Pastor Dustin…
Good morning. Thank you for joining us this morning. My name is Dustin Sherry. Welcome to Friday morning prayer. When I started here, I started in the junior high youth ministry here at Living Word, and the guy who came before me was very wise. He told me, “Preach the Word, preach the Word, preach the Word, preach the Word. And when you’re sick of preaching the Word, preach the Word.” He said, “When you don’t know what to preach, preach the Word. When there’s no anointing in the room, preach the Word. When it feels like God’s far away, preach the Word.” What he was telling me was the Bible carries its own anointing. The Word is sharp. The Word is powerful. And so this morning, I want to read Romans 8. It’s 31 verses. Is it all right? Can you guys hang in there and not fall asleep if we read 31 verses in the Bible this morning.
Romans 8
It says, “Therefore there is now zero condemnation for those who are in Christ, for the law of the spirit of life, which is in Christ has freed me from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law could not do, its power being weakened by the flesh. The entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit, sending his own son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin condemned sin in the flesh, subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who will accept that sacrifice.
Verse 4
So that the righteous and just requirement of the law might be fully met in us who live in move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the spirit. Our lives governed not by the standards according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the spirit.” Our lives controlled by the spirit. I want you just to get that in your heart: “our lives controlled by the spirit.”
“For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires, set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh. But those who are according to the spirit and are controlled by the desires of the spirit, set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the Holy Spirit. Now the mind of the flesh, which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit is death. That compromises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter. But the mind of the Holy Spirit is life. And so life and soul peace both now and forever. That is because the mind of the flesh with its carnal thoughts and purposes is hostile to God for it does not submit itself to God’s law. Indeed it cannot. So then those who are living the life of the flesh, catering to the appetites and the impulses of their carnal nature cannot please or satisfy God or be acceptable to Him. But you are not living the life of the flesh. You are living the life of the spirit. If the Holy Spirit of God really dwells within you, directs and controls you. But if anyone does not possess the Holy Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. He does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God. But if Christ lives in you, your natural body is dead by reason and sin and guilt. The spirit is alive because of the righteousness that he imputes to you. And if the spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal bodies through the spirit who indwells in you.”
You can receive that as a promise this morning, that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, it lives and abides on the inside of you and it will raise your mortal life. It will raise your body back to life.
Verse 12.
So then brethren, we are debtors, but not to the flesh. We are not obligated to our carnal nature. We live a life ruled by the standards and the dictates of the flesh. For if you live according to the dictates of the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit, you are habitually putting to death, making extinct, and deadening the deeds prompted by the body. You shall really genuinely live forever. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For the spirit which you have now received is not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption. The spirit producing sonship in the bliss of which we cry Abba Father. The spirit himself thus testifies together with our own spirit assuring us that we are children of God.”
A lot of times when you hear teachings on how to be led by the Spirit, you hear these verses, right? The Holy Spirit testifies together with our spirit assuring us that we are children of God. God will lead us primarily internally, not externally, right? Because He lives on the inside of us. And there’ll be a confirmation that takes place in your heart when He’s leading you.
Verse 17
And if we are his children, then we are his heirs. Also heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, sharing his inheritance with him. Only we must share his sufferings if we are to share in his glory. But what of that? For I consider that the sufferings of this present time, this present life are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us, in us, and for us and conferred on us. For even if the whole creation, all nature waits, expectantly and longs earnestly for God’s sons to be made known waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship for the creation was subjected to frailty, not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of him whom it was suggested to, yet with the hope that the nature of creation itself will be set free from bondage to decay and corruption and gain an entrance into the glorious freedom of God’s children.
Verse 22
We know that the whole of creation, irrational creatures has been moaning together in the pains of labor until now not only the creation, but we ourselves too who have and enjoy the first fruits of the Holy Spirit a foretaste of the blissful things to come. We groan inwardly as we wait for the redemption of our bodies.
Verse 24
For in this hope we were saved, but hope which is seen is not hope for how can one hope for what he already sees. But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure. So to the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weaknesses. The Holy Spirit comes to us in aid and it bears us up in our weaknesses. The Holy Spirit is not repelled by our weaknesses. The Holy Spirit comes and supports us in our weaknesses, for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, with our natural minds. But the Spirit himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Holy Spirit. What his intent is because the spirit intercedes and pleads before God in behalf of the saints, according to and in harmony with God’s will. We are assured and know that God being a partner in their labor, all things work together and are fitting into a plan for good to and for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew…” It says in the Amplified “Of whom he was aware and loved beforehand.” So He was aware of you and loved you beforehand. “For those whom he foreknew, He also destined from the beginning foreordaining them to be molded into the image of his son and share inwardly in his likeness that he might become the firstborn among many brethren.
Verse 30
And those whom he thus foreordained, He also called.” So you have a calling, right? “Those whom he also foreordained, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified, acquitted and made righteous, putting you into right standing with himself. And those whom he justified, He also glorified, raising them to heavenly dignity and condition or state of being.
Verse 31
What then, shall we say to all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Who can be our foe if God is on our side. He who did not withhold or spare even his own son but gave him up for us all, will he not also with him freely and graciously give us all other things.
Pastor Dustin continued…
I love these verses. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” And if he did not even withhold his own son… If He was willing to give His own Son so that we could be made right, so that we could have relationship with Him, will He not also freely and graciously give us all other things. Who shall bring any charge against us when it is God who justifies, who puts us into right relationship with Him. Who shall come forward and accuse or impeach those whom God has chosen will God who acquits us? Who is there to condemn us, will Christ Jesus the Messiah who died or rather who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God actually pleading as he intercedes for us? Who shall ever separate us from Christ’s love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation or calamity and distress or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or danger. Even as it is written For thy sake, we are put to death all day long. We are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter, yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through him who loved us. For I am persuaded beyond doubt. I’m sure that neither death nor life nor angels, nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers nor height, nor depth, nor anything in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, my Lord.
The next verse in chapter nine, he says, “I am speaking the truth in Christ and I am not lying. I am being prompted by the Holy Spirit who is bearing witness with me.”
I love that! At the end of it all, if you stop there, you miss the next part. But the next verse, “I’m not lying to you. The Holy Spirit is telling me to tell you all of these things that if God is for us nothing and no one can stand against us. You are in Him and you have been made righteous in Him. He’s comparing the carnal nature and the Spirit. He’s comparing the law and he’s comparing grace. And he’s saying you have been brought into harmony with God. You have favor with God. And if He would not even withhold His own Son from you, surely He would withhold no other thing. You have the Spirit of God on the inside of you who will lead you and guide you in all truth. He will speak to you. He will make your path clear and straight. He’ll give you insight, direction.
Pray from a place of confidence and expectation…
Let’s pray from this place this morning… of confidence and expectation. Like the apostle Paul said, I’m not lying to you. The Holy Spirit is speaking through me, communicating these things to you, that nothing and no one can stand against you and be successful. The Lord said to Joshua, No one will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, I’m going to be with you.
God’s plans for you far outweigh anything you’ve experienced in the past…
The things that God has planned and prepared for you far outweigh anything that you’ve been through in the past. Anything you’ve experienced, any trap or snare, anything the enemy has tried to use or orchestrate against you to take you out. Not only will it not succeed, but it pales in comparison to the glory that lies in front of you. There is glory that lies in front of you. There is a rich plan that lies in front of you.
Like Joshua…
Like Joshua, I believe we are the ones who are going to enter in… Like Joshua, I believe that we are the ones who will see the manifestation of the promise come to pass. We aren’t going to spend our days walking around a wilderness, walking around a desert. We are the ones who will enter into the things that God has predestined. The things that God has planned, the things that God has ordained for us to experience … He called you before you were born, there was a plan for your life before you were born. There are things for you to walk in and experience before you were born.
Prayed…
Preparation, plans, anointings, assignments, provision… provision that’s already there… people that are already there… resources that are already there, waiting for you to rise up … waiting for you to rise up in the places and the positions of the offices and the anointing that He’s called you to walk in … the whole earth is waiting and groaning for the sons of God, the children of God, to realize who they are and to step into it. The place that He’s called you to go is crying out for you. Deep is crying out to deep… there is something crying out on the inside of you that is calling out for that. And that is crying out for you…
It isn’t just that God loves you and He wants you to have a nice life. That’s part of it, but there’s so much more. It’s so much deeper than that… when He was laying the foundations of the earth, He had you in mind. And He has been working and arranging things and preparing things and preparing other people’s hearts and it’s time that you allow the Spirit of God to lead you, to direct you into those places, into those positions. It’s time to get in alignment. It’s time to get in agreement. Let’s get an alignment today.
Word for individual…
It’s not over for somebody in the room or somebody online. It’s not over. It’s not over. It’s not over. You’ve been wondering and you’ve been waiting for a word. That’s it. It’s not over! The apostle Paul said I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will see it through until the day of Christ. If He started it, He’s able to finish it. If He started it, He’s able to finish it. He did not start it and then say, “I got you off to a good start. Take it from here.” It isn’t your responsibility to make it happen for yourself. Of course, faith doesn’t do nothing. Faith doesn’t do nothing but faith trusts God for the outcome. Faith steps out of the boat. And it says, I trust in your ability to help me do what I’ve never done before. I trust in your ability to keep me. I trust in your ability to protect me. I trust in your ability. Cause I know that your grace is drawn to my weakness. I know that I have the greater one living on the inside of me. I know that I have the Spirit of God living on the inside of me who aids me and supports me and helps me in my weakness. So be confident, be confident, be confident in Him, in His ability.
Barb prayed…
He who prays in an unknown tongue edifies himself… Yield yourself to the Spirit of the living God … turn yourself over to Him completely and wholly …for you are filled… with the very presence said life … with the very spirit … of the living God … Let Him declare through you… who you are… let Him strengthen you… on the inside, in your inner man … be strengthened today as you pray in tongues… As you lift up your voice… from the inside to the outside, from the inside to the outside … manifestation of the glory on the inside, manifested on the outside… an appearing of Him in and upon you… for we are changed from glory to glory to glory… by His Spirit… for we walk in step with the holy One… we walk in step with the Holy Spirit… inspired by His voice, by the auction of the holy one… holy, holy, holy
That plan in you is time to come forth…
You are highly favored. You are highly favored… just as the angel came to Mary and said you are highly favored among women, God has come to you and says you are highly favored. And I have sent My Spirit to dwell in you… to dwell in you. I have chosen you to be filled with My Spirit to be fully and completely consumed. Oh, that on the inside of you, there would be a work of the Holy Ghost and you wouldn’t bring it forth in the earth. Just like Mary brought forth Jesus Christ into the earth… by the spirit of God, that plan that He has put on the inside of you would come forth in Jesus’ name… It’s a call. It’s a call. It’s a call… that call comes from the inside… that deep calls, it calls and it calls unto the deep and it calls unto the deep … come forth, come forth, come forth in Jesus’ name… come forth … it’s time to come forth. It’s time to come forth. It’s time to bear the fruit. It’s time to bear the fruit … it’s time for that thing to come forth. It’s time for that thing to be born… to live … no longer just on the inside of you, but it is a birthed. It is birthed into the earth. It is a birthed … for such a time as this. … No longer can it stay just on the inside of you… it’s time. It’s time … It cannot be held back … glory to God, when it’s time, it’s time… and nothing will hold it back. Nothing will hinder it. Nothing will be able to contain it within you … glory to God. It will come forth. It will come forth. It will come forth in Jesus’ name… He has tasked, He has tasked many individuals… with a certain… Yeah, yeah, you’ve been tasked. You’ve been tasked with those things… divine, divine tasks… divine… And He’s equipped you to do those things, special equipment … equipment has come to you… And as you pray in the spirit, as you pray in other tongues, you will recognize that equipment. You will begin to experience that equipping of the Holy Spirit…
Pastor Dustin…
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And for somebody you were like, “I’ve never had anyone tell me I’m called to do something. I’ve never been prophesied over. No one’s ever told me.” And the Bible says that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, neither has entered the heart of man all that He’s prepared… All that He keeps ready for you. And then it says, but it’s unveiled and revealed to you by and through the Spirit of God… And we just read that His Spirit testifies together with our spirit. He reveals to you who you are. It says, that’s how you know you’re even a child of God is by the Spirit of God on the inside of you confirming. That’s how you discover your identity is by the Spirit of God on the inside of you revealing it to you. So don’t wait for a man. Don’t wait for a person to tell you who you are because God is on the inside. And He is going to tell you who you are. Other people may confirm it, but it’s going to come by and through the Spirit of God.
Sister Barb…
For the ages to comes… not just for this life but for the ages to come … He has so much for you… so much for you to experience in Him … to feel His presence… to experience Him … that heavy weighty glory… that transforms … it removes … it removes that mindset of performance. It removes that mindset of self and self-awareness, and it replaces it with total awareness of Him, His ability… how much more… if we would let Him have His way… oh, oh. The things that we’ll see, the things that we’ll say, that we hadn’t even thought of saying that will come forth from our spirit by the Holy Ghost and change a situation in an instant … the ever-living fountain, that never-drying fountain … that never-drying fountain on the inside of you always available. So take a drink, take a drink today. Take a drink, take a drink from that well… whew. All day long drink from that well … drink of that Living Water … drink, drink, drink in Jesus’ name … drink, drink, drink … hallelujah. Be refreshed. Be strengthened in Jesus’ name.
Thank you, Jesus.