Pastor Dustin greeting…
Thank you for joining us for morning prayer. My name is Dustin. I’m the youth pastor here at Living Word, and on behalf of our senior Pastors, Mac and Lynne, thank you for joining us for Friday morning prayer.
Galatians 5:16. The fruit of the Spirit…
I want to read a verse to you in Galatians 5:16. It says, “But I say walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” I think you could replace the word walk with live. “But I say live by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” And if you skip over to verse 22, it says, “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Verse 25, “If we live by the spirit, let us also keep in step with the spirit.” In verse 22, it talks about the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
The importance of joy…
I was thinking the other day about how important joy is. The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. And I was talking to some pastors, and they had been pastors for decades. They have such great fruit in their lives. And I just asked them, “What do you attribute it to?” And they had said one of the most important things is not losing your joy.
Don’t let the enemy steal your joy.
Right? He can’t just come into your life and take your joy. Things happening around you don’t have the strength or the power in and of themselves to take your joy from you. It’s a decision that you have to make and to give that joy up. And so they’re saying, don’t lose your joy. Keep your joy. And it’s like, “Well, okay. How do you do that?”
Living by the spirit will help you to not lose your joy…
And we see here in Galatians, it’s a result of living by the spirit. And so I just want to begin to pray… I guess I’ve been thinking about that the past couple days—living by the spirit. So living in the spirit is different than you living carnally, thinking carnally, living out of your own strength. And then when you need something, crying out to God in desperation and asking Him to do something… right? We see Jesus. It’s better to do that than nothing. But we see Jesus controlled by the Spirit, walking by the Spirit, making decisions led by the Spirit.
In John 5, they asked Him, “How do you do these works?” And He always gave the credit to the Father. He didn’t take credit for Himself. He said, “I only do what I see the Father do and I only say what I hear Him say.” Kenneth Copeland called it the “Kingdom of God process.” Jesus wasn’t out just doing stuff. He allowed the Spirit of God to lead Him. And so I think it’s important that we pray from this place and that we live from this place. And so with that, let’s just begin.
Prayed…
Father, we just thank you that we have your Spirit alive on the inside of us, leading us and guiding us. We don’t have to live life in our own strength. We don’t have to live life limited to our own understanding and our own insight. We can be led by you in our decisions as we go through life and make decisions.
Lord, we thank you that your Spirit is on the inside of us revealing truth to us, showing us what we need to know.
Father, I thank you that we don’t have to have it all figured out. We just have to be able to discern your voice and make up our minds that we’re going to obey you, even if it doesn’t make sense.
Pastor Dustin shared…
I’m convinced that praying in the spirit keeps you tuned in… Because the day is coming where you won’t be able to rely on what you know. You’re going to have to rely on the Spirit of God on the inside of you, to lead and guide you. Being sensitive to His voice and His promptings.
So we make up our minds this morning, Lord, that we’re going to be sensitive to your voice. We’re going to be quick to listen and quick to respond. Even if it’s outside the norm, even if it’s outside of the routine, even if it seems stupid, we’re going to obey you. Because we know that your ways are higher than our ways, your thoughts are higher than our thoughts. You know the end from the beginning.
We’re going to keep you in the highest priority in our life. You’re going to be Lord in our life. We allow you to direct our steps. We’re going to cooperate with you. Because no eye has seen, no ear has heard, neither has entered the heart of man all that God has made, all that He has prepared, all that He keeps ready for you. But it’s revealed and unveiled by and through the Spirit of God.
A church, a group of people who are led by the Spirit of God. What could God do through thousands of people who would yield to Him, who would respond to Him?
Sister Barb…
It’s revealed by the Spirit. Thank you, Father. It’s as we pray in the Spirit, as we pray and yield ourselves in tongues, as we pray those things out what He’s prepared is revealed by the Spirit, He leads us into that provision and what has been prepared by the Holy Spirit. We are navigated by the Holy Spirit. As we yield ourselves in tongues, He leads us right into those doors that He has prepared for us to walk through by the Holy Spirit. So yield yourself to the Spirit of God. Pray in tongues for all that He has prepared and is ready and waiting for you… And you will access it by the Spirit. It will carry you over.
Over every stumbling block… He will navigate you through the troubled waters… through dicey situations.
When you pray in the Spirit, you will be navigated through those places and into provision and peace…
Father, we give you preeminence. Holy Spirit, we give you preeminence.
Let yourself go in the Spirit. Let yourself go… engage as you pray in tongues and yield to the Spirit… And let new tongues come up out of you by the Spirit. Let him expand your language… your vocabulary in the Spirit.
He wants to expand your reach in the Spirit. He wants to stretch you today.
Divine entrances… divine utterances… words prepared before you were born… words prepared for you to speak… words prepared for you to declare … It’s time for you to move and tap into those words… calling those things that are not as though they are… it’s time for you to take up your assignments in the Spirit.
Bringing those things forth in the name of Jesus, even those things that are in the future… bringing them into the now in Jesus’ name…
Whatever you have need of calling it forth by the Spirit. This is the age of more than enough. This is the age of over-abundance and super sufficiency. Call it in… Yield yourself to the words in the spirit. Cooperate with Him to bring those things to pass. Faith says I have it now. Join up with the Spirit of faith… Stand fast with the spirit of faith.
All week, the glory of God has been in this place. So strong, so great. Thank you, Jesus. Oh, hallelujah.
Pastor Dustin…
Distributions are being made…
Barb, as you were praying, I just got in my heart that there are assignments being distributed. Tongues being distributed. Words being distributed. And there’s a shift that’s going to occur. Things that have been distributed… released… been set in motion… there’s a shift that’s taking place even now. And you’ve got to step out in faith and in boldness into those places as doors of opportunity open. You’ve got to just step out into it and trust that the Lord is there with you.
Be like David…
I don’t know why, but I think of David, anointed king, sent back out into the field. And then some time passes and then Goliath is standing before him. You’ve got to do like David did and be indignant, trust in God’s ability… indignant with the problem and with the audacity of the devil. And then just know what you’re about and go do it. There’s a time to kind of lay low in the field and just do it, you know, serve faithfully and just do that part of it. And there’s a time to go before the king and say, “This is who I am and this is what I’m called to do and this is what God’s given me.”
Entrance into a new season…
And you just go out and you get your stones and your sling and you got your strategy and then you just face off with the giant and you take him out. You get what I’m saying? In my heart, I just have the sense that you’re entering into a season, where it’s like you’re graduating out of the desert, out of obscurity and you’re entering a season where now… it’s not that you didn’t need it before, but it’s like the confidence needs to be there. Not in you. Your confidence in the Lord needs to be there. And when the Goliaths come, you need to be able to step out in faith and declare with boldness, “This is what God said. This is His promise. This is His will.” And then do what He told you to do.
You see great discernment in David’s life. He knew when he was supposed to do what. He knew when he was supposed to be on the run, and he knew when he was supposed to face stuff. I don’t want to paint the picture that he didn’t honor, but he knew when to show great honor and how to show great honor. But he didn’t act like he didn’t know what he was doing.
Doors of opportunity are being opened…
It’s hard to put into words, but this is the picture that I have. It’s like doors of opportunity are being opened. Things are shifting, and it’s time for you to step into something that you maybe haven’t been in before. You were called to it. The anointing is on you. And you’ve got to step out with boldness and confidence in the Lord. Not arrogance, not opulence, but a confidence in who God is, what He said, and what He’s placed on the inside of you. And declare it! Do it!
Sister Barb…
He’s given you the lion. He’s given you the bear. And He will give you the giant. Remember the things that God has done for you because it builds, and your faith increases as you remember those things that the Lord has done. So remember today, He’s done those things for you, and He will do it again, and He will do greater things. The lion, the bear, the giant is coming down.
Pastor Dustin…
It’s never been about the lion. It’s never been about the bear. It wasn’t about the giant. It was God working through him to build something, to prepare him, to equip him for the other… for the kingdom. And so maybe you’re like, “I’m fighting all these lions, but I just don’t know if I have a lion anointing. I just don’t know if I’m called to fight lions my whole life or fight all these bears. They keep trying to attack me, so I guess I’ll keep fighting them.”
It’s metaphor. You get what I’m saying? But it wasn’t about the lion. It wasn’t about the bear. It wasn’t even about Goliath. God used the lion and the bear to prepare him for Goliath. But Goliath wasn’t even the end all, be all. Oh my gosh. You think him killing Goliath was so significant because the Philistines were about to take over Israel. So that was a big deal. Those are the people of God. That’s like a detail in the story. I bet if you were there that day, David could have thought, the people could have thought everything in David’s life was leading him to that moment. Because what an important thing for God’s people to be delivered. But God had so much planned and prepared for His people and for David. That seemed like that was the battle. But that was just a step toward a much greater plan and purpose that God had for his life. That was just a little blip to something much greater and much richer and much fuller.
We’re talking about you…
We’re talking about David. But we’re talking about you. Can you see it? God has something for you that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and all of these have been preparation. And even as doors of opportunity open, don’t you go thinking, “Well, this is it now. This is everything that God has for me.” Maybe it is for that season. And take it seriously. Don’t do it halfhearted.
I feel like I’m talking to somebody. You see something coming up on the horizon and you’re excited about it and you’re like, “Yes, that’s it for me. That’s who I am. That’s what it’s about.” And I’m just saying, that’s preparation too. Cause as great as that seems, there’s even more.
Prayed…
Father, I pray that you would expand our vision… revealing to us by and through the Spirit the things that no eye has seen the things that no ear has heard.
Because for some of you, what He has prepared for you, it doesn’t exist yet in the natural. And so maybe you feel confused because it’s like, “I just don’t know. I don’t see it.” It’s because for some of you, it doesn’t even exist yet what He has prepared for you. You’re looking at what other people do. Maybe for some of you, you’re looking at what other ministries have. And for some of you, you’re looking at the natural progression of things in the workplace, and you’re just thinking, “If I got promoted five more times, I wouldn’t even want that.”
No, you’ve got to be led by the Spirit of God, and you’ve got to allow the Spirit of God to reveal and unveil to you what it is that He has planned for you.
Sister Barb…
And what you were saying about how that things might not look the way that other people or other ministries do things. Again, when you look at the story of David, what did he come with? He came with stones and a sling. Here you’ve got an Israeli army with swords and spears and all the garb, professional weapons. And here’s David with his stones. And the Lord tells him, “This is the way. This is your way. This is the way they’re doing it. But that’s not the way for you to do it. You do it the way that I tell you to do it.”
So never look at how other people… I mean, it’s good to have examples, but listen to the Holy Spirit because He has the perfect right way for you to do things. Because what is it again? It’s a trusting and relying on Him. He wants to know that you trust Him. Are a few stones or one stone going to take out a giant in the natural? No! But in the supernatural, Yes! When it’s something that’s been appointed and prepared by the Spirit and you just follow that leading, yes, it’s going to take down that thing.
So that’s why it’s so important for us to be tuned in to the Spirit of God. And sometimes you might look ridiculous. I’m sure he looked ridiculous. They all thought, “Oh my goodness, is this who is going to save us?” What did Goliath say? “Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks.”
You know, we might look crazy. God might ask you to do something that is completely unrelated. You’re like, how would this work? Well, I want you to get up today and I want you to take a lap around the chapel. What does that have to do with me getting healed? What is that? That’s the way. You believe Me. You trust Me. Just do what I said and everything is going to work out for you. That giant will be dead.
But we try to rationalize and talk ourselves out. “Well, maybe next time or next week.” Well, the anointing is there now. When the Holy Spirit says, “Do it,” you do it then. You don’t wait. You don’t put it off. What if David had listened to his brothers. They said, “Go home, you fool.” What if he had listened to them and gone home? The Philistines would’ve taken over. But he listened and he obeyed and he did what was in his heart to do.
Pastor Dustin…
David was mad about the giant, and he knew who he was, and he went through the proper channels. He didn’t just run out there like Rambo. He went and talked to King Saul. But you see the opportunities all along the way David’s brothers tried to discourage him. He goes to Saul and Saul says, “Okay, I guess. You can do it, but you got to do it this way. You got to wear my armor. You got to do it the way that I would do it.” And David just listened to God. Respectful, honoring, went through the proper channels. But even at the last minute, Saul said, you got to wear my stuff and do it my way. And David said, “This is awkward. This feels weird. This doesn’t feel like me. This isn’t what I’m used to. This isn’t how God did it in the past. You relied on your armor. But I always relied on God. You relied on what you could build and what you could understand and that that worked for you. But, I got to do it this way.”
And it was better for him to have anointed rocks than un-anointed, disobedient armor and stuff. We don’t see David wearing anything to protect himself. It’s funny that Saul wanted him to wear armor, but David knew “I’m not going to need it. Cause this isn’t going to be hand-to-hand combat. I’m going to stand back at a distance and watch what God does for me.” So if you got to run, you can run. If you got to sing, sing.
Sister Barb…
I know that there’s some people too. It might not be a run, but it’s forgiveness. You need to forgive someone. Now, it’s not that God’s withholding something because you’ve not forgiven, but you’re blocking something because you need to forgive someone. And as soon as you forgive someone, that situation will change or whatever that is that you’re dealing with is going to change.
So just go ahead. It’s just a simple thing. “I forgive so and so, Father. I release all of that bitterness, anger, hatred toward them, whatever it is. I forgive. I just release it all over right now in Jesus’ name.” Maybe they did something to you or spoke something about you. There was a rumor. Whatever it is, just release it today. And let the power of God flow through you… your soul… your mind… your body right now. Receive that redemptive work, the fullness of it right now in Jesus’ name. Thank you, Lord.
