Pastor Dustin…
Thank you for joining us this morning for prayer.
I want to say this before we start. I remember talking to Pastor Kent Otey, he used to be our missions pastor here. This is when I was an intern a while ago. And I was telling him, “I feel like I have a hard time hearing God’s voice.” And so he asked me what it’s like when I pray. And I said, “When I pray, I feel like my imagination is all over the place.” And he said, “What are you thinking about?” I was like, “Well, you know, a lot of times I feel like I have these visions. I see things when I pray.” And he said, “The Spirit of God can speak to you through your imagination.” He asked, “What kinds of things do you see?” And I said, “Well, sometimes when I pray, I’ll see myself ministering. Sometimes I’ll see myself doing things.”
And so he taught me, saying, “When I say dog to you, in your mind, do you see the letters d-o-g?” I said, “Well, no.” He said, “What do you see?” I said, “I see a white, fluffy Pomeranian. When you say dog, that’s what I see.” He said, “Sometimes when the Lord speaks to you, you’ll get an image in your mind. You’ll get an imagination. Sometimes the Lord will speak to you through your imagination.” And so the Word helps us distinguish what’s Him and what’s us and what’s the enemy. I just wanted to say that before we begin, because as we’re praying, you might start to get an image. Maybe a word will come to your heart, so declare that word as we’re praying. Maybe you’ll get a phrase, or you’ll feel like we’re supposed to go in a direction. But maybe you’ll get an image in your mind. And that’s what you’re supposed to pray about.
Let me give you an example. While this woman was praying, she said she saw… she didn’t “hear” … she saw an iron on a curtain and it was steaming. And when she started praying, she goes “Iron curtain.” This was years ago she was praying about that. What she saw was an iron on a curtain. God knows how to get the message across to you! So we shouldn’t limit Him. We shouldn’t put a low ceiling on Him. Just open up your heart and allow Him to speak to you this morning.
Father, we endeavor to do that, to put our eyes, our focus, our attention on you.
Group entered worship…
Barb shared…
The Holy Spirit said to share this. In Matthew 16, Peter looked really cool because he gets a revelation. And Peter says, “You’re the Christ.” And Jesus says, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father in heaven.” And so He says, “Now I say that you’re Peter,” which means rock. “And upon this rock, I build My church and all the powers of hell will not prevail against it.”
I was at a Bible study this weekend, and we were studying this passage. The leader was talking about this very thing. And he said, “What this actually means is not that Peter was a rock. ‘Okay, you’re gonna be a rock.’ No. But what it means is like, ‘you’re a chip off the old block.’ I’m the Rock, but you’re a chip off the old block. So this revelation that you have of Me, that’s who you are in Me. That rock is Me. And when you have a revelation of who I am in you, you’re like a chip off the old block. You do what I do. You say what I say. You are who I am in the earth.”
For the last six weeks, the Holy Ghost has been on me about “know who you are.” Know Christ in you, the hope of glory, who He is in you!
It’s time for the body of Christ to wake up and know the power they have on the inside of them by the Holy Spirit. That we are one with Christ. If you are one with Christ, there is nothing that’s impossible to you. And as the body of Christ, as we come together in unity, every part, every joint supplying, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish in this earth. There’s no mountain high enough. There’s no mountain that we can’t go straight through or cast into the sea. There’s no hindrance. There’s nothing in the way that cannot be moved out of the way because He is in us. We are literally walking around… it’s like Jesus is in the “Barbara suit” right here. There’s Jesus in the “Dustin suit.” We are His hands. We are His feet. Literally, we’re His voice. We’re His mouthpiece in the earth.
And as soon as He said that, it was like… they need to know, each one of you, you’re a chip off the old block. You are in Him. “You are flesh of My flesh, bone of My bone.” Do we really believe that? How hard would healing be if you believed, “I’m flesh of His flesh?” Well, Jesus, isn’t sick. Bone of His bone. Jesus doesn’t have any broken bones. Jesus doesn’t have mental illness. He’s not being tormented today. Jesus is strong and healthy and full of life and power. And that that’s who we are here in the earth.
Prayed…
And so, Father, we ask today that you open the eyes of the Church, your people, that they would know and understand who they are in you, the power that they have when they speak.
They’re not speaking of themselves, they’re speaking from your power, from that place that you granted them in you.
Open the eyes of their understanding, let them be enlightened today that they would know the hope to which they’ve been called in you…
As you functioned in the earth, moved with compassion for the lost, touched with the feeling of their infirmities…
We ask, Father, that there would be a move in your body, like never before … a flow of your Spirit in miracles, signs, and wonders … utterance of your Spirit, prophetic words, words of wisdom, words of understanding that we would begin to flow in those things and yield to them…
It’s easy because we’re a chip off the old block… we’re just like you… we function just as you do.
Thank you, Father, for the places that you’ve granted unto us.
We yield ourselves and step into those places now.
And, Father God, even those words that you’ve appointed and anointed us to speak every single one of us, you have put words that need to be spoken out today and every day by your Spirit
We call those out now in Jesus’ name, we call those words to come forth, we call those prophecies to come forth, we call those anointed words to come forth to be declared in the earth.
Now in Jesus’ name, come up and take your place. Take your place upon the wall and speak. Speak to those things, speak to the nations, speak to the government, speak to your leaders, speak over your pastors, speak to your church.
Barb had word of knowledge…
There are some people that are going to be getting very uncomfortable where they are right now. Because they’re in the wrong place. And the Holy Ghost is saying “You’re uncomfortable because you need to move into the right place.” So today receive that movement by the Holy Spirit… moved into that perfect position that He’s appointed you to… that wavering, we come against in Jesus’ name… that your heart would be fixed in the right place, that your mind will be fixed in the right place in Jesus’ name. There would be no more wavering back and forth, but by the Holy Spirit, you would know that you’re in the right place in Jesus’ name.
Pastor Dustin…
The phrase kept coming up, “Set your face like flint.” Set your face like flint… this unwavering, this steady, consistent, strong in adversity… strong when the wind blows… strong when the storm comes. And being in your place is connected to that… being in your place is connected to you… to not being lost.
Barb…
Yes, it’s that place. That place called “there.” It’s that place of provision. And I’m just telling you, the Holy Ghost is saying that the longer you stay in the wrong place, the more uncomfortable you’re going to be. It’s going to get more and more and more difficult for you to be there. And until you move, you’re not going to see the provision that He’s promised.
Pastor Dustin…
You’re out of your grace. You’re an elbow trying to be a knee. And you’re not designed to handle the weight of it. You’re not designed to move like that.
And so it’s time. It’s time to glory in who you are. Not imitate, not copy, not try to be something. You’re not trying to become different than what you are. Oh, you’re not one thing and you’re trying to become something else, someone else. No! You are understanding who you already are in Christ and the grace that is already on the inside of you… the calling, the good works that He has predestined for you to walk in, the good works that He has predestined for you to walk in… the things that He’s already prepared, you’re just walking into that…
Can you see it? Can you see it? Can you see? Because there’s been preparation and He has placed things in these strategic places. He’s putting things in these strategic places for you to step into … the provision is already there … and so you need to cooperate with the Spirit of God and what He’s directing you to do and step into that place. Because the provisions are already there… you’re anointed to do it. You’re called to do it. You’re gifted to do it. You’re graced to do it.
Barb…
Saul, for many years, thought he was doing the will of God until one day, a bright light came, and he fell to the ground and heard a voice. And what did God say? “You’re kicking against the pricks. What are you doing?” But he thought he was serving God’s will and His purpose, but he was completely against God’s plan. So he said, “Okay, we’re changing that today. We’re turning that today.” And he did yield to that.
But there are a lot of people that are doing that, and they’re like, “Why isn’t this working? Why is this so hard?” And they think they’re serving God and they’re walking in His plan. But today He’s saying “You’re kicking against the pricks. You’re working against Me. You’re not working with Me.”
Prayer for those people to know where they need to be…
So today in Jesus’ name, we lift those people up, Father God, that their eyes would be opened, that they would see the plan that you have, that the plans of man would fall away today and be exposed in the name of Jesus … the efforts of man would fall away and be exposed… that they would know the truth today in the name of Jesus … breakthrough today… we call our brothers and sisters into revelation today of who they are, where they need to be, what they’re supposed to be doing today in the name of Jesus.
No more being in the wrong place, no more doing the wrong thing, no more wasting time. Glory to God and I thank you, Father, that as they turn now that you redeem their time, you redeem it … you make up, Father God, for all that was lost. Everything that was lost, you make it up in Jesus’ name … glory to God. Hallelujah.
Pastor Dustin…
There’s a sense of urgency about it. You don’t have as much time as you think you have. So the Spirit of God is speaking to us. There are some assignments that require immediate obedience. He gives chances and He will redeem you and He will restore you and He’ll get you to where you need to be as many opportunities as you need. He’ll give them to you. But He created time. He’s outside of time, but He works within time. And there are some things that have to happen at certain times. So He’ll give you another opportunity, but there are …
I think of the man who said, “Jesus, let me bury my father and I’ll come follow you.” And Jesus said, “Let the dead bury the dead, come follow Me.” And I used to read that and I’m like, “How could Jesus be so cold? How could He be so insensitive?” But then I studied it and I found what this man is saying is, “Jesus, let me do this when it’s more convenient for me.” His father wasn’t on his deathbed. He was just saying, let me do this when it’s a bit more convenient. I’m paraphrasing, okay. But Jesus is saying, “Hey, that’s cool. You want to follow Me in six months, but I’m going to the cross in three. So you can be My disciple at any point in your life. But if you want to get in on what God is doing right now, then you need to surrender and jump in right now.
And that’s the sense that I get. God gives us opportunities. And we know the truth. We know we are secure in His love. We know we’re founded on His love, and He absolutely will redeem the time. He has done it for me. But I’ve seen it sometimes where there’s like an assignment or opportunity comes and a person doesn’t respond. So somebody else gets that. And then when the next thing comes, then the Lord offers them that, right? But it’s better to obey the first time. It’s better to do it right away.
Pastor Kent, one of my spiritual fathers, used to say, “Delayed obedience is really disobedience.” It’s important that we respond. Do we believe this morning that He knows the end from the beginning? Do we believe that God is smarter than we are? Do we believe that He has a good plan for our lives? Then let’s do what we believe the Spirit of God is directing us to do. Even if it looks like you’re giving up something that you love, will you trust Him with it? Does He have all of your heart? Does He have all of your life? Will you trust Him with that relationship? Will you trust Him with that dream and desire that’s on the inside of you? Will you surrender it to Him in this season, trusting that your creator knows you and He knows how to lead you. He knows how to guide you.
Sometimes we make decisions based on our past history, but God deals with us about our destiny and so maybe there’s a great opportunity that’s before you… but maybe it’s not who He’s called you to be … imagine if David would have had the opportunity to shepherd twice as many sheep, instead of going to feed his brothers that day in battle!
God had something much bigger for him than being a shepherd. He was called to be king. So he had to leave his few sheep behind that day, and he had to go do the menial task of delivering food to his brothers. And they told him he had a bad heart, and they mocked and ridiculed him. But that day he stepped into his purpose.
So what is the Spirit of God leading you to do? What is He directing you to do? It’s time to take your place. It’s time to step into the places and the positions that He’s called us to occupy. It’s time to stop imitating and copying and trying to be something.