Thanks for checking out the Anchor Faith Message podcast
from St. Augustine, FL.
Now enjoy this message. All right, if you have your
Bibles turned over to Matthew 24, Matthew 24 and verse 35,
Matthew 24 and verse 35 say doing my part, say doing my
part. Now, the couple weeks ago, we
started the message that we are currently in concerning the
power of a person's will. It is the most.
Powerful thing that God gave all of His creation, His will,
willpower. And so we've already taken the
time to show that all of God's creation within the realm of
God's creation, He's given the power of will.
We saw this in the realm of what we consider the Spiritual Realm
or the Angelic realm. And there's not just angels,
there's Cherubims, seraphim. There are archangels, right?
And so, based upon the class of angels that there are, they have
a will. So much so that one was able to
decide that they wanted to take over God the Creator's throne.
So they were not programmed created beings.
That were forced. So let me say it this way.
The angels that are flying around the throne singing holy,
holy, Holy is the Lord are not forced to do so.
They choose to do so, and they choose to stay on the same song.
They're not made to do it. They choose to do it because
they choose to do what they were created to do.
Are you hear me? They've not been programmed.
He created them, and they chose not to abandon where God created
them to be. They thrive in their purpose, I
said they thrive. Dr. Miles Monroe said this
concerning refrigerators. He said the manufacturer of a
refrigerator never designed it to be a coffin.
However, if you notice if one is out on the side of the road, the
majority of time they're taking the doors off because kids
inadvertently have gotten into refrigerators or freezers.
When they were set outside to be discarded or just in someone's
yard, that was it not in use and they saw it as a good hiding
spot and in return they died or suffocated within it.
And that was never God, never the designer of the refrigerator
or deep freezer. It was never their design for it
to be a ultimately A coffin. What do you understand?
If you do not function as the manufacturer designed the
product, it can create death. So when the creator creates
every realm and every creature, he creates them with a ability
to thrive in the environment and live.
A lion can swim, but you drop a lion off in the middle of the
Pacific Ocean, it will eventually die because it cannot
sustain swimming long enough to make it to land.
It wasn't designed for water, although it can get in water.
Are you hearing me? So again, it's not God's fault
if a lion drowns, if he keeps his head underwater.
Because if the lion decides I want to be like the orca, I
mean, I'm the king of the land, I want to become the king of the
ocean and I'm going to go find me an orca and kill it.
Well, is it going to happen? No, because he's leaving his
domain. He's leaving where he was
designed to be and it's not what God wants, but admit he does
this, then he violates the will of God for his life, although he
could choose to do so. Are you hearing me?
So the same thing is with humanity.
God get built, made us in his likeness.
According to his design we are a copy of God.
In essence, we were given dominion on earth to function
like God did in the earth and on the earth to rule this earth
like God rules his realm in heaven.
And the minute we get out of that, then death comes.
Yet God allows us the choice. And here's the thing.
This is why God is just because God will let you do whatever you
want to do, but he'll hold you accountable to the only thing
that has life, and it is His word.
You can choose life or and the obvious answer is should be,
should be obvious. However, God doesn't make us do
death, so we've been dealing with because it's the reigning
spirit. It's the year we want to talk
about the reigning spirit, and in order for us to be able to
function with the reigning spirit, which is greater is he
that's in me than he that's in the world.
If you're going to have the reigning spirit dictate you to
have a reign to reign in life, you are going to have to yield
your will to the will of the Holy Spirit, of which the will
of the Holy Spirit is the will of Jesus and the will of Jesus
is the will of his Father. Now Jesus has a will that he
chooses to not accept above his own fathers, just like the Holy
Spirit has a will that he chooses not to accept over
Jesus. Are you hearing me?
So as a result of that they are always in unison because they
know the will of the Father is where life exists and we want to
maintain life, Not only life, but like everything that is good
is there. We saw last week that in Him
there is no darkness. So God cannot be tempted with
evil because God is not evil. There's not a yin and Yang about
our Father. Our Father is only good, only
light, only just. Are you hearing me?
So because of this, we've talked about this reigning spirit.
Because in the last of the last days, the spirit explicitly says
that there will many, some will fall away from the faith, giving
heed or paying attention to the doctrines of demons and seducing
spirits. And so we're kind of knocking or
dealing with a demonic thought, which is God is in control, OK?
And the reason we're dealing with this is because God
controls what God controls. But God does not control
everything because we are giving God credit for stuff God's not
even involved in. In fact, He's worked everything
out so that you don't have to get involved in that, nor does
it have to happen. God is in control of His word.
Now if we would take a step back to the definition of control,
which simply means to have power over or to exercise restraining
or, here it is directing influence.
Over. Most people when we say God is
in control, we say it's the ACT or or instance of controlling.
Like God is actually controlling every situation going on which
means if bad happens, God controlled that or we say it
this way he allowed it. In essence, God is authorizing
it. God is wants it to take place in
your life because we use this as such a blanket statement.
However, if we use the word control as influence, now God
does do that. He is trying to influence you so
that you'll choose life. I said you'll choose life
because God in his creation, although he brought a design,
although he communicated how things would grow, reproduce and
all that in the in the context of those who have free will, He
allows you to have free will even at the expense of you going
against what he. Says.
And what's so awesome about the love of God is even though he
knows you will go against it, he provided the way for you to get
back in to obeying. But if you don't get back into
obeying, then you'll reap the consequences of disobedience and
rebellion. And it's not because he
controlled you to do that or He made you do that.
You chose so when someone. Says I can't believe a loving
God would put people in hell. He doesn't.
They all choose to go because they chose not to accept Jesus
as Lord. They chose to be God themselves.
And he said there will be no other God above me.
So I'm obligated to my word, which means if you think you're
telling me what to do, that doesn't work.
Because I am the source of life. That's again the clay telling
the Potter. And this is the challenge.
All right? So God is not controlling
everything on the planet. What he controls is his word.
He always does his word. His word always comes to pass.
Again, how can God be controlling?
And we read Luke Chapter 8. It mean controlling everything.
Luke chapter 8, verse 11 through 15 says it this way.
Let me read the Matthew. I'm sorry I never read that.
Matthew 2435 says this. Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away. Why?
Because he does his word. I said he does his word.
Now with that being said, Luke chapter 8, verse 11 through 15,
it says Now the parable is this, The seed is the word of God.
And heaven and earth will pass away, but his Word will not pass
away. I said It will not pass away.
So the seed is the word of God, the Word of God which God
controls and makes sure comes to.
Pass. He goes on and says Those beside
the road are those who have heard That's the word.
Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart,
so that they will not believe and be saved.
Verse 13. Those on the rocky soul are
those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and
these have no firm root. They believe for a while, say a
while, and in time of temptation fall.
Away. The seed which fell among the
thorns. These are the ones who have
heard, and as they go on their way, they are choked with
worries and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit,
say no fruit, no fruit to maturity doesn't mean they don't
bear fruit. It just has no maturity, which
means it doesn't reach the place that you can taste and see that
it's good. It reminds me of one time when I
peeled a banana off one of my banana trees because, you know,
it wasn't turning yellow and I didn't.
I hadn't studied how to harvest the bananas.
And so I end up pulling them off, right?
And I'm like, OK, well, let me try this thing, you know?
And so I bit into this banana and there was no, no moisture in
this banana. It sucked the moisture out of my
mouth. I thought I was going to swallow
my tongue. It was the most bitter, sticky,
icky thing I've ever tasted in my life.
It was a banana. I could peel it, I could bite
into it, but it was not mature and it made me spit it out.
It was a banana off a banana tree.
I knew it by its fruit, but it's fruit was nasty and I spit it
out. Didn't want nothing to do with
the rest of the fruit on that whatever that's called when it
produces that little thing, you know, I'm like they're the.
I'm not even trying another one. Get thee behind me, Satan type
stuff, right? I mean, this is nasty.
But it's because it's not brought to what maturity now.
I learned later on how to do that and that same tree.
When I learned what I was supposed to do, I ended up
peeling that banana off. Man, it was the man they were
so. Sweet.
They were amazing. So it wasn't the trees fault in
and of itself. When when I say that it was
because I mean I the part I needed to play with it, our
understanding what needed to take place right in that because
I didn't do my part then it couldn't fulfill its full part.
And this is the problem we have with the Lord.
God will do His part. The question is, will you do
yours? Verse 15 says, But the seed in
the good soil, These are the ones who have heard the word in
an honest and good heart. And hold fast, hold it fast,
bear fruit with perseverance. So there's nothing wrong with
the sower, because the sower has sown seed.
Some fell to the wayside, some among rocky soil, some among
thorns, and some in good ground. There's nothing wrong with the
sower. There's nothing wrong with the
sea 'cause the same seed he was pulling out, or she was pulling
out of the bag and sowing, went into the good soil and produced
good fruit. The problem was, was this the
soil or what received the word? And this is how it is with
belief. God's not in control of how
you're receiving it. You're in control of how you're
receiving it. You know, sometimes people can
come here and not receive anything that's happening
because they're offended with me personally, and offences can
happen in multiple ways. One, they could be through
familiarity, not because I've actually done anything.
They just hurt me for so long. They just treat me like I'm
anybody else. And you know, the minute I start
saying something that they've already heard, they're checking
out, they're spending too much time doing this on their phone,
They're distracted by all these particular things and they're
not listening anything. I'm saying it could be that, you
know, a correction had to be made at one particular time and
they didn't particularly move in the direction or they just know
that I'm aware of it. And even though we've restored
it and reconciled it, the enemy keeps coming back and saying,
oh, but they keep remembering oh, you know, they're still
treating you this way, you know, and and and lying to them.
And as a result of that, they're not receiving anything.
I'm saying and it's not because the seas not liberating or or or
life changing. I mean when we first started the
church, you know, I had people that were my senior, basically
my age now at 53 or a little bit older that would show up because
when I started a great church I was 34.
And when I would preach the Word, they couldn't receive it
because of how young I was. They despise my youthfulness and
it was nothing wrong with the seed.
It was their ability to receive what was being said.
It couldn't bear fruit. I've had some in the beginning
years that when we were so deceived, they so much they so
wanted me to be the last minister that they felt the move
of God in that they were trying to put me in the image of that
last pastor instead of letting me be me.
And when I wouldn't put together the church like the last move of
God they were in. Because it's been so long since
they've been in church, It wasn't there was nothing wrong
with the seed, nothing wrong with the sower.
It was the person receiving. Are you hearing me?
So then, if God's in control, don't you think he could make a
tree bear fruit among thorns? Or that he can make a tree bear
fruit among the rocks? Because we say, well, God can do
anything, so even if it's in the rocks, even it's got a little
bit, God can still do it. God doesn't violate his word and
God doesn't violate your heart. God doesn't violate your
hearing. Although the seeds there for you
to grow develop, but it's up to you because right now in this
service, some are going to leave and say, Oh my gosh, pastor,
that was so powerful. Oh, it changed my life.
It was so good. Others would be like, whatever,
whatever. It's true.
This is why when pastors ask me how many people attend my
church, I think it's the stupidest question on the face
of the planet. Because my question is, is how
many people are actually applying when I'm preaching?
That's the real question, because I don't care whether
there's five people or 100,000 people.
If I have 5 people and all five of them are applying it, I would
rather have 5 people and then all five apply than 100,000 that
none of them. Because we changed the world.
With five doers, we can just look like we're doing something
with 100 million. No, They're known by their
fruit, and their fruit is known by how it tastes.
Are you hearing me? So bearing fruit alone is not
enough. If it's not matured and it
tastes, and it actually tastes like the things of God.
Are you hearing me? So God cannot force anyone
against his will, but only influence it.
And that's what he does. So the will is the power to
control one's own actions and emotions and mental powers
manifested as desiring, choosing, or intending to
determine by an act of choice. And everyone in this room has a
choice, determines and every one of us.
This will is always being bombarded, always.
Thoughts are always coming and attacking it, talking to it.
Speaking to it always. I mean, you know, you have to
will to not check your Instagram in here.
You have to will. To do that.
Because the minute you're looking at your Bible on your
electronic device and a notification pops up, you have
to be intentional to not look at it.
If you look at it. Did it make you just 'cause it
notified you? Didn't mean it was telling you?
You better check me. In fact, the notification
doesn't move your Bible screen off and put it on and say you're
looking at me now, 'cause if that was the case, you'd never
find your Bible app. So many notifications would be
running through your phone that you'd be constantly seeing all
your notifications. You know, I have this little,
I'm a little. In a in a term known in the
world, OCDI don't like the little red dot, you know, circle
that tells me I need to deal with something, right?
I mean, I want to eliminate the red dot, even if I have no
interest. I just don't show me that I got
something, get rid of the thing. Let's go on.
Right. So that's why I don't follow a
whole lot of people, because I don't want a bunch of red dots
where I got to. Go on and deal with stuff.
Amen. But you're having to make a
choice. I said you have to make a
choice. You know, you have to make a
choice to be intentional, to listen, when I was at Rhema, I
worked a third shift job, you know, And I could have said,
well, I'm here, Arne. Look at all these people here.
Ain't none of them work all night like I did.
Only a handful in this room. They don't know what I've been
suffering. You know what if I was a nap a
little bit in class? I mean, God, I'm here, Arne.
I mean, I did show up. I mean, are you going to receive
anything with that attitude? No.
You have to be intentional. So I had to be intentional.
I had to say I got to get up. I'm going to have to go stand up
in the back of class. If I just keep sitting here, I'm
going to fall asleep. I'm just.
And much as I'm fighting it and you know what the ugliest faces
in the planet are? The one who's falling asleep and
trying not. To.
You know, I mean videotape your spouse falling asleep but trying
to stay awake. I mean, do it here in service
because it's happening. And then you just say see what
you look like in service today. You say pastor sees me.
Honestly, I don't see you because I don't really pay that
much. Attention to your face.
Because if I did, I wouldn't preach.
I would assume you all are offended because I don't have a
bunch of people going. This is amazing.
I love this. Come on, preach to me, pastor.
I love this. No, you're not looking like
that. OK, I'll preach this anyway.
And the more your face gets like stone, the harder I preach.
Because when you're plowing ground and it gets rocky, man,
you come with hammers, you come with chisels, you come with
pounding. You know if it's flowing easy
and it is easy. If it gets hard, just know
somebody has got some hardness kicking in service.
We need to pray for them. We need to get them some
breakthroughs so Patrick can move on to some lighter things.
Hallelujah. First Thessalonians that preach
fast, so thank you. Get participation now.
All right. First Thessalonians 523 says now
may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may
your spirit, soul and body be preserved complete without
blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, just because you can control, because again, you are
deciding what you decide. God can influence you with the
right choice, but you ultimately choose.
And you may in your three-part being have something really
well, but in the other two parts not.
Again, some people know how to yield to the Spirit really good
in service when they get among other believers and the worship
begins to go and they begin to tap into God and they'll sing
and shout and run and dance man and they'll be in church and
they'll Amen everything. But then the minute they leave
and get outside the church body, because they don't know how to
make their will get their soul together, then if they hear bad
news, their emotions will over rise.
Everything they know in the spirit.
They'll begin to speak, hurt, speak doubt, speak, worry.
They'll begin to cry over situations.
They'll let situations devastate them emotionally, even though
emotionally they will be distraught.
But if you talk to them, they're like, I know God's going to take
care and I know it well. Then why are you crying so much?
Why are we whining? Why do I hear this emotional
response from your soul, although you're telling me from
your spirit God's got it? How come your soul is not lining
up with your spirit? Well, OK, we may have a control
here in the spirit realm, but we do not have willpower in our
soul. Then we need to have willpower
in our body. Lord, I need you to heal me.
And sometimes the Lord's like, quit eating this or that.
Lord, I have this and he's like, well, you're going to need to
control how you're eating this. Amen.
You can say God can heal you of cancer, but if you're smoking
cigarettes, how's this again? Well, God's in control.
If he wants me to be healed of cancer and emphysema, he'll do
it. He'll do it all the while you
get to enjoy your cancer at sucking your nicotine.
I mean, you see what kind of, say, control God has.
Yet God's not overriding your will to continue to put
contaminants in your body that hinders the natural order of
your body. And let me tell you, God's
already doing a lot for you because he's already said if you
take any deadly poison, it won't harm you.
I mean, there's a lot of stuff that's in our United States, the
way we do food that's harmful enough.
And thank God that he put that in there to help us along the
way. And when our spirits alive, it
can do a lot for our body, it can permeate through, but we
still have to choose how much we're putting in here, what
we're putting in here and how often we're putting in here.
And that's not God's in control. That's now, nobody wants to talk
about this, but that's all right.
I'm the pastor that will. I have no problem with this
because he wants to sustain you with a long life.
See, here's another thought process.
Well, you're going to live as long as you want to live.
That's not true. Well, God's got your days.
Well, he actually said through Paul in the Corinthian letter.
He says some sleep early, which means they shouldn't be in the
grave. It wasn't God's ordained time.
Well, you know, when you go, you go.
No, you can accelerate that process.
In fact, there are many that stand before the Lord.
And he's like, what are you doing here now?
It's not that he didn't know you were coming.
It's more like you shouldn't be here.
What? You shouldn't be here.
But I called on your name. Well, yes, you're born again,
but you shouldn't be here. You're early.
What do you mean I'm early?
I thought you. You know you.
I thought it was my time. You were in control.
I wasn't in control of your date.
You were OK. I mean, that's how the scripture
talks. We can lengthen our days and we
can get them shortened based upon how we respond.
You want long life? It says obey your parents.
What's it imply? If you're rebellious, you
shorten your days and that's not God, that's you controlling your
calendar on the planet. You're controlling it.
You know some parents are out living their kids.
Could it be that the reason you're out living your kids is
because your kids have been so rebellious they can't have?
The promise of long life. Oh, I'm preaching good now, but
that's all right. Because why?
We take certain thoughts to such an extreme that it begins to
apply across so many areas. And demonic spirits have picked
up and have convinced the Church of all kinds of things that
aren't even reality. No, this is a Berean church.
We go search the scripture for ourselves to see it.
So we're not letting anybody. I don't care who it is.
I mean, Paul was so adamant about this.
He said, now listen, if I come back and preach to you a
different Jesus, I am accursed in essence, don't ever, just
because I was rightly dividing at any time of my ministry,
assume I am still doing the same thing.
You better judge this thing. You better study this.
You better get in the scripture of yourself.
You better make sure the Holy Ghost is saying that right.
But most people sit in churches and believe everything the
person on the platform says because they say the Lord
showed. Me.
Well, they know more know how to hear the Lord than you do.
That's why you assume they're right and you want them to be
right because you want to hear from God, but you won't take the
time to do it. You want someone else to put
forth the effort now, not you. But you understand all right.
So again, we have the willpower for our whole life.
How well you are in life is only dependent on you.
So this eliminates your ability to say, well, I can't be or I
couldn't because of that does not exist in the Bible, Whatever
God destined you to be, no. One can stop you, but you no
one, no one, even if you have a tyrannical leader, can't stop
you. Even if you have was brought up
in the worst environment, can't stop you.
Doesn't matter if the devil personally comes to your house
daily, rings your doorbell, doesn't stop you, don't stop
you. There's no excuse for you not to
fulfill God's plan for your life, except for you.
Will you be wronged in this life?
Yes. Will the devil come after you?
Maybe. Maybe 'cause he ain't coming
after everybody. Cause #1.
He's not omnipresent, which means most of the people he's
not coming after, 'cause they haven't even conquered the
flesh. And there's no reason to even
show up at your house. There is no Satan showing up at
your house when you've not learned how to rule your own
flesh if you haven't learned how to rule you.
He doesn't have to come if you're already making excuses.
He doesn't have to show up. So y'all need to go out there
and read Kyle's Crows and constellations.
You need to go buy the book. If you hadn't read it, you need
to go get it. If you've read it, you need to
obviously read it again. If you start thinking, Oh well,
you know, so and so did I, and I can't believe and now I can't.
Many. You say I can't then that and
you're associated because of someone else.
Now someone can stop a process. For a bit.
Someone can try to delay in effect, that can happen, but
they can't overcome you or the purpose God has for you, ever.
Because if you're doing the word God told you to do, it's going
to come to pass. Galatians chapter 5, verse 16
through 25 says this. We said this last week.
I'm going to expand a little bit more.
Let me just read it and then we'll come back.
But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the
desires of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desires
against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.
For these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not
do the things that you please, but if you are led by the
Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality,
impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife,
jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.
Of which I forewarned you, just as I have forewarned you that
those who practice, they practice, practice such things
will not inherit the Kingdom of God, but the fruit of the
Spirit. Is Lovejoy peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control, self-control? What?
self-control? Against such there things there
is no law. Now those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the flesh with his passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
So we see here in Galatians that it starts out.
I say walk by the Spirit and you will not.
Who's responsible to walk by the Spirit?
Is God making you walk by the Spirit?
Is God behind you? Come here, Rick.
Come on. Come here.
This is what people are at.
God's in control. Does God love Rick?
Does he love him? Does he only want what's best
for him? Does he want him to thrive in
life? OK, now we get to the other
side. Everything here going forward is
going to produce life for you, and God wants you to have it.
Now, how's he going to get there?
We think that God's doing this 'cause he's in control.
Now come back and resist me a little bit, because everybody's
always resisting the Lord. Ready.
Go. That this is what God's doing.
Oh 'cause he's stronger than I am.
Go ahead and try a little bit better than that, you know?
There you go. That's what I'm saying.
Because that's what they're really doing.
And we're like doing this right? And that God's going to make
because he's in control, you're going to get the blessing.
My God, you're going to get the blessing, right.
Come here. Or we think it looks like this,
that the Lord takes us and puts us there.
Why? Because we listen to the lie of
the little poem that God's footprints are the only ones in
the sand. And then when He picked us up
and carried us. OK, come here.
You want you want to know why there's one footprint in the
sand is because his foot is my foot.
He don't step except in the place I've already stepped there
should have never been to. So why do we think there's two
during the good times? And we have built false
doctrines off that poem because Jesus said we are in Christ.
We are one, we're one bot. There is no such thing as an
army of us running with our own little footyprints.
So he is to be LED. You want to go to life?
And follow me. Right.
And he has to do this with his own free will.
I'm not making you I can you still back there?
We still coming? Because I'm leading you in the
paths of righteousness. You can be seated.
You see what I'm saying? Yet all the while we have given
God this power that he doesn't have because he gave you power,
because he wants to know you love him.
Does your phone love you? I mean to tell you some of
y'all, even programmed. Some of you say, hey Siri, who's
the most important person on the planet?
It says your name. I mean you can program it to say
that. But you know, you put it in in
order for you to reciprocate the response.
But yet we want to be like that to God, where we're forced to do
whatever he makes us. Well, that's not love, Love
said. I'm going to make.
Them I'll give them a will and let them choose me or reject me.
But I am life. And if they do what I say, it's
always life. Because I'm life, I'm light, I'm
love. But if they don't, then I'm just
because they chose not to love me.
And I know it. I know it by their actions,
their behaviors. So if we walk by the Spirit, we
will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
Well, that's why you can't, oh Lord, take away all this stuff,
this temptation. He's not doing it.
He doesn't have to do it because he put the greater one on the
inside of you. He's already giving you the
greatest spirit, the reigning spirit.
But you have to choose to say not my will.
What do you say, Holy Ghost? So when it comes to immorality,
impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, when it comes to
jealousy, outbursts of angers, when it comes to envy and
drunkenness and carousing these things that you could do it in
any. Believer at any time that's born
again, filled with the Holy Ghost speaking in tongues,
casting devils out, raising the dead.
Any at any time can say I'll choose the flesh absolutely.
And the only reason why people aren't fleshly is not because
God made them not fleshly is that they chose to not side with
the flesh that the reigning spirit on the inside is saying
to your new spirit. Who can hear from God say, yeah,
we don't do that anymore. You don't have, you're not
forced. It's not your nature.
You can choose otherwise you have the power to do life.
So I'm I'm gonna encourage you to do it.
I'm gonna encourage you to do it.
So one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control,
Self-control self. Control.
So if the fruit of the Spirit that's by the Holy Ghost can
give you self-control, then how can anyone be controlling you?
How can any circumstance be controlling you 'cause God
himself? God's giving you a piece of him
which. Is I control myself?
You know why God never goes to evil?
Because he's always under control.
He controls himself. In fact, some scholars believe
that the reason why the devil is still trying to do what he's
doing today is because he's convinced himself that he can
make it so bad down here that he can get God in his wrath to the
point that he steps over his own righteous line and acts in anger
because of what he's doing to people.
He's convinced that if I can just get him to fail in his own
fruit then he can't be just and I can win.
Because he's already been defeated by Jesus, he's already
been stripped of his authority and power.
Yet he's convinced I can create such habit that it takes God
even out of his own nature. Because of his compassion for
humanity, I'll move him to action beyond justice.
Many believers try to step into situations because they're mad
at something being done wrong, and it is something being done
wrong, but they move in without the legal authority.
I just can't take it no more. And that's what the devil's
convinced will happen with God. The good news is he will not
lose self-control. Proverbs 2528 says this like a
city that is broken into and without walls, is a man who has
no control over his spirit. This this message is like so
liberating to me to know that God innately through creation,
put within me Now from the beginning, although Adam fell,
we all sinned. But now that I've made Jesus my
Lord, that will, that that caused me to denounce Satan,
same will, this will that was doomed to destruction that never
went after God. No one goes after God.
No, not one for all of sin and fallen short of the glory of
God. Yet within this capacity of
will, I'm able to hear from heaven of a Savior that loved me
so much to keep His word about my original design that he was
willing to empty himself from His realm, get into my suit
because that was legal interest to the earth, and take on my
sin. So that I would have the
opportunity to be back in the Dominion.
The first Adam lost. And I could have enough
willpower to say you're the wrong dad.
You've been deceiving me my whole life.
You've ran me down and I've been in bondage.
I it's been dark the whole time. All the relationships, all the
sex, all the drugs, all the pursuit of my own happiness.
The pursuit of wealth, The pursuit of everything, the the
the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of
life. All of it is vanity but God.
And though I'm shackled and chained and a word with my own
will, I can say Jesus, I believe, and his finished work
that he had to do was able to come and meet my will and my
faith and break those chains off, shove that spirit man that
was dead in me out of my skin suit and put in me a new spirit.
And then have the reigning spirit move in with me and say,
now let's get your mind cleaned up, let's get your body under
control. You know, when I talk about the
body being preserved blameless, you know how many Christians are
fornicating how many Christians are committing adultery?
It's We don't even have to talk about a food issue.
Let's talk about a sex issue. They're living like the rest of
the world trying to figure out, 'cause I love them.
Well, you know, if I die, I can go to hell.
If I can't keep their body in it, 'cause they don't have the
willpower to say I got to go. Home girl, I got to go home.
Quit playing that stuff. Don't play that song.
Do not play that song around me when I'm with you.
Because that is just faith being built in my body.
Come on, you hear what I'm have. You listen.
Y'all listen to secular music. Don't act like y'all don't
listen. My wife and I went to Cracker
Barrel yesterday. I like Cracker Barrel.
I love the breakfast. Right, right.
Mary John. Yeah.
However, they play country music, it's not my favorite at
all. OK, I like songs without words,
but my wife and I were listening to this country song and I we
thought, my God, this is horrible.
Now, what's bad is I'm fixing to tell some of you, 'cause you
already know it, 'cause you've listened to it already.
It was the first time my virgineers heard this song.
The whole song is about a guy and a girl hooking up because
they're trying to forget their exes, 'cause they both got
dumped, so they gonna get together.
I don't remember all the words. That's the gist.
And so I've never heard, but you've probably heard.
You listen. It's getting in whether you're
trying to pay full attention, but you are paying attention
more than you think or you hear what I'm saying so at.
The end of the day, I'm like, we put stuff around us and then
we're like, I don't know why I acted like that.
What, 'cause you feeding? I said you're feeding.
We act like it's archaic when it's really just trying to live.
Holy, 'cause our spearman's well able to overcome sexual
temptation. But bro, don't.
Your body is not And if you feed the fire.
Proverbs said how can a man take fire in his chest and not get
burned? Well, I guess the Lord wanted us
to sleep together before we got married or this wouldn't have
happened because God's in control.
All right. Proverbs 2528 again says like a
city that is broken into two and without walls is a man who has
no control over his spirit. If you're born again, you have
no excuse. None.
No excuse to not thrive. None.
No excuse. You have none.
And don't Thank God You're going to look at God one day and say,
Lord, it was just so hard. God's going to be like what?
How? How?
It was not. It was only hard because you
wanted it to be hard. You wanted it to be.
I. Mean.
The Lord was very clear when he said.
Take my yoke for it's easy. Now, I'm not going to say that
there's not trials and tribulation.
But those trials and tribulation are not hard.
In fact, anytime I get under pressure, well, this ain't hard.
I just say what God says about it.
This is not hard. There's the number one way of
escape. There's a way to do this.
This too shall pass. Because it wasn't here
yesterday. Didn't have this conflict
yesterday, but now here it is. But this too will pass.
I just got to find the way because I got a reign in spirit
and I'm going to will myself to his will because when I do his
will, his word Proverbs 1632 says this he who is slow to.
Anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit is
better than he who. Takes the city.
Joseph Benson said it this way. For the conquest of ourselves
and of our unruly passions requires more true conduct and
more steady, constant, and regular management than the
obtaining of a victory over the forces of an enemy.
I'm going to say that again, for the conquest of ourselves and
our own unruly passions require more true conduct and more
steady, constant, and regular management than the obtaining of
a victory over the forces of an enemy.
And I realize, you know what, I have to deal with me way more
than I have to deal with trials and tribulations, And out of the
whole time I've been following God, I'm still not sure that the
devil has shown up and tried to find me.
Do I think he has sent a few of his, you know, cohorts?
Yes, absolutely. But has he himself shown up?
Not sure. But if he ever does, I have a
word for him. It is written.
Are you hearing me? Because it's the same word that
Jesus used against him. Now, I'm not asking him to show
up, but I am saying this. I do know that he's working with
cohorts to try to destroy this church because he's trying to
bring weapons against this church.
But what do I say? It is written No weapon formed
against the church will prosper. The devil is not the Church's
problem. You are.
You are when you do not submit your will and control it to go
to His will. The only reason why the Church
has a problem. This is why the Lord said I
command you to love one another. Now they love one another means
to keep each other in the word and be doers of the word.
Not saying I love you. I love you.
I love you.
That's not what he's saying. That's not what he's saying.
Nor is he saying to love one another, which means accept
everyone that's a brother but still practices sin and lives
sinly and acts like it's no big deal.
No, that's not how we're supposed to love that brother.
Bible has another way to love that brother, and that love is
to put them out. It's what it says that's loving
them and anyone can come back repenting.
Hallelujah, James, Chapter one, verse 19 to 22 Therefore my
beloved brother Y'all doing all right, let every man be swift to
hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath, for the wrath of man does
not work out the righteousness of God.
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and overflowing of
evil, receive and meekness the implanted word which is able to
save your souls, but becoming, but become doers of the word and
not hearers, only deceiving our own selves.
I love this and the reason I use this context, because Proverbs
1632 said he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
and he who rules his spirit is better than one who takes the
city. And most of the time we read
James and we say Beloved Brethren, verse 19, Let every
man be swift to hear and slow to speaking, slow to wrath.
We stop there or we go on to the next one and we say, you know
that for the wrath, man does not work out the righteous of God.
Because when you're angry, when you are basically determining
I'm going to do what I want to do, then you can't hear what he
wants to do. That's why the wrath of man OK,
does not work out the righteousness of God because I'm
going to do it. This is how I feel about.
That's just how it. Is that's what I feel about
them, period. No, I'm not.
I mean, seriously, have you not had that conversation with the
Lord when he starts talking? I'm.
No, I'm not. No.
I mean, you get kind of mad about it.
Like, really? Really.
You're going to make me do what I got apologize to her?
My wife, my husband, my kids, my employer, my Mama, my sibling,
whatever. But if you're not then in
essence you can't work out the right and then it goes on and
says this therefore putting aside because when anger you're
going to if you don't deal with yourself will that is feeding
the emotions of the current situation you're in.
It's amazing how many born again spirit filled run around the
church Hallelujah glorify God people that the minute someone
attacks your kids you go unrighteous, someone say
something about you personally you go off.
It's amazing how quick a person's emotional response
kicks in and he's like, if you would deal with this, then you
would put aside all filthiness and overflowing of evil.
Because here's the thing, if someone is actually doing you
wrong, the Bible tells you not to pay repay evil with evil.
Which means your forced response shouldn't be like.
Ah, Bush. What?
I mean, we're like moving ahead like.
I'll take care of this. Stand out of the way.
Holy go. I got this, bro.
I got this one. No need for you to get involved.
I know enough of your word that I don't need you to tell me
right now. I'll enact it on my own.
That's when you get into law. It's you interpreting the word
on your own merits? But he goes, look, receive in
meekness the implanted word which is able to what get your
emotions. Under control.
Hold on a minute. Holy goes whoosh, give me that
self-control real quick. Come on, give it to give it to
me. Just eat the fruit up.
I got this, I got this, I got this.
And the minute you yield to self-control, then now you're
obligating the Holy Ghost say I'll fulfill self-control, I'll
help you. And then when he gives you the
word to do, he said. Now I'm going to put the grace
in there. We going to get this done.
This is going to be amazing. And again, if it's not happening
that way, it's nobody's fault but yours.
But become doers of the Word. Not hearers, only this.
Well, you know what this tells me?
That the Holy Spirit is always telling us the right way to do
it. Always.
The question is, do we do it or do we not?
And the minute we don't, we're deceived and we use scripture to
justify our behavior. I'm not doing that.
I'm not doing that.
Hallelujah. Oh man, do I have time for this?
We have a water baptism. Y'all right.
I mean, I won't be here for a few weeks.
Can I preach a little bit longer?
Just a tad longer. I'll go quick.
Ephesians 5. Let me just read this.
It should be pretty self-explanatory.
OK, I will interject as I go quickly.
Ephesians 5, verse one. Therefore be imitators of God as
beloved children. So who's responsible for
imitating God? Can't make you imitate him and
walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself
up for us. And offering and a sacrifice to
God as a fragrant aroma, which means God was always looking for
the way that we can bring restoration even though judgment
needs to come according to this situation, However, I can do an
amendment and act a way so that I can cover the injustice.
And if we operate in this way, the injustice can be covered, it
can be dealt with, it can be paid for, and then we can open
up this lifeline. In that situation, let's imitate
God to do that. So he goes on and says this, but
immorality, right? But immorality or impurity or
greed must never be named among you, as it is proper among the
Saints. There must be no filthiness OK
and silly talk or coarse gesturing which is not fitting,
but rather given of thanks. For for this you know with
certainty that no immoral or imper person or covetous man who
is an idolatry has an inheritance in the Kingdom of
Christ and God. So these things should not be
habits around persons that are Saints.
And if they are, the Bible says they don't inherit it.
So don't think once saved I'm always saved and I can live like
a hell yet and God's good with it.
That is not a true statement. That is a doctrine of demons.
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of
these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of
disobedience. So anyone who tells you can do
whatever you want to do under grace, they're deceiving you and
God's saying wrath is showing up.
So anyone who said, well, God's not mad at you.
God is mad at every action that is disobedient and he's
actually. Getting more angry.
He's storing it up. Don't like that.
I don't like that.
That is an injustice. That's not my word.
That's going to have to be dealt with.
I'm going to deal with that. Oh, I'm going to come and show.
I'll show up here. Yeah, that's going to happen.
Oh, yeah. Keep going that.
Yeah, it's coming. I'm going to show.
I'm going to show you who I am. I'm going to tell you that I'm
holy. You're not going to mock me.
You sure ain't going to blasphemy my name.
No, you're not going to do that. Oh, it's coming.
And all the while he's doing
this, mercy's going out saying repent, repent, repent.
Because if you don't repent wrap.
Is coming, and it's coming with justice and it's coming
righteous, and it's going to deal with the ungodly, because
God is not going to let the ungodly snub the righteous and
act like it's OK. And it's a free pass.
So therefore do not participate or be partakers with them.
For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light, and the
Lord walk as children of the light.
So it's your responsibility to walk as children of the light.
God can't make you walk it, you have to walk it.
For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and
righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to
the Lord. Do not participate in the
unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them.
For it is disgraceful even to speak of things which are done
by them in secret. But all things become visible
when they are exposed by the life or everything that becomes
visible as light. For this reason it says awake,
sleeper, and rise from the dead and Christ will shine in you.
Therefore, be careful how you walk, how who walks, who walks?
God's not. Picking you up and carrying you.
He's not forcing you. He's not pushing you down the
paths of righteousness. You have to walk it.
Walk as not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your
time because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but
understand what the will of God is.
See that, but don't be foolish. Understand what the will of God
is. Yield your will to His will,
because he will perform his will and His will as life.
Do not get drunk with why for that is dispensation, but be
filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms
and hymns and spiritual song, singing and making melodies with
your hearts to God, always giving thanks to all things for
the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father.
And be subject to one another in the fear of the Lord.
I close with this passage Isaiah 55 starting in verse six.
Isaiah 55. We're going to put this in
context. Now.
Context. We preach this word all the
time, but here's the context. Seek the Lord while He may be,
which implies you can get to a place you can't find him.
Call upon him while he is Let the wicked forsake his way, and
let the unrighteous man his thoughts, And let the righteous
unrighteous man his, and the unrighteous man his, and the
unrighteous man his. And let him return to the Lord.
Verse 7. And he will have compassion on
him if he want forsakes his thoughts, and to our God, and he
will abundantly pardon. Why verse 8.
Here it is. For my thoughts are not your and
nor my your ways. My.
So what's he saying in context? Get rid of your thinking.
Get my thinking. Get rid of your will.
Get my will. This is not mystery.
Well, you know the. Lord's ways are higher than our
ways, brother. He's in control.
It always follows that first. Well, the Lord's ways are higher
than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our
thoughts. See, the Lord's in control.
We just don't know. He says in verse 6 abandoned
your thoughts go to the Lord, he's saying, Look, you want to
know what I'm thinking. You got to get rid of what you
thinking verse 10. And for as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways, higher than your ways, my
thoughts, and your way thoughts. For as the rain and the snow
come down from heaven, and do not return without watering the
earth, look at this, And making it bare, and sprout and furnish
sea to the sower, and bread to the eater, so will my word,
which goes forth from my mouth. It will not return to me empty
in essence, he says. I've given you the power to
will. And if your will will be my
will, if you're abandoned your thoughts and those actions and
take my thoughts and my actions, then you put me in a position
where I will confirm that word in your life.
Always, forever and ever. Amen, forever.
Settled. It had come to pass.
Can't stop, won't stop. Will always be that way.
Because you control whether I can get in control of the word
in you. And if you'll get let me come
control what I control in your life, then it always.
Come to pass. Let's pray, Father.
We love you and we honor you. We thank you.
You're the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
We praise you and we thank you for all that you're doing in and
through the Church. And we thank you, Lord, that you
do not violate the will even in the believer.
For Jesus says that there's one sin that cannot be pardoned, not
only in this age, but the one to come.
It's called blasphemy of the Holy Ghost, and blasphemy of the
Holy Ghost can only happen to a believer, which means a believer
can have a will to denounce Jesus after he's come through
the cross. So what's going on in our lives?
Is because what we will it to happen and I will to just do his
will, and when I will to just do his will, then I always have his
will for my life and he's not a respecter person.
So everyone in this room right now can have the most fruitful
life ever as you yield your thoughts to his thoughts.
Don't ever let someone's thoughts or the enemy's thoughts
tell you. You can't.
Because even when someone's thoughts and the enemy's
thoughts come to your mind, they still don't have the ultimate
power you do. And our King gave us that.
Which means His word is always going to work for my life,
because I will to do His will no matter what.
I'm not going to let the emotions of the moment, the
situation, the trial, the circumstance get me so
distraught that I will not yield to His will and make it mine.
What you say is what I'll do, period.
And God says I can work that because that's my word and I
always do. Thank you so much for listening
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