference and take a glance in the Word of 101 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:19,640 God and then walk out of here and forget what you look like. 102 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:21,520 That's not going to change anything. 103 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:25,200 It doesn't help that you just come to a meeting and you come 104 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:29,120 even to the altar and you have a moment in the worship where you 105 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,520 feel something, but then you walk out of the door and go back 106 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,280 to your old habits and behavior. It's saying it won't work. 107 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:39,640 It's not God's fault. It's our fault because we're 108 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:43,400 glancing instead of living intently with this is our 109 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:45,800 mirror. See where you look, where you 110 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:50,560 stay there for your reflection is where you gain your 111 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,040 direction. So when you spend more time 112 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:57,600 staring at social media on your phone than you do in the Word of 113 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,560 God, it's going to tell you which direction you go. 114 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,040 When you spend more time on Facebook than you do in God's 115 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:06,720 book, it's going to set a direction for your life. 116 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:09,920 When you spend more time looking at the reflection of people 117 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,840 around you and comparing yourself to how they're doing 118 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:16,120 and how they're looking, it's going to tell you the direction 119 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,400 that you're going in life. And God's letting us know before 120 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:22,840 we walk out of these doors. I don't want you to just come 121 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:27,520 and hear the Word. I want you to look intently into 122 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:31,640 the mirror of God's Word until you actually see who you 123 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:34,480 actually are. And some of you have lived under 124 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:39,960 the wrong label for years and years and years and we're done 125 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,680 with the label. You need to look intently into 126 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,920 the mirror of God's Word. See, when I look in the mirror 127 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,280 of God's Word, it tells me I am the head and not the tail. 128 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:52,240 When I look in the mirror of God's Word, it says you are 129 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:56,120 fearfully and wonderfully made. When I look in the mirror of 130 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:59,880 God's Word, it says you are chosen and you are beautiful and 131 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:03,040 you have plans for me. God plans to prosper me, plans 132 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,400 not to harm me. When I look in the mirror of 133 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:09,400 God's Word, it tells me I'm an overcomer, that I'm victorious. 134 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:13,120 When you start to look in the mirror of God's Word, you try to 135 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:18,720 find out who you really are. And I remember when our daughter 136 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:23,560 was younger, because whether you remember it or not, whether 137 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,720 you're aware of it or not, your kids are watching you all the 138 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:32,159 time. And so I remember in England, 139 00:08:32,159 --> 00:08:36,600 when you go to high school, you go to high school at age 11. 140 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,320 There is no middle school. So you go straight from primary 141 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:44,280 school straight into high school with 18 year olds at age 11. 142 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,440 And there's no school buses. You ride public transport. 143 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,520 It's a big shift in the life of a young person. 144 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,640 So I remember at age 11, our daughter is getting ready to 145 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:59,680 transition into high school to go to school where everything is 146 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:02,760 different. And I remember she must have 147 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:06,200 been nervous about it. And I went up to her bedroom and 148 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:08,000 I went to grab her laundry basket. 149 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,920 And as I grabbed her laundry basket, I walked past her mirror 150 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:17,320 and on her mirror there must have been 25 yellow little 151 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:21,040 sticky post it notes. And on every one of the notes 152 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,720 she had written a scripture about who she was in Christ. 153 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:29,720 I had no idea she had been doing that, but I realized what she 154 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:33,960 saw mum do is what she's doing. And at 11, she realized I'm 155 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:37,000 about to go into an environment where everyone's going to try 156 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,920 and tell me who I am. I'm about to go to high school 157 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:43,080 where everyone's going to put pressure on me to be someone 158 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:48,240 that I'm not supposed to be. I better know at age 11 who I am 159 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,720 in Christ. I better know who's I am in 160 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,200 Christ. And at 11 years of age, she was 161 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:57,840 looking intently into the mirror of God's word. 162 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,880 So she had no doubt who she was when people gave her other 163 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,960 words. And if an 11 year old realizes 164 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:09,640 she needs that, then a 21 year old and a 41 year old and a 51 165 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:13,520 year old and a 71 year old. We all need to realise we've got 166 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,760 to keep looking in the right mirror so we get the right 167 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:20,560 reflection, so we understand our right behaviour. 168 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:26,640 So as I was reading this, as I'm studying this, as I'm feeling 169 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:31,640 this charge by God to remind people of who they are and what 170 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:34,840 they look like, I'm like, well, God, you know, where shall I 171 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:38,160 begin? And I felt God take me to what I 172 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:40,920 knew was God because he took me to a passage in Scripture I had 173 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,560 never seen before. And I've been preaching the word 174 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:46,880 of God a long time. I started preaching at 21. 175 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:50,400 I'll be 53 this year. And so a long time of preaching 176 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:53,680 the word of God, right? And so I'm like, OK, God, how? 177 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:57,320 I've never seen this before. God took me to a passage in 178 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:00,640 Scripture and there's a contrast between two birds. 179 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:04,960 It's not a duckling and a swan, but it's close. 180 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:09,000 So this is God's version of the ugly duckling. 181 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:14,520 This is the original version of The Ugly Duckling, and it's in 182 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:18,400 the passage in Job 39 and in Job 39. 183 00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:22,000 It's that passage where where Job is questioning God. 184 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:25,600 It's never a good idea to question God, but he's having a 185 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:30,200 go and he's questioning God. And in answer to his questions, 186 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:34,360 God just wants to remind Joe who he's talking to. 187 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:37,880 And so instead of answering the question, God just begins to 188 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:40,840 tell him and remind him of his greatness. 189 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,880 And in the passage that we're about to read, he begins to 190 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:47,680 contrast different animals. He begins to talk about his 191 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:51,760 creation and their behaviour. And in this passage, he talks 192 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:59,080 about an ostrich and an eagle. And I hope you realise by now 193 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:02,640 that one of those birds is what you're supposed to look like. 194 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:07,160 He ain't the ostrich. OK, the ostrich doesn't get many 195 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:09,600 mentions in the Bible, but it gets this one. 196 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:12,920 But all throughout the Bible we're told about the eagle. 197 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,200 We're told that he is like an eagle, that God is like an 198 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:18,960 eagle. And we're told in Ezekiel 10/14 199 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,040 we know we're made in God's image. 200 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:24,360 But in Ezekiel 10, it tells us about the faces of God. 201 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:28,560 And one of the faces of God is the face of an eagle. 202 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,680 So we know we're supposed to be like an eagle because that 203 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:35,360 himself is the face of God. There is no face of God. 204 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:38,520 That is the ostrich. We're called to be an eagle, 205 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:41,680 those that lift and saw on the wings of eagle. 206 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:45,960 So an eagle is a majestic image of who we are supposed to be in 207 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,520 the likeness of. And yet in this passage, there 208 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:52,600 is a direct contrast between the ostrich's behaviour and the 209 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:54,720 eagle's behaviour. And I just want to give you a 210 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,560 couple of the contrast and ask you today which one are you? 211 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,640 Are you an ostrich? Are you an eagle? 212 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:05,920 Because by the time I'm done today, you're going to realize 213 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:10,760 your ostrich days are over. God did not design you to behave 214 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:16,240 and act like an ostrich. These two birds both have wings, 215 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:21,320 and yet the ostrich's life is defined by gravity. 216 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:26,840 But the eagle is able to defy gravity, and some of you are in 217 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:30,400 this room with an ability with the wings that God gave you, but 218 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:34,080 your life is definitely more defined by gravity than it is 219 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:38,640 defying gravity. There is a contrast in these two 220 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:42,360 birds. It says in Job 39, verse 13, I'm 221 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:44,920 reading from the message, it says this of the ostrich. 222 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:49,560 It says the ostrich flaps her wings futilely. 223 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:55,760 All those beautiful feathers, but they are useless. 224 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:02,720 But the eagle in verse 27, the eagle soars at your command and 225 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:09,680 builds its nest on the heights. There is one bird that flaps and 226 00:14:09,680 --> 00:14:13,880 there is one that flies. I wonder which are you? 227 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:19,440 All those wings, but absolutely useless. 228 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:21,720 Why? Because not one of the ostriches 229 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:25,520 wings are used to fly, but they are definitely used to flap. 230 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:28,200 And some of you came to conference flapping. 231 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:31,920 Flapping about your children, flapping about your husband, 232 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,600 flapping about your job, flapping about your finances, 233 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:36,800 flapping about what's happening in the world, flapping about 234 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:39,800 your circumstances. I mean, you flap, flap, flap all 235 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:46,680 the time, and it's exhausting to flap. 236 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,960 It takes energy to flap. But with all your flapping, you 237 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:52,800 are never getting off the ground. 238 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:55,840 With all your flapping, you are never getting above the 239 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:57,120 circumstance. Why? 240 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:03,440 Because the ostrich's weight is greater than its wings, and 241 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:07,480 while ever the weight that you carry is greater than the wings 242 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:12,200 that you unfurl, you too will be defined by gravity that comes to 243 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,400 your life and mine. You too will be held back and 244 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:19,480 held down by the weight that the life puts on you, instead of 245 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,360 having a wingspan that is greater than the weight. 246 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:25,960 The eagle's wings are far greater than its weight. 247 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,880 They are far bigger in their expanse than the weight of their 248 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:31,880 body. And when you have an overweight 249 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,720 body and an under developed wing, you don't go anywhere. 250 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:38,880 Some of you are not going anywhere. 251 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:41,320 You're flapping your way through life. 252 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:45,200 You're flapping your way through parenting, you're flapping your 253 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,680 way through your marriage. But God did not create you to be 254 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,920 an ostrich. He created you to be an eagle. 255 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:56,400 Matthew, 11, says his yoke is easy and his burden is light. 256 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,560 So if your weight is greater than your wing, something is 257 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:03,160 wrong, something is off. You are carrying things in 258 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,440 correctly. The ostrich has all these 259 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,440 beautiful feathers. This is an ostrich feather. 260 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:15,800 It's so beautiful. But here's the thing, you can 261 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:22,880 order them on Amazon. You can go on Amazon and you can 262 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:24,480 get yourself some ostrich feathers. 263 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,000 Why? Because it can't get off the 264 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:33,000 ground. It's very easy to pluck, and 265 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,520 when you don't get off the ground with what God has placed 266 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:39,120 within you, it is very easy to pluck from your life too. 267 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:42,920 Pluck your energy, pluck your confidence, pluck your clarity, 268 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,120 pluck your ability, pluck your peace, pluck your joy. 269 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,800 You're very easily plucked by whatever passes your life 270 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:51,760 because you never get off the ground. 271 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:55,360 People know all I have to do is walk by and ruffle a few 272 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:57,760 feathers. Pluck a few feathers and I'll 273 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:00,560 leave her with less than she realises she has. 274 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:09,359 You can even order off Amazon. An ostrich feather duster. 275 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:13,880 Behold, I show you some of your lives. 276 00:17:15,079 --> 00:17:16,960 I'll just dust that situation now. 277 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:20,720 I'll just dust off my marriage and hope it's better. 278 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:25,359 I'll just dust my problems away. I'll just dust the situation. 279 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:28,920 I'll just dust down my children. I'll just dust down my anxiety. 280 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:30,680 I'll just dust down my dysfunction. 281 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:33,840 I'll just dust off my friends. I'll just dust off that issue. 282 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,280 You go around dusting. Well, you know the problem is 283 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,720 with dusting, don't you? That the dust will go up for a 284 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:44,480 moment, but what goes up is coming right the way back down. 285 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:48,960 And some of you are incessant dusters, never getting a 286 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,960 breakthrough because you always are trying to flap your way 287 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:56,000 through, never getting the next season off the ground because 288 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:58,760 you're too caught up in the current season and all of the 289 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:03,240 dusting it's requiring from you. But the eagle does not dust. 290 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:05,200 The eagle feathers are not plugged. 291 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:09,080 In fact, it is actually illegal to own an eagle feather. 292 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,840 If you actually found A and the eagle feather on the ground and 293 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:16,720 you kept it, you could actually be procrastinated by the 294 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:20,160 government because they're so rare they have a value on them. 295 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,520 Google it. You can't own an eagle feather, 296 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:28,080 but you can own an ostrich feather in a duster because it's 297 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:30,800 so easy to pluck and it's so common to come by. 298 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,320 You are not made to be common. You are not made to be usual. 299 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,040 You are not made to be plucked. You are made to fly. 300 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,760 You're made to have something so rare about you that is modelled 301 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:45,000 in the one that made you. We have to understand if we are 302 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:48,200 flapping all the time, it means we are not flying any of the 303 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:50,880 time. And if you're flapping your 304 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:55,520 mouth, if you're flapping your panic, if you're flapping in 305 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:59,400 your home, you will create children who think flapping is 306 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:04,080 normal and now they won't know their true identity because the 307 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:07,160 mirror you're showing them is now the mirror they use for who 308 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,320 they are in Christ. You are not an ostrich. 309 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:15,760 You are an eagle. Another reason why the ostrich 310 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:18,080 can't fly. It's amazing what you study when 311 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:19,440 God calls you to preach His word. 312 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:25,000 But another reason that ostrich can't fly is because it does not 313 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,600 have a preening gland. You say, well what does that 314 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,600 mean? Well, a preening gland is what a 315 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:37,280 bird requires in order to keep its wings free of pests, A 316 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:39,960 preening gland. Another word for the preening 317 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:45,280 gland is the oil gland. The ostrich can't fly because it 318 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:49,960 has no oil. In fact, the root word of oil, 319 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,920 the root word that is used there is actually a Latin word called 320 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:58,000 Unger. And Unger literally means to 321 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:01,760 anoint. In other words, the ostrich has 322 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:07,320 no anointing gland. You can't get off the ground if 323 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:11,680 you have no oil in your hands. You can't get off the ground if 324 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,760 you have no oil in your wings. You can't get in the air if you 325 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,640 have no oil with which to keep yourself protected from the 326 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:23,280 pestilence that is around you. And we have a lot of people that 327 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:26,560 are on the ground and they are flapping because they have no 328 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:28,760 oil of the presence of the Holy Spirit. 329 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,280 Flowing in and through them so they can't keep their wings free 330 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:35,480 of all the things that the oil would protect you for. 331 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:39,800 You are called to be a bird that flies, and any bird that flies 332 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:43,520 has to have an oil gland. Have you got your oil gland? 333 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,240 I'll tell you how you know if you've got your oil gland 334 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:51,400 because Psalm 23 verse 5 says you prepare a table before me in 335 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:56,120 the presence of my enemies, and you anoint my head with oil and 336 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:59,320 my cup overflows when your enemies show, show up. 337 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:03,560 If you have an oil gland, you're not flapping because you have 338 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:08,760 oil, and the presence of the oil of God on your life flows on and 339 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:11,960 through you, and it keeps you above the flapping that the 340 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:17,200 ostrich spends their life doing. Isaiah 61 tells us that He gave 341 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:20,280 you the oil of joy instead of mourning. 342 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:24,400 Have you got a preening gland? Have you got Unger, an anointing 343 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:26,800 oil? Without it you cannot fly. 344 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,440 Without it you cannot rise above. 345 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:34,200 You are built by God. You are designed in His image. 346 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:38,400 And some of you have run out of oil and you need fresh oil 347 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:41,320 before you walk out of those doors, so that when you go out 348 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:43,400 those doors you can fly where you used to. 349 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:49,240 Flap goes on to say about the ostrich. 350 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:54,680 I found this part strange, so I had to really dig deep with God. 351 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:59,360 But he says about the ostrich that she lays her eggs on the 352 00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:04,360 hard ground and she leaves them there in the dirt, exposed to 353 00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:09,520 the weather, not caring that they might get stepped on and 354 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:12,920 cracked or trampled by some wild animal. 355 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:17,880 She is negligent with her young, as if they weren't even hers. 356 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:23,400 She cares nothing about them. I was like, God, what do you 357 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:25,680 mean? I mean, I put it in the analogy 358 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,000 of me and my offspring or me and my life. 359 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,160 I'm like, God, you saying that if I'm an ostrich, I don't care 360 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:32,400 about any of that. I don't care about the 361 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,280 generations. I don't care about legacy. 362 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:37,400 I don't care about getting out what's in me. 363 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,600 And so I began to study ostriches and how they nest. 364 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:47,840 Well, because ostriches are great land bound, they can't get 365 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:50,400 off the ground. They can't do what the eagle 366 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:52,280 does. Because it says of the eagle 367 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:56,440 that she puts her nest in the highest heights, that her nests 368 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:58,480 are up on the rocks and on the pinnacles. 369 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,280 So her nest is way up high away from any danger. 370 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,600 But because an ostrich can't fly, there's only one place she 371 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:07,840 can lay what's within her, and that's on the ground. 372 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:13,520 And because ostriches all fight for the same space when you 373 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:17,680 study it, when they nest, ostriches have to put their eggs 374 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:22,160 in a communal nest. And the story of the ostrich 375 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:28,680 goes that whoever is the most dominant female make sure her 376 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:32,680 egg is pushed to the centre and everyone else's eggs are pushed 377 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:35,640 to the edge. And if the egg is on the edge, 378 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:40,240 the chance is that the stampedes that come through or the 379 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:43,360 predators that come through will crush the eggs that are on the 380 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:45,720 outer point. So in other words, the word is 381 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:50,960 saying the ostrich grows so tired of watching what is in her 382 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:55,120 be trampled by someone around her that she doesn't dare even 383 00:23:55,120 --> 00:23:58,800 attach herself to the possibility of what is in me 384 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:02,200 living. And I have met so many women who 385 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:05,840 had a dream at one point, who had an idea at one point, had a 386 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,320 God thing on the inside of them at one point. 387 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:12,080 But because of how mean other people have been or because of 388 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:15,160 how much they've been pushed aside or criticized, they've 389 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:17,920 even detached from birthing anything for God. 390 00:24:18,120 --> 00:24:21,000 Like, why would I try if she's going to shut me down? 391 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,240 Why would I try if they're going to criticize? 392 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:27,000 Why would I try if I don't even get to have a say about this 393 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,800 thing living on the inside of me? 394 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,560 And some of you have wrestled and fought to try and just get 395 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:34,600 the smallest thing out of your life. 396 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:37,400 And now you're living in a place where you say what's the point? 397 00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:42,480 But you're not an ostrich, which means you don't have to try and 398 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,360 force your way into the centre. You're not an ostrich so you 399 00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:48,840 don't have to try and make it happen by yourself. 400 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,400 You're an eagle, which means what God placed in you is going 401 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:55,400 to be birthed through you. But you have to come up higher 402 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:59,760 and stop laying it on the ground in a sense of surrender. 403 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:08,000 I remember when I first stood up in a small church that we were 404 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:13,200 part of in the UK and I was 1920 years of age and I knew God was 405 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:14,880 putting something on the inside of me. 406 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,920 And I remember just sharing a small little idea. 407 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,280 Well, I think God's asking me to do prayer meeting. 408 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:23,800 There's probably only 20-30 women in the room and I'm just 409 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:26,160 getting this like idea this guard thing out. 410 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:30,200 I'm scared, I'm nervous, I'm an introvert and so I'm trying to 411 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:33,560 say something and I have a red rash all the way up my neck from 412 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:37,520 the nerves. And I'll never forget 3 rows in 413 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,400 there were three women that were there and they were all senior 414 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,120 women in the church and they were married to people that were 415 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:45,760 in positions of influence in the church. 416 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:49,240 And as I began to share it, these three women began to 417 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:54,440 audibly Boo me out loud. And then they stood up and they 418 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:58,560 said, if you were leading, we're leaving and walked out the room. 419 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:02,880 I was 19, turning 20. I was trying to get out 420 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:06,760 something that I knew was in me. I did not expect the women in 421 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:10,080 the room to trample on what it was that I was trying to let 422 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:12,160 live. And I remember in that moment, 423 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:16,120 feeling so stood on, so cut up, so criticised. 424 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:19,600 And I remember going back to my bedroom and crying and thinking 425 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:23,560 church people are mean. And then I remember God saying 426 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:27,520 what you going to do about it? And I remember saying, OK God, 427 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:31,400 if for the rest of my life I have to stand up to find other 428 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:33,560 Charlotte's in the room and let them know. 429 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,400 I don't know what they said to you, but what God says to you is 430 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:38,840 I put it in you. So get it out of you. 431 00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:47,680 Some of you need to let your dream live again, find your 432 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:53,480 voice again, get involved again. But the ostrich, she cuts off 433 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:57,920 any feeling, any attachment from anything within her because 434 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:02,280 she's just so fed up of whatever she tries to push out being 435 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:03,960 something that people trample on. 436 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:10,400 You are not an ostrich. God has placed in you ideas, 437 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:14,760 things to write, dreams to incubate. 438 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:17,400 It's placed within you a gift of encouragement. 439 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:20,320 It's placed within you skills and talents. 440 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:24,200 He put them within you because He created you to be an eagle to 441 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:27,240 fly. And God asks all of us to take 442 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:34,000 what is in US and put it higher, bring it to a level that is off 443 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:41,560 the ground, that trusts God. The Ostrich versus the Eagle 444 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:48,160 goes on to say that there is one thing that the ostrich is good 445 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:51,960 at, and it's the same thing some of you ostriches are good at. 446 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:58,680 It says of the ostrich. It says, oh, she doesn't have 447 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:05,480 much understanding, but when she runs, oh, how she runs, she can 448 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:10,200 outrun the swiftest horse and its rider. 449 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:17,320 And I want to say to some of you in the room today, it's time to 450 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:22,080 start running. See an ostrich knows the only 451 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:26,120 way I can get away from some stuff, the only way I can avoid 452 00:28:26,120 --> 00:28:28,560 some stuff is if I outrun some stuff. 453 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:31,000 I'll just try and outrun the problem. 454 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:33,120 I'll just try and outrun the rejection. 455 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:36,520 I'll just try and outrun that area in my life where I feel 456 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:39,720 isolated and alone. I'll just try and outrun this 457 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:41,960 season that just feels so uncomfortable. 458 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:47,280 Some of you are amazing runners, but God did not call you to run, 459 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:51,520 He called you to reign. And it says of the eagle that 460 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:57,680 the eagle is perfectly at home. Verse 28 on the high Cliff, she 461 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:00,160 builds her nest in the hearts perfectly at home on the high 462 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,640 Cliff face, invulnerable on pinnacle and crab. 463 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:08,880 From her perch she searches for her prey and she spies it at a 464 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:12,720 great distance and that her young gorge themselves on a 465 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:14,480 carrier and she's a bad. You know what? 466 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:18,880 You know what I'm saying? She ain't running out running 467 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:21,160 somebody. She's already spotting the 468 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:23,560 enemy. She's already seen those that 469 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:27,320 are prey potentially, and she's feeding her young on the things 470 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:30,440 that tried to feed on her. She's teaching the young. 471 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,560 This is who we are. We don't run away from things. 472 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:36,040 We face things. We don't have to come beneath 473 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:37,880 things. We are above things. 474 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:42,160 She is not frightened. Some of you need to take a good 475 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:46,360 strong look in the mirror of God and face the fear that has been 476 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:51,080 dominating you for way too long. Like you're not an ostrich, 477 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:58,600 you're an eagle. There's only one predator or one 478 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,760 nuisance that tries to bother the eagle. 479 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,520 I think I have a picture to show you on the screen. 480 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:10,720 If we can put it up, it's a crow. 481 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:18,160 And when I did the research, I discovered that crows will try 482 00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:23,440 to attack eagles. And how they do it is they jump 483 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:27,440 on their backs when they're in flight and they start pecking at 484 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,600 their ears and they start pecking at the back of their 485 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:32,240 necks. But here's what I want you to 486 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,600 know. The eagle doesn't even 487 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:41,280 acknowledge the crow's presence. Some of you brought your crow to 488 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:45,680 conference. It's been pecking at your neck 489 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,400 the whole time you've been here, been pecking at you the whole 490 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:50,760 time you've been sat in sessions. 491 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:53,080 You brought your crow to conference. 492 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,520 You're talking to your friends about your crow. 493 00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:58,520 You're showing them the social media from your crow. 494 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:01,400 You and the crow have got a conversation going on, but 495 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:06,640 eagles don't talk to crows. I'll tell you why, because the 496 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:08,760 eagle knows something that you should know. 497 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:16,040 The eagle knows there is an altitude at which the crow can 498 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,800 no longer breathe. So the eagle doesn't waste his 499 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,760 time talking to the crow. The eagle just keeps going 500 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:27,720 higher, knowing eventually the crow will not be able to breathe 501 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:35,870 anymore. You don't need a conversation 502 00:31:35,870 --> 00:31:39,920 with the crow, you just need to come up higher and the crow will 503 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:42,440 fall off your back. You don't need to enter the 504 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:46,120 debate, you just need to come above it and the crow will find 505 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:48,240 there's nothing anymore to engage with. 506 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:52,440 The crow cannot breathe at a higher altitude and I'm tired of 507 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:56,320 seeing women of God lower themselves to a ground way of 508 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:59,160 living when God called them to above. 509 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:02,320 So I'm tired of seeing the interactions on social media. 510 00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:05,040 I'm tired of hearing the backbiting and the small talk. 511 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:07,960 I'm tired of all the offences and people get and upset and 512 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:09,320 leaving churches. Why? 513 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:12,520 Because a crow got on your back? Are you kidding me? 514 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,560 I don't have time for crows. I've got stuff to do. 515 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,120 I don't have time for crows. I've got places to go. 516 00:32:27,070 --> 00:32:35,110 There's another reason, finally, that the ostrich can't fly, and 517 00:32:35,110 --> 00:32:37,070 that is because it doesn't have a fercula. 518 00:32:38,110 --> 00:32:39,550 Somebody like, what in the world is that? 519 00:32:40,190 --> 00:32:42,430 It's exactly what I said when I researched it. 520 00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:47,480 Check this out. A fercula is the technical name 521 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:56,640 for the wishbone. In other words, without the 522 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:00,080 wishbone, it can't get off the ground. 523 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:04,520 And without a dream, you can't get off the ground. 524 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:08,360 Without a greater vision for your future, you can't get off 525 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:11,000 the ground. Without something bigger in your 526 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:13,880 peripheral vision than the problem that you're currently 527 00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:17,040 surfacing, you can't get off the ground. 528 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:21,280 And the reason why so many women of God that were designed by God 529 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:24,560 to be an eagle, stay grounded like an ostrich is because 530 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:27,280 somewhere on the journey, the wishbone got snapped. 531 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:34,200 The dream didn't get fulfilled. Prayer that they prayed didn't 532 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:37,680 get answered. The friend that promised them 533 00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:41,200 the world betrayed them. Something got snapped. 534 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:44,880 And in the snapping of that wishbone was the stopping of 535 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:51,800 your flight. Today, some of you need to get 536 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:54,840 your wishbone back, get your dream back. 537 00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:58,440 Some of you need to change your company because you're hanging 538 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:01,360 out with a bunch of ostriches and you need to hang out with a 539 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:09,080 bunch of eagles. See, ostriches have a lot of 540 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:13,800 time to chat. I mean, they just have a lot of 541 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:15,679 time to talk about everybody else's business. 542 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:18,920 They just have a lot of time to flap about all the situations 543 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:21,040 going on. Ostriches have tons of time to 544 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:22,760 be on social media making comments. 545 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,320 Ostriches have loads of time to tell you all the things that you 546 00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:27,800 could be doing better, should be doing better, would do better. 547 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:31,360 You know, ostriches have a lot of time because there's nowhere 548 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:33,920 else they can go but the ground that they're on. 549 00:34:35,159 --> 00:34:37,600 But eagles don't hang out and chat very much. 550 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:41,960 They're not really big into chatting because they're too 551 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:45,639 busy soaring. In fact, when eagles gather, 552 00:34:45,639 --> 00:34:48,600 it's kind of rare, but they gather for two things. 553 00:34:49,159 --> 00:34:53,520 They gather, one, to protect each other's young and two, to 554 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:57,960 share each other's kill. I kind of want to be in the 555 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:00,760 Eagle company. I want to gather with women to 556 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:03,800 protect the next generation, and I want to gather with women to 557 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:06,120 take an enemy down. I don't have time for the 558 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:12,200 chitchat on the ground. In fact, when eagles gather, 559 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:14,960 it's rare, but you know what it's called when eagles gather, 560 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:19,800 it's called the convocation. And it's it's time for a holy 561 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:22,800 complication. It's time for a holy gathering 562 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:26,400 of eagles talking to the next generation about their true 563 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:28,920 identity. It's time for a holy gathering 564 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:32,040 of women in the air, soaring above things that used to keep 565 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:34,080 us grounded. It's time for us to stop being 566 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:37,440 plucked by life and time for us to come higher to higher 567 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:39,680 heights. And when I developed this in my 568 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:43,720 heart, I was so strongly led by God, I began to write a Bible 569 00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:45,760 study. And I'm like, I need the women 570 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:49,200 to gather, like sit in a group with the next generation, get 571 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:52,400 older, get younger in a room and say, let's look in the mirror of 572 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,720 God's word. Let me tell you who you are 11 573 00:35:54,720 --> 00:35:56,640 year old. Let me tell you who are 20 year 574 00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:57,840 old. Let me tell you who you are. 575 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:00,880 Let me tell you that you were given wings to fly, not to flap. 576 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:03,440 Let me tell you that your mate and birth something. 577 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:05,960 So come up higher. Let me tell you, the crows don't 578 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:09,520 belong in your conversation. But there is a convocation of 579 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:11,640 women that God has called to gather. 580 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:14,520 It's time for us to be those that gather. 581 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:16,320 The flight club is what I called it. 582 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:19,920 I need a flight club. We need a flight club. 583 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,000 We need a flight club of women that are like, let's go. 584 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:26,120 Instead of people that keep each other down, let's be women that 585 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:32,520 pick each other up. It's all across the room. 586 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:41,960 We want us to stand to our feet. You're about to leave this arena 587 00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:45,720 and you're about to go all the way back into your circumstance. 588 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,920 And I, for one, don't want anyone going back flapping. 589 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,440 Don't you dare walk in and flap at your husband. 590 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:55,080 Don't you dare flap at those children. 591 00:36:55,920 --> 00:37:00,240 I need you to go back into that home, into that workplace, into 592 00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:02,400 that household. I need you to go back into that 593 00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:06,120 community as one that doesn't flap, but one that saws, one 594 00:37:06,120 --> 00:37:07,960 that's had a revelation of who they are. 595 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:12,240 It is demeaning to come down to the level of an ostrich when God 596 00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:15,800 made you an eagle. It's insulting to who God is to 597 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:18,720 spend our time talking with crows that he told us to keep 598 00:37:18,720 --> 00:37:22,360 flying higher than let's not waste our energy anymore. 599 00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:27,520 So in this room, I would love to see a whole host of women lift 600 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:31,520 their hands like wings. I'd love to see all of our arms 601 00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:34,800 in the air because that's what God designed us to be. 602 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:37,680 I'd love you right now in this moment to close your eyes. 603 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:41,160 I'd love you to think of your family and your responsibilities 604 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:43,640 and the circumstances right now you're dealing with. 605 00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:46,680 And I'd love for you to see it from an eagle's vantage point. 606 00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:49,840 I, I know some of you need to get your wishbone back, your 607 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:52,680 dream back, your vision back, Some of you right now as you 608 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:56,000 lift your hands, you just need to get above the crows that you 609 00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:59,000 brought with you to conference. Some of you right now, you just 610 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:02,400 need to begin to saw. Instead of running, stop trying 611 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,880 to run. It is time to reign in the name 612 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:08,920 of Jesus. So every woman, lift your hands 613 00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:11,720 high. God, we thank you that you made 614 00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:14,600 us in your image and you made us to soul. 615 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:19,160 God, you designed us to be women that would take flight. 616 00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:22,280 God, you have called us to higher heights. 617 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:26,040 God, you have destined us to come above and not beneath. 618 00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:29,920 God, I pray tonight there will be an army of women in this room 619 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:32,960 today and their wings would be extended again. 620 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:36,920 For everyone that feels plucked by life, For anyone that feels 621 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:40,480 their wings have been clipped. Holy Spirit, right now would you 622 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:43,280 literally be the wind beneath these wings? 623 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:47,720 Would you lift these women to a whole nother elevation because 624 00:38:47,720 --> 00:38:50,880 of this revelation of you made us to be? 625 00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:53,960 Come on right where you are. Let's begin to lift our voice. 626 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:57,960 Let's begin to worship Him. Let's begin to be the eagle He 627 00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:00,280 made us to be. Lift your voice.