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hey family i’m pastor toray welcome to
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there and let’s get into this powerful
amazing word god bless you
family welcome to activate i’m so
excited for today and i’m so excited for
the word that god has for each and every
one of us you know first of all these
days are just so special in its own way
because it’s the middle of the week and
we’re just seeking god and it speaks
really to our posture that lord we are
after you every day of our lives and so
welcome to activate
you know we are in a new month like
isn’t that crazy how like the year just
started but a month has already gone by
and as i’m you know just coming into
this new month i keep holding on to a
word that the lord gave me in the
beginning of this year and was really a
phrase really about embracing the shift
and when he told me about embracing the
shift there were three things
specifically into that and it’s a shift
in authority that will take place in
this new season a shift in ownership and
a shift in identity and when we think
about a shift in authority is that
there’s going to be new almost like the
rising of the underdogs right where god
is going to shift people into new
positions but also a shift in in
ownership right taking responsibilities
for the things that we will just see as
problems and talk about but actually
recognizing that your you recognize it
to be a problem and it burdens you so
much because god has actually called you
as a solution and so a shift in
responsibility not just waiting you know
for someone to come and and just help
the moment but saying that you know what
lord i’m gonna address this and i’m
gonna by your hand and by your spirit
and by your might that you would use me
to be a solution and a shift in identity
right embracing what god says about us
embracing the new layers of identity
being revealed by his spirit you know a
lot of times when we look at the areas
in our lives where we settled for less
it was really because we didn’t know we
were more and so when god begins to
unpack and reveal to you that there is
so much more to you it’s for you to
embrace that and when he talked to me
about this he highlighted a man named
david right and david is a man who and
we have a david
here with us but david is a man who
embraced the shift in all aspects of his
life right when you think about david
david embraced the shift in identity
david was a shepherd boy and when the
lord was looking for who he would anoint
as the new king even though there was a
king already at the time but he had
rejected him there was a king named saul
in israel and he had rejected him the
lord said you know what david is my man.
but david had no idea of the
conversation god was having with a
prophet named samuel david is just
taking care of sheep his diligent right
where he is and god is having a
conversation about him and then this
prophet goes to the house and he anoints
david to be king and it was a shift in
identity because it was a moment for
david to recognize that the whole time
you are a shepherd that that was only a
seed to the harvest of your calling
that you are taking care of sheep but
what god had god had in mind for you all
along was that you would take care of a
nation
but he began to train you as a shepherd
right david had a he experienced a shift
in responsibility
you know during that time there was a
problem by the name of goliath and when
goliath showed up he’s oppressing the
people and david is like i’m not just
gonna wait around for someone to rise up
and and and fight this man i mean you
would think that the king at the time
would say hey let me take this one for
the team right no
but david a boy who was not even in the
army he said look god has been with me
as a shepherd and you know i’ve killed
the bear have killed a lion and this
goliath would be nothing less and so
david embraced the responsibility he saw
the problem and he took ownership of it
right and then david also had a shift in
authority right we see how david
eventually in his life we will see that
it would take i mean it took some time
right but david would eventually become
king over israel
right that he would that from being a
shepherd boy he would step into the
position as king and you know the king
saul at the time you know later on he
died and there’s a whole story behind
that but we’re not going to talk about
king saul today but david experienced a
shift in all these areas and as
beautiful as this story is right because
when you hear it when you just hear like
the the highlight it’s like wow david
was a shepherd and then god anointed him
and then he became king and it’s just
like this easy breezy maybe you call
this a cover boy
story but the reality
i don’t know where these things come
from
[Laughter]
but i’m sure god has some you know dry
jokes sometimes dry humor but the
reality of the story
is that from the moment david was
anointed to be king
to actually walking in the full
manifestation of being king
it was around 22 years
you see
a lot of theologians believe that david
was around 15 when he was anointed
and at 30 david became king but he was
only ruling over the house of judah so
when you think about the house of judah
just think about the promise being
fulfilled in a partial way
and then it took another seven and a
half years before david actually began
reigning over all of jerusalem all over
all of israel and judah and that is a
promise being fulfilled according to the
word of the lord
so by by the time he was anointed to
becoming king in the way that he was
anointed for
22 years we’re in the year 2022 but i’m
not going to talk about any coincidences
but i just find it interesting right but
20 20 20 22 years
and in our lives there’s always
something that the lord speaks to us
about there’s always a promise there’s
always a desire that we have for
something but we find ourselves going
through the waiting period
and this is what the lord has put on my
heart to discuss with you today because
what i’m learning in how god moves is
that when we talk about embracing the
shift it first starts as an internal
process
that god begins to do a work within us
before we experience it externally
and so to embrace the shift there’s
something happening within you and it
brings you into this waiting season
but the waiting season can sometimes
feel like the most confusing it could
feel like god has rejected you god has
abandoned you if you don’t understand
the why behind it what is supposed to be
a beautiful experience what is supposed
to bring you into a place of resting and
trusting in god if we are ignorant of
why god uses a waiting season then we
will never work with it
the years that we’re supposed to be
aligning with god we are fighting we are
rejecting we are complaining we’re
looking for another way out and this is
where the enemy comes in
this is when the enemy begins to offer
alternatives
this is when the enemy begins to offer
you like hey i got a way out for you you
don’t need to wait this long and you
don’t realize that what he’s offering is
to cause you to settle and leave things
on the table
but when we recognize and understand the
purpose of the weight
then we can partner with god in it and
so that’s what i’m going to be talking
about today and so when we think about
waiting right the waiting season really
brings us into the promise of what god
has for us the waiting season is an
indicator that there’s a turning point
coming in your story
and there are three things that god
showed me and spoke to me about about
why he uses the waiting season because
in that season he prunes us
he prepares us and he positions us
he prunes us he prepares us and he
positions us and why does god need to do
all of this
because everything that is assigned to
your life
everything that is called to your life
god is sending you to it
and in order for you to have impact and
be fruitful you have to be pruned
prepared and positioned
you see there is a scripture right
in matthew 28 um it’s the like the last
verses of that scripture it’s when we
read about the great commission right
and jesus says to the disciples
go
go into all the nations and make
disciples right
go into all the nations but when jesus
speaks you you have to do when the word
speaks like he is the word made flesh
every word carries weight
when jesus says go
then into all nations and make disciples
there is a manner he has called you to
go
you’re thinking that being a mother is
just a desire but it’s a manner that
you’re called to go
being a husband is just a desire but
it’s a manner in which you go
being a business owner being a rider
being a dancer being a photographer this
is the vehicle in which you go
because it becomes the vehicle to we all
are assigned to the same thing the great
commission is the commission to every
single person
if you ever had a problem wondering what
your purpose is it’s in the great
commission make disciples of all nations
but what we are confused about is not
purpose it is what is the vehicle that
god has called to use in manifesting his
mission
and so when jesus says go
everything that you think is just a
desire
and anything that you think is just a
way of god to bless you to make you
happy is actually an assignment that he
is sending you for
god is sending you as a parent god is
sending you as a business owner god is
sending you as a volunteer god is
sending you as an employee because this
is the manner in which you go
it’s not just random titles
when you’re in a city god sent you to
that city
but we have to understand this when we
when we when we recognize that i’m not
just living a random life i’m not just
in a city because the rent was cheaper
definitely not this city
right i’m not just here because i like
the weather
god sent me here
i just don’t desire this thing because
you know i like how it would look on me
there are things that we desire that we
just feel like okay this is just part of
you know god i just want to live more
fulfilled but you have to recognize it
is the manner in which you go
and here is what we learn about being
sent
in isaiah 6 verse 8 right it says this
and this is the prophet isaiah speaking
he said also i heard the voice of the
lord saying
whom shall i send
and who will go
for us
then i said
here i am
send me
when we read this we read it so quickly
we’re just like god said who shall i
send and it’s like oh here i am send me
but here i am there’s a pause
send me
here i am lord i’m willing i i desire
this i’m ready for the job
and then something happens
then we get to the place of
send me
here i am god
i can’t wait to start this business
whom shall i send and who will go for us
do you know that there are things that
were already agreed that we came into
agreement with god before we ever got
here
that when we’re saying that when the
lord is looking for okay we are in this
new generation
right we came from a time where you know
the the cavemen were trying to figure
out fire they found fire right
and then things start happening and
people start discovering technology and
god is looking at the error that we are
in and he’s like whom shall i send
and who will go for us there’s a manner
in which i need you to go and then we’re
just like oh here i am lord
send me
and what we agreed before we got here
when we are here it now translates as
our desires
and now it’s like i can’t shake off this
desire
because this is the manner in which you
go
we the lord understands every era that
we’re we even the errors that we have
not seen right now you know if you’re
having you know coveted babies they’re
about to enter an era of the metaverse
right where they’re going to be hanging
out with their friends in the metaverse
going to church in the metaverse we’ll
see you right at one in the meta
[Laughter]
we don’t even understand the experiences
they’re going to have in their own
generation but god has already seen it
he has seen the people that needs to be
sent in technology the people that needs
to be sent in tech and when we come into
this realm we begin to have desires even
as children
my nephew is two years old but he is
fascinated about building things
he already has an idea of of what it is
that he is inclined to it’s so amazing
because i remember hearing um bishop
jakes talk about everything that you’re
doing right now you actually it has
always been with you
since you were a kid that has always
been with you desires are the way that
we translate the things that we already
came in agreement with god about before
this time
that is what i can do the way i desire a
thing you see i would never desire you
know i was talking to kim who’s with us
and kim you know gets me right she does
my makeup
and one time kim was like stephanie i’m
gonna teach you how to do your eyelashes
as a kim that is not
i don’t desire that at all because if i
try to do my lashes i will end up doing
the bottom ones not the top ones there
are things that i don’t even have a
desire i don’t even want it because
my my hands don’t work that way right my
creativity does not work with makeup
but there are things that we desire and
we don’t know why we can’t shake it off
because we already came in an agreement
with god whom shall i send and who shall
go for us
and we said here i am god
i will go for you in this manner
and then when we are prepared send me
you see the waiting season is a time
when we come into alignment
for god to prepare us for what has
already been established for us
but
here i am
and send me there is a pause in between
that i also learned the first time i
ever heard this phrase called the
pregnant pause i heard it from bishop
bishop jakes
and when i looked into it i found out
that this was a phrase that kind of like
was originated from the 15th century i
mean it goes way back
right and it gives us the idea that
something so significant is about to
happen
but when i think about this pregnant
pause i really think about the waiting
season
because the the time lapse the time
difference between here i am
and send me
is a waiting season
because here i am god i’m ready for this
but then god brings us through a waiting
period
so that we would be able to be sent and
make impact in a way that we will be
fruitful for the assignment
because every single thing is an
assignment
everything
there are things that we do and we think
it’s just for fun but it’s the vehicle
through which we make disciples
and so when we think about that right
there is pruning there is god preparing
you and god wanting to position you
but then we go through this season and
and i think that
connected to this journey of life i was
thinking about how often times in the
scriptures we read about people’s
journeys
rather than just reading about how
things manifested
when you think about abraham right
abraham always wanted a son
but the first thing we’re introduced to
with abraham’s story is god saying
abraham i’m going to send you
to a place that i will show you
but abraham was he desired to be a
father but he was sent to be a father of
many nations
right you think about joseph
joseph had a dream as a kid he didn’t
need to have that dream at that time but
he had a dream as a kid that he was
going to be in leadership
and joseph is just like he’s excited you
know he’s just innocent he’s telling his
brothers i mean joseph was really naive
you know joseph and this time he’s
they’ll be like joseph you don’t know
the streets right because you just
little naive right now you know joseph
went to his brothers hey guys i’m gonna
rule over you isn’t that exciting oh my
gosh like what
so
joseph had this dream
but the next thing we learned about
joseph’s story is him being sent to
egypt
now he was sent by the way of slavery
but we understand this idea of god
sending you for the manifestation of his
promise
same thing with the israelites
they were in in they were captured in
slavery
it was not just about them being free
they thought it was just about freedom
but god was sending them to the promised
land
and in that process we see that god
god’s purpose was being revealed
same thing with david
when you read about the story of david
it’s a journey
david’s lives has so many ups and downs
but he’s going he’s moving from one
place to the next to the next to the
next until he comes to the point of
manifestation
and so i want you to just if i just put
in the comments right now i am sense
i am sent you’re you’re not random you
are sent i’m not just in the la i was
sent here
you’re not just in the city that you’re
you’re in you were sent there and in the
same manner god could send you to
another place that position you’re after
you are sent for it it’s not just this
random desire that maybe you will make
more money with god sent you there are
rooms that god has put you in you think
you went into the room for business but
all of a sudden you went into the room
for the mission because it was through
something that you said
somebody wanted to know jesus
there are things that you have actually
said that you don’t even recognize were
seeds in the time because it was someone
else that god used to water the seed
there are many lives it’s only when we
get to heaven
that we would begin to recognize
how random acts of kindness
based on how we were
that you thought you were just the
photographer in the room of the makeup
artist in the room but you have no you
do you don’t even realize that there was
a conversation you had in that room
that transformed an entire
entire family line lineage
you don’t even know what happened
because you see the bible says that
there is one who plants there’s another
who waters but at the end of the day is
god that causes it to grow
but god will still use you to either
plant or water
and so you have no clue that just the
thing you were doing that you thought
was random that there was something that
you did that the holy spirit used either
as seed or as water
and eventually god used it to grow we
all have the same purpose
make disciples of all nations
so let’s talk about this waiting season
because when we recognize
that we are sent then we recognize the
need for the process
that god here i am but i need to go
through process in order for you to send
me
right so the first thing god does god
does with the and this might not be in
the same order only god knows but these
are three key things that he highlighted
to me right and so the first thing he
highlighted was that he prunes us
and i want to read this scripture from
john 15 verse 2 when it says this every
branch in me that does not bear fruit he
takes away
and every branch that bears fruit he
prunes that it may bear more fruit
the beautiful thing here is that first
of all god is saying that you’re already
fruitful
i don’t prune you because you know your
life is not making sense i’m pruning you
because already where i’ve placed you
you have been a good steward over that
but as i’m planning to expand you as i’m
planning to expand your capacity as i’m
planning to take you to the next season
of your life in order to be more
fruitful i must prune you
and here’s the thing pruning i started
studying um pruning because when when
god is speaking about this he’s speaking
about the process of pruning a tree
right so when i studied about pruning it
says this right that pruning is the
process to remove damaged
or
let me see this damaged competing or
dead branches
pruning is the process that the you know
they removed damaged dead or competing
branches i find these words so
fascinating first of all because when i
read things like competing
right
and these are and this is like when you
study it i was like wait is did he just
say that this is a branch that is a
competing branch but damaged dead and
competing branches so when we think
about the first thing god does in
pruning he takes us through a process
that confronts the pain and traumas from
our past
because the pains and traumas from your
past it leaves dead and damaged branches
can you imagine let’s talk about david
right
david experienced rejection as a kid
how do we know this when when the
prophet saw came to the home to anoint
david
david is taking care of sheep the father
does not even find him worthy
to call him into the lineup he has all
his sons lined up
did not even think about wait what about
david he did not even think he was
worthy
for what the prophet was going to do
that already tells you so much about the
relationship david had with his father
and then we see that even as david
continues for some reason
how god
when god wants to confront an issue that
you want to hide he will take you
through the same thing in a different
way
so david continues to experience
rejection
because on one moment david kills
goliath saul loved him
but when david was being praised more
than saul
saul is now trying to kill david so
first of all the first father figure
david has in his life rejects him
the second fatherly figure because saul
would then become i mean he was excited
he killed goliath you know there was a
soul already announced there will be a
prize that hey the person who kills
goliath you know they would marry them
the king’s daughter so saul was going to
be the second fatherly figure
because this would now become david’s
father-in-law
all of a sudden the second person
is now trying to kill him
and a lot of times even just using david
as an example what does this now speak
to you start looking at god
who is supposed to be now your spiritual
father
okay if all the fatherly figures in my
life are treating me this way then maybe
god is pretty much the same god will
sometimes use the same thing i call it
when god pokes at you
because what he’s poking is to bring to
your awareness that there’s something
that hurts that you have been hiding
so that he can bring it to the surface
and heal it because the last thing you
want is a king who is dealing with
rejection issues
because the power that god would give
him he would abuse it for his validation
oh let me show y’all
you know yesterday’s price is not
today’s price
in the worst way not in a good way right
david would have been like oh who’s king
now
right you know gather up all my brothers
and my father to bring him let him be
the shepherd for me
so god has to prune us
because the reality is that in life this
world is broken it is christ that makes
it whole
but it’s broken with broken people
and broken people break other people
and so when if you’ve lived for any
amount of years
at some point in your life you would
have a story laced with pain
and god knows this
and so he says in order for me to send
you
to what we have already been in
agreement with i need to remove from you
what the brokenness that has been sold
into your life
i need to take you through a process
through a healing process
that is why sometimes when you find
yourself dealing with the same thing
that wounded you over and over again in
different forms it’s not that god
doesn’t see you but maybe he’s trying to
poke at you
that there’s an issue and i need you to
bring it to me so we can heal i can heal
this thing
you keep trying to hide it you’re mad at
god but then you come into worship oh
lord i just give you all the glory
god does not need fake worship and god
does not need your works if it will
leave you damaged
god is after your wholeness
and so sometimes god will poke at you
because he’s like look we need to
revisit
this thing that hurt you so that i can
show you first of all how i would use it
for your good it doesn’t mean i approved
of it to happen the way it did but i am
a god who causes all things to work
together for good
and you need to open up to me so i can
give you my perspective about this
situation i want to heal you from the
root
and what that healing process looks like
is pruning
god removing the broken the damaged and
dead branches away from your life
the things that have no business for you
to be holding on to but you keep holding
on to it and god is like why won’t you
let me in
you see when you think about the story
of a man named judas
it’s so fascinating that judas who was a
thief and had a money problem
would be the person that jesus would
entrust with a money back he was poking
at him
because first of all you have to know
the heart of god to recognize what judas
really represented
judas was not a disciple or appointed to
be an apostle just so he could be upon
in god’s ultimate plan
that does not speak to god’s heart
jesus before judas was appointed as an
apostle there were many people that
followed jesus
jesus was in prayer it wasn’t no it
wasn’t a random selection jesus the
bible tells us that he was in the
mountain
in prayer so that god would give him
revelation so that the father would give
him revelation about who should be the
the apostles this was taking it deeper
apostles are not people you joke with
these are people the bible calls them
they steward over the mysteries of god
they’re they’re people that establish
you know even when it talks about the
church apostles and prophets lay the
foundation of the church so god is not
going to appoint you into an office just
to use you as a pawn
and judas was appointed as an apostle
and with his money problem
god said you know what
i have the best position for you i’m
gonna put you in charge of the money bag
what
like god how does that make sense he’s
poking at him
judas i already know you still
but i need you to let me know that you
still
come to me with the issue
and say that look like lord you don’t
want me to be in charge of this
because i i sometimes come into thievery
and jesus that would have been a moment
for judas to open himself up
and jesus would have done such a
beautiful healing work
peter had peter had some anger issues
but then jesus would choose peter to be
his like almost like his right hand man
knowing that peter is going to cut
somebody’s ear
but peter was submitted
that’s why he would cut the ear in front
of jesus he didn’t hide it
you see the difference between peter and
judas judas hid his problems
peter showed it to the lord
he said lord i got an anger issue
and this person comes at you funny i’m
cutting his ear off and when he does
that jesus can be an example to peter
and say peter this is not how we respond
to problems
jesus knew like you see before jesus
went about his day he knew what he was
about to encounter
he knew exactly what was going to happen
and in his wisdom he would have he could
have chosen to not take peter
but jesus says come on everybody we’re
all going into this
he knew exactly that that particular day
god gave him jesus will say things like
i only do what i see the father do jesus
had revelation and insight of his day
but he took peter with him so that peter
can expose his own brokenness
and jesus could teach him a better way
peter we don’t respond to problems like
this
we don’t cut people’s ears off because
we’re angry so in front of peter peter
is cutting off somebody’s ear for jesus
and jesus heals the man’s ear
now if peter was going to act like judas
what peter would have done he would have
watched the problem
been silent
when jesus was asleep peter shows up and
turns up so y’all think you could just
talk to my master like that
but god wants us to open up ourselves to
him
the reason why jesus will give judas the
money back and i’m sure there are many
things that the scriptures don’t write
to us but i’m sure maybe they were going
to a store i mean they didn’t have
stores back then but you know walking
along the road
somebody was selling something right
and maybe jesus was jesus knowing how
much is in the money bag will be like um
judas can you pay this man
judas may have said oh man the money
fell out
we don’t have enough money but what
jesus would have wanted is judas to say
i spent some of it
and that would be a moment of jesus to
now say you know what let me show you a
better way
judas i know what you did i know you
steal from this bag
but let me teach you a better way you
could just ask
you don’t need to steal what for what is
already yours
because judas didn’t realize
jesus trusting him with the money back
is saying everything that is mine is
yours
you’re stealing from what i’ve actually
given you
you don’t need to act like a thief when
you are when the house belongs to you
why are you stealing from yourself
that would have been a moment for jesus
to cheat judas teach judas a better way
what i’m saying this is that the pruning
process god allows your deepest pain and
traumas to come to the surface
so that he can heal it
because whatever is hidden satan has
authority over
when it comes to the surface the light
of god can shine and heal it
but you see pruning also talks about i
was watching this man pruning his tree
and it talks about removing competing
branches
so in a tree there is a central branch
which is known as almost like the the
leader
and sometimes other branches want to
show out
they start growing in a manner that they
start trying to overtake the main branch
and what they call it is that it is
pulling they have to cut the competing
branch because it is pulling energy
that’s supposed to go to the central
bench it is stealing energy source to
this competing branch and so in order
for the tree to be as fruitful as it can
be all the energy needs to be focused on
the central branch
this is also what happens in our lives
because we easily get distracted by new
ideas
we easily get distracted by the things
that were birthed from the place of
comparison and envy
and we easily get distracted so although
we love to talk about a god who opens
doors that no one can shut he is also a
god that shuts doors that no one can
open
and so the pruning season can look like
when god is shutting doors in your life
and it’s not for you to mourn what the
lord has killed
is for you to recognize that could it be
that this door has been taking energy
and investment away from where god has
actually called me to put this in
one of the things our pastor would
always teach on is that you have a
limited amount of resources you have a
limited amount of energy you cannot just
waste it in any way
you see one of the things you know um
covet
when it happened the omicron variants it
got everybody including me
but when it hit me because at first i
said oh my how dare you
but it taught me a great lesson it
really taught me a lesson on
how how how everything in life requires
energy
because when you are so fatigued you
become aware that even picking up the
phone and getting on this call right now
is taking energy from me
every for everything you need to do in
life there is amount of energy that is
allocated to that the same thing with
the spiritual realm
the woman with the issue of blood when
she touched jesus the hem of his garment
the bible says that he knew because
power left him so there was a measure of
power that was assigned to heal this
woman
everything requires a sudden measure
the beauty with jesus is that he had the
power of the holy spirit to the overflow
so he never ran out of power but he
could still feel it leave him
the same way that throughout your day
everything you do energy is leaving you
that’s why sometimes you just find
yourself exhausted you can’t even talk
you’re like lord i just need to take a
nap
why because the energy you had for that
day has been completely depleted
so there are doors in your life that god
will say i need to shut them
so that you would be focused and you
would have the appropriate amount of
energy for where i’m taking you
so we cannot fight against closed doors
because that is what the pruning season
also looks like that if there’s anything
competing for the god thing god can shut
it right then also the waiting season
prepares us right there’s a scripture
that says in hebrews 11 7 it says by
faith noah being divinely warned of
things not yet seen moved with godly
fear prepared an ark for the saving of
his
household this is so beautiful because
noah was able to prepare because god
prepared him
and when the lord was talking to me
about this he showed me that he prepares
us by giving us a vision
you see when noah built the ark he
didn’t build it out of a thought
the lord gave him a vision the bible
actually records that the lord said to
him noah build the ark according to the
pattern that i will show you
he gave him instructions about the ark
in the waiting season god gives you
vision
and it’s not for you to build when you
get there
it’s for you to start building now
because what you build will take you
there
and so in the waiting season that is
when you start to partner with god god
what is the vision of my life in this
time
because it’s because of the vision he’s
planted in you that he has brought you
through the weight
and the vision may not always be this
something that feels glamorous
the vision could be in this season i
want you to go to therapy
it could literally be something like
that
it could be as going to therapy to
starting the business
it could be going to therapy to taking
the job
it could be going to therapy to start to
become a mother
but god will give you a vision for what
this new season of your life holds and
it’s for you to start it now
you don’t wait until you know you can’t
you can’t walk into uh you can’t you can
go into a business meeting and say oh my
gosh you know i want all of you to
invest in something and not have a
product
you build the product then you say hey
this product is going to change
how we do things this product is going
to be whatever your it is that you want
to build but this product is the thing
this app is the thing this idea when
people can see it on a plan then they’re
like okay we can let’s let’s think about
how much we want to invest in this
no one invests in good intentions
because you can have good intentions
like when people say like man if i had a
million dollars you know i just wanna i
wanna bless my mom i wanna pay off her
home i wanna you know what
just no homeless people in the world
it’s a good intention
but without a plan it will never happen
so there is a vision that god gives you
in order to execute the i the intentions
in your heart
you can have a good intention that lord
i just i i don’t want to see this ever
again whatever is played in our
community i never want to see this
but you can’t walk into a meeting and
just have good intentions who is going
to back it up
what what what structure do you have in
place what processes do you have in
place in order to execute this
and so whatever vision god has given you
you start building in the waiting season
that is why the bible the first thing
that scripture said is by faith
noah
and there are things that you’re called
to do and it’s not based on what you see
but it’s gonna be by faith
and search your name there
right even right now in the chat i want
you to put by faith and put your name
and put whatever it is that god has been
putting on your heart to do by faith is
how it’s going to be built
because it’s not going to be based on
what you see there things that you’re
going to invest in according to the
vision that god has given you and you
can’t delay it
right now in this in this waiting season
god also positions us
and there’s a scripture in john 15 5 it
says this i am the vine and you are the
branches he who abides in me and i in
him bears much fruit for without me you
can do nothing
when the lord says without me you can do
nothing he’s speaking to the very thing
you are called to do that in order to be
fruitful in what i’ve called you to do
not just in random things you can find
success to cultural standards in
anything
but the thing that god has called you to
do you cannot execute it without him
and that’s why i love this word abide
because the lord is saying that if you
remain in me
if you continue in me this is the pos
the posture and position that you’re
supposed to live your life from in me
in me is a place where we are
surrendered in me is a place where we we
deepen our roots in christ we have a a
deep and a deepened intimacy with christ
because you see when you come to jesus
when you you know the moment of
salvation right
you you’re something you encounter in
christ
and it draws you to him you say yes lord
take over i want to surrender i want to
submit my life to you but that is us and
having an encounter in a seed form again
everything starts with seed before it
becomes harvest even your encounter with
the holy spirit he comes into your life
in seed form and it is the reason why
you know sometimes if a person does not
cultivate their walk with christ
then they are literally one heartbreak
away from denying him
their one disappointment away from
saying i’m not sure about this
christianity thing anymore because we
see it today in culture we see that
there are people who are like you know
what talking about their faith this
jesus i love you jesus this and all of a
sudden there’s a shift
they’re like yeah i’m not sure about
this faith thing there’s some things i
don’t understand you know like if god
was really good why would he do this
because if that was not cultivated if we
did not remain in him if we did not
deepen ourselves in his word and his
wisdom and his understanding then we can
easily be tossed to and fro
that is why even the bible talks about
how there is a time that would come that
even the elect would be deceived so it
does not mean that it’s just because
you’re a new believer or you’re a
seasoned believer if you don’t remain in
christ
satan can easily uproot you
and to remain in him is to recognize
that i am always a student to the holy
spirit
because there was something that will
always come up to challenge what you
know
but when you remain in christ because
first of all god we’re talking about god
who is eternal and to us who are limited
and and and finite beings there are many
things that we would never understand
about god but the more we remain in him
that’s when he begins to unfold and
unfold and unfold different sides of
himself
you can’t just say that hey you know i
gave my life to jesus and you don’t
cultivate it you’re not intentional
about it and so even in the waiting
season it’s a time where god positions
you to go deeper in your faith
deeper in your walk with him deeper in
understanding this is a season where
there are questions that will start
bothering you
and it’s okay to have questions for god
he he can’t be the the way the truth and
the life if he has nothing to respond to
so you can have questions so that he can
reveal the truth
because one of the things that the lord
taught me is that every side to him is a
way that pulls people deeper into him
some of us encountered god because of
his love others because of his wisdom
there are people that know without a
doubt that god is real and that he
exists but they are
there’s there’s a distance between them
and god because they have questions that
have not been answered
so it’s not just for them it’s not
enough to know that yeah i know jesus
died for us but if he died for us then
why does this happen x y and z there’s
some people that it is the wisdom of god
that brings them into a deeper level of
intimacy
and so when the lord says he’s going to
position us he wants to bring us deeper
into himself
because at the end of the day
manifestation of a promise does not mean
that you would remain
but you need to remain in order to keep
what is there
because there are things that will come
to challenge you
their principalities and powers the
enemy does not want you to walk out what
god knows about you
and if you’re thinking it’s all about
getting to the promised land
then that’s the biggest lie
because in the promised land is why
satan will test you in all kinds of ways
and the same way that people don’t
respond to good intentions
principalities don’t respond to good
intentions they respond to power
and the position of your power and
authority is found in christ
that is the place that you can call in
his name and they have to bow
you can’t just be in a place because
when obstacles and things begin to
challenge you your power is in christ
and so when jesus says during this
season of the waiting
remain in me
learn about me
don’t ever feel like you have graduated
the class of christianity
because then that means you have become
the elect that can be deceived that has
been deceived
we are always babes before the lord
and so he uses the language come to me
as children
he didn’t say come to me as adults
come to me as children because there are
many things you still are yet to know
and so to remain in christ
is that lord even in this season
that in this waiting season before you
send me
for what you’ve already prepared for me
before you send me there deep in my
roots
because you’re being sent for the great
commission
and if your roots are uprooted then
you’re just going to be sent to waste
away
then the influence that god gives you
doesn’t mean anything anymore
because you’re being sent you see that
it was said about abraham many people
would wonder why we know all of all the
people why did god just randomly choose
abraham to be the father of many nations
did god just randomly select him the
bible gives us a beautiful message about
abraham that god knew that abraham will
command his children in his ways
god was not just looking for someone who
would say yes but god was looking for
someone who can go
and fulfill the great commission abraham
i’m gonna send you as a father
because as a father you would command
your children to be disciples of me
and not command like you know if you
don’t do it you’re gonna get a whooping
no
but he will teach them the ways of the
lord
the doors that god is opening for you
the things that god is bringing into
your life
it’s all to fulfill this great
commission
make disciples of all nations but there
is a manner in which you’re supposed to
go
and in order to go and be impactful and
be fruitful god has to prune you
he has to prepare you and he has to
position you
because you have no idea
the temptation you have no idea the
challenges that await you you have no
idea you don’t even know what can seduce
you yet
so god begins to prepare you now
and position you in his ways because you
see to abide in the lord
the scripture also talks about it means
to abide in his word
when the word of god is hidden in your
heart when you’re studying and under and
learning what what is what is god’s
principles
what are his ways
because so that when something creeps up
on you you have the word as a weapon
that’s what jesus used
when satan tempted him in the wilderness
he had the word he is the word and he
had the word
and so
why i’m saying this is because in this
waiting season if if any of you and your
you feel like you’re just in this
waiting season maybe it’s been a year
two years 20 years two months one month
and you’re wondering god what do i do
while i wait it’s simple you submit to
the process
you submit to god pruning you
you submit to god preparing you and you
submit to god positioning you
you just submit to the process stop
fighting what is for you
but embrace it
and you have to recognize
that the waiting season is actually a
sign of god’s love
it’s not a sign of his abandonment or
rejection or he’s forgotten you or
everybody else he’s just blessing
everybody else and he just forgot this
thing about you no it’s a sign of his
love
because that very thing
it’s bigger than just making you happy
it’s bigger than just like god you know
your plans and and what is on your
expectation you know and what and the
things that you’ve put on your vision
board and you know vis i love visible i
have a vision board
but it’s bigger than that
god is an assignment godhead is sending
you
in that manner
he said go
and make disciples
and maybe you’re going as a wife
or you’re going as a father or you’re
going as a business owner or you’re
going as an architect but you’re going
and god wants to make sure that you are
everything
that you need to be so you don’t miss
what the mission is all about
so i want to pray for you
i want to pray for you i just i thank
god because i believe
that whether you’re in a waiting season
now you would encounter one soon
because waiting seasons again are
markers of turning points in our lives
and there is always going to be eternity
there’s several turning points before we
finally leave this earth because there
are several ways that god will call us
to th there are several vehicles that
god would have us in to fulfill that
great commission
to fulfill what he has what the ultimate
purpose at the end of the day there’s
several ways that he will call us to do
it right and so the waiting season is a
part of life it is to be expected not
rejected right that rhymes that’s so
beautiful um
but i want to pray for you because i
believe that god is going to do such a
beautiful work in your heart you know
maybe you’ve been looking at the things
that you’re waiting on and you feel like
god you promised me this but it just
looks like everything in my life is
looking like the opposite
funny enough one of the things that the
lord was showing me was this idea about
i can’t even i don’t know how to explain
the vision to you but ultimately it
showed that what you’re waiting on is
much closer than you think
but the more you reject the process
you’re actually pushing out the timeline
and so submit to the process
let god do what he he has intended to do
with you
right understand that it is bigger than
you
what god is giving you is bigger than
just your needs and your wants and your
desire the desire is actually speaking
to what has always been agreed upon
how god is going to send you
and so let us pray
whatever it is that it’s in your heart
that you know that god has given you as
a promise
i want you to just bring that before him
and say god i am going to surrender to
this waiting process i’m going to
surrender that while i’m waiting i’m
submitting while i’m waiting i’m
submitting to this process because
you’re gonna do such a powerful work in
me for what you’ve called to do through
me
right and maybe you’re watching this and
you don’t know jesus or or perhaps i
haven’t talked about you right and
you’ve met him you’ve encountered him
but your faith has been back and forth
back and forth because you have not
positioned yourself in him you have not
about you’re not abiding in him and i
will say this to you first of all you
know we’re going to put i’ll make sure
we have some information about community
groups on the screen you have to be
intentional about cultivating your faith
you cannot grow in christ accidentally
you have to be intentional about it and
one of the ways that we offer to serve
that in your life is also through
community groups
that you can get plugged in with a group
of believers and you all can sharpen
each other right and so because the
bible says as iron sharpens iron that’s
how one who sharpens another so you have
to have a you need to be around a circle
of people you can say that you have
given your life to jesus and your circle
that nothing about your circle change
that spoke to what took you away from
him in the first place
you have to be intentional about
cultivating your faith and maybe you
know what you’re just like well i
haven’t i haven’t given my life to
christ because maybe i have questions
maybe there’s a side of him i have not
yet experienced and it has pulled me
away from him i want to tell you that
when you make a decision
to say god i want you to come into my
heart to come into my life and when
you’re intentional about that god will
reveal himself to you in fresh ways
that will begin to answer and i will
take you into a place of a deeper
relationship i have had questions for
jesus child
from when i was a kid i had questions
about why my father you know was was
murdered when i was a baby i had all
kinds of questions there were some
things that he answered in the way that
i when i said the way that i expected
because i really wanted understanding
and there were some things he answered
by showing me to trust
him that the answer didn’t come the way
i i wanted but i was open enough to
receive that what he’s telling me right
now concerning this matter is trust me
but there’s a difference when jesus says
trust me and when man says trust me it
comes with a piece that you can’t even
explain
that even though i didn’t have my
answers i recognize that you are with me
and that’s everything
but you have to open up your heart to
him
in order for you to experience him
in ways that would change and radically
transform your life
and so if you want to know jesus if you
want to just surrender and really be
intentional about just cr developing an
intimacy with him right now in the chat
just put here i am
and the lord sees you
and if you have been just back and forth
back and forth you know like a you know
jumping jack right i’m not sure if
that’s a back and forth thing but you
get the point i hope
but you need to be rooted in him i want
you to also write here i am
it’s always there’s never a wrong time
to recommit your life
to recognize that you know what maybe i
walked away from god simply because i
didn’t have roots
not because he changed
but i was not rooted
i i encountered him in seed form and i
never cultivated to understand him
deeper so maybe i simply did not have
roots lord i want to know you
submit to being a student to the holy
spirit
but let us pray
heavenly father we thank you so much
lord for your love we thank you for this
word that has gone forth lord
we thank you for the manner in which you
have called us to go
and lord we embrace this waiting season
we’re not gonna fight it
lord we’re going to submit to it
and we thank you for what will come out
of it as a result
we thank you lord god that you love us
so much
that you bring us into it
and lord i pray for anyone that has been
wavering in their faith
and they’ve been wavering in their faith
simply because they were not rooted in
you
and i thank you lord that as they make a
commitment to be intentional
about cultivating their faith
that they would have encounters with you
that would deepen their roots
and i thank you for those that are
saying for the first time jesus come
into my heart
come into make my heart your home i want
to know you
and i’m going to be intentional about it
i pray holy spirit you are the greatest
teacher
and as they make room for you
that you would build them up
and that you would develop roots in them
lord that will go so deep in you that
they will not be easily shaken
and so lord we love you
we trust what you are doing in this
season and we say thank you
we say thank you lord for the doors that
you have closed because it means that
you’re going to open the right ones
thank you lord that you are so committed
to us
that you are not after us just do it
working just to do things
because you’re committed to our love our
wholeness our identity
and so we thank you for being the god
that sees us in truth
we thank you for your patience how
patient you are with us that
you actually just a gentleman you’re
waiting for us to say dad i’m hurting in
this area
this thing broke me i don’t know where
you were
so you can heal us from the root
have your way
through it all
in jesus mighty name amen