Morning Prayer Summary for Friday, January 27, 2023

Pastor Dustin…

 Well, good morning. Welcome to Morning Prayer. On behalf of our senior pastors, Mac and Lynne Hammond, I want to welcome you to this Friday morning prayer. My name is Dustin Sherry. I’m the youth pastor here, and I just want to jump right into it.

Prayed…

Father, we just look to you this morning, as we know that we need to every day all the time. We don’t presume or assume that we can do anything in our own strength or by ourselves. We recognize our need and our dependence on you. We know that in our weakness, your strength has been perfected.

Father, that we just thank you that your power, that your presence, that your grace meets us in this place this morning, empowers us, enables us, strengthens us … not just to survive, but to carry out your will and your purpose in this earth. We know that we have been placed for this time. We’ve been assigned the places that you’ve placed us. Like a soldier in the army… like somebody in the military. They’re not saying, “I really like the white sand beach.” No, they’re assigned based on a larger plan.

You’ve been placed by God…

Such is the case with you. You’ve been placed by God where you’re at, around the people that He’s called you to reach, that He’s called you to walk together with. There is a company of believers that you have been assigned to, and it’s time for you to get in your place, join your company, and serve alongside your brothers and sisters in Christ and to build His kingdom, not waging war against people, against the enemy of our souls, against the kingdom of darkness… bringing people into the kingdom of light by the grace and power of God.

Don’t get distracted by things that have no eternal value…

So don’t get distracted by things that have no eternal value or things that don’t matter, by things that are just a complete waste of your time and energy. Keep your eyes and your attention on the Lord. And allow Him to lead you and guide you and direct you…  allow Him to minister peace to you.

2nd Timothy 2:4…

While we were praying, this verse popped into my heart. Second Timothy 2:4 “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share in the crops. Think over what I say for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”

Don’t get entangled…

Father, I thank you that you reveal this in a way that we need to see it and understand it on an individual level. No civilian gets entangled in civilian pursuits. Yes, steward the family God gave you. Pay your bills on time and all that kind of stuff. But think of the word entangled. That’s different than like, don’t have a life or… I don’t know, whatever direction you go with that. Don’t get weighed down. Don’t get bogged down. Don’t get tripped up by things that you’re not assigned to.

You have a higher purpose for your life…

There’s a higher purpose for your life. There’s a higher calling for your life. There’s a higher priority than just the natural, temporal things that you can see. Every natural, temporal thing that you will experience has an expiration date on it. But the kingdom of God is forever. It never ends. So set your eyes on things above, not on earthly things. Look at the things that are unseen.

Speaking to those who have isolated themselves…

We speak now to all of the people, all of the body parts, who have been running their race by themselves. All of the people who have isolated. All of the people who have cut themselves off from the body, from a local body of believers. We say, “Come back, come back. Turn around. Every direction… Turn around. Get in your place. Operate in your grace. Because when you’re out of your place, you’re out of your grace.

Keith Moore quote…

And Brother Keith Moore would say, “You’ll fall on your face.” Not just because it rhymes, but because it is the truth.

Operate in your grace…

So get in your place. Operate in your grace. Step into that anointing that’s on your life. That power that’s your inheritance in Christ that’s been given to you. Don’t live small. Live large. The Bible compares living for yourself to living small. And it compares you joining the body of Christ and serving in the body and ministering to others as living large.

Humble yourself and God will exalt you…

Because the truth is, when you lower yourself, God exalts you. When you humble yourself, He promotes you. When you make it about Him and building His kingdom, more is given to you. When your focus isn’t on you and it’s on others, He adds to you. He said if you want to be great, be servant. If you want to be exalted, then lower yourself.

It’s time for you to come back…

So anybody listening to this who you’re on your grind. You’re making it about you. Like we read about in the New Testament, you’ve left the calling and the assignment and the plan of God for your life to pursue the things of the world because you thought it was more profitable for you to focus on yourself. It’s time for you to come back. It’s time for you to make a change. It’s time for you to put your hand to the plow. It’s time for you to be about your Father’s business.

Time is running out…

You don’t have as much time as you think you have. So stop thinking about, “Well, in 3 years I’ll do this, and in 5 years I’ll do this and in 15 years, I’ll do this, and then in 37 years I’ll do this.” No. You’ve got to think differently than the world. If you’re thinking like everybody else in the world, that should be an indication that maybe you’ve been conformed into the pattern of this world. Maybe you’ve become too much like the culture around you.

Be transformed in your mind…

You’ve got to be transformed by renewing your mind to the Word of God. You’ve got to change the way that you think about it. You’ve got to change the way that you think about money. You’ve got to change the way that you think about life. You’ve got to change the way that you think about these things. Because as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. You’ve got to respond now.

Just say to the Lord “Here I am…”

Just wherever you’re at, just say to the Lord, “Here I am. I receive the grace and the strength to do what you’ve called me to do right now. And I know that you’re patient, and I know that you’re long suffering. And I know that you’re good and I know that you’re faithful and so, Father, I thank you that you’re going to help me walk accurately and get into my place and my foot’s not going to tread upon a stone. I’m not going to stumble. I’m not going to fall down. I’m not going to get hurt. I’m not going to be abandoned. No. You’ll send angels to surround me and encompass me and protect me. And I don’t have to be afraid of the devil because greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. And if God is for me, nothing, and no one can stand against me. So I’m going to do it. I’m going to make a change. I’m going to move from darkness into light… from mourning into dancing. I’m going to move into my purpose. I’m going to step into destiny. I’m going to move from confusion to clarity. I’m going to move from confusion to clarity. If you don’t know, just at least start speaking that… it’s becoming clear. The Spirit of God is revealing it to me. My eyes are open, and the Spirit of God who knows all things, who reveals truth to me, the spirit of truth, the comforter, the counselor, the intercessor, the advocate, the strengthener, the standby, the ever-present help in times of trouble. He’s on the inside of me and He’s going to reveal it to me, and He’s going to strengthen me, and He’s going to give me the grace and the power and the ability to walk it out.”

It’s already been prepared…

And then I’m going to respond by faith. And He’s even going to help me with that. I’m going to respond by faith and step out and step into those positions and those places that have been prepared for me in advance to walk in. It’s already been planned… prepared… There’s already a path… a provision. And it’s going to be supernatural provision. Like the ravens bringing the food by the brook. It’s going to be supernatural. But the ravens aren’t just going anywhere. They’re going to the brook. They’re going to the place that I’ve prepared for you. And so you’ve got to get in that place. Because I’m positioning you for more. I’m positioning you for increase. I’m positioning you for greater.

Get to that place God has told you to be…

And so you’ve been crying out and you’ve been asking the Lord, “So where is it? What is it?” And it’s in that place… like Abraham, when the Lord spoke to him and said, “Go to the place that I will show you. You’ve got to take a step. You’ve got to get moving.

Don’t let the enemy stop you…

So don’t let the enemy slow you down and wear you out. Recognize that he can’t defeat you. He can’t overpower you. The devil can’t overpower you. He will try to wear you down. He’ll try to exhaust you. He’ll try to get you to give up. He’ll try to discourage you because that’s all that he can do. All he can do is lie to you. That’s it! He has no authority over you. He has no power that’s greater than what you have on the inside of you. So he will try to distract. He will try to lie to you. He’ll try to deceive you. He’ll try to get you depressed to the point where you want to give up and quit. And so all you have to do is set your face like flint and make up your mind, “I’m going to see the goodness of God. I’m going to step into the place that He’s prepared for me. I’m going to fulfill my purpose and my calling and my assignment. I’m going to run my race with patient endurance for the joy that is set before me. I’m going to press towards the mark by the grace and power of God.

God will strengthen you…

And the power of God is going to strengthen me… and reinforce me with mighty power in my innermost being. I’m not limited to my personality. I’m not limited to my own strength. I’m not limited to what I understand. I’m not limited to my own talents. I have the life of God. I have the spirit of God. I have the power of God and I don’t need to constantly take stock of where I’m at and what I have. I don’t need to take more personality tests to figure it out. I just need to spend time with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to speak to me. Allow Him to minister to me I need to listen to His voice and stop putting so much weight and stock into what everyone else is saying. I need to listen to His voice and I need to get out of my head.

Don’t look to other people…

We need to get out of our heads. We need to stop looking to other people constantly to validate what God has spoken to us about. We need to hear God’s voice for ourselves and then step out in faith and do what He told us to do and walk in the power and anointing… walk in the gifts and the graces that He’s put on us, and stop pushing it out for another day.

Prayer for leaders…

So, Father, I thank you for strengthening and encouraging believers right now. We thank you for our senior pastors and for the staff here and for all of the families and family members of this body of believers. And we plead the blood of Jesus over them, and we just say, Get into your place. Operate in your grace. Stir up the gift of God on the inside of you. Cultivate that relationship. Fan the flame in your heart. Feed that hunger. And then let it out.

Pastor Dustin shares testimonies…
The glory cloud…

I was talking to somebody a couple days ago. I’ve talked about this before in here. He was talking about a youth summer camp that happened a number of years ago as they were worshiping. It’s funny hearing the story from different people. They said that there was a brick wall behind the stage, and they saw smoke coming in through the wall. And so the AV guy ran back there to unplug the fog machine. He saw that it was unplugged and in a sealed box. So he thought there must be a fire. So he ran and looked for the fire and realized there was no fire. And then he went back to the AV booth trying to figure out where the haze was coming from. And then he kept hearing all these instruments and voices being picked up in the room. So he was going through the board trying to figure out where the music and the voices were coming from. It sounded amazing! As he was trying to figure it out where it was coming from, he realized… it’s the glory of God! And then people started seeing angels and things like that.

Gems and gold dust…

And then there was like gold dust and gems that were laying all over the place. There was somebody there who knew somebody or had a connection with somebody at the geology lab or something like that at the University of Minnesota. And so they actually took some of these gems to the lab and had them look at them. And they kept asking, “Where did you get these? Because I just had never seen anything like it ever.” And they were talking about… I can’t remember all of the details. I was talking to Michael Minton because he was there. He was talking about how all the gems were cut and what gems there were. And he said, “It was like a perfect description of what you read about in the Bible.” And they had said, “These aren’t any substance that we’re familiar with on this planet.” And so they had God show up in a really unique way.

Let’s raise our expectation of what God can do…

I would like to have all those things happen. But if He wants to do it a different way, He’s God and I’m not. He’s smarter than I am. But I just have such a hunger in my heart. I say that to, I don’t know… raise your expectation or just let you know that there’s so much that God can do in a prayer meeting and a service, and it’s easy to just slip into a routine and just do what you are used to.

But I just want more of the Lord. I want more of God. And I’m thankful for everything that I’ve experienced and I’m thankful for everything I’ve seen God do, but I just… We just need more of God.

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