Good morning, church. How are you doing. Let's stand. We've been
standing, but we'll stand and just prayer for the Word. That's all right,
poly Spirit. We're so grateful for you, so grateful for your presence
and your ministry, testimony of Jesus and our testimony of his glorious victory and
his redemptive proclamation over us. We just say yes to your word this morning.
I'm and be rich right on our hearts. Right on our hearts.
We'll give you the thanks for it Jesus name, everybody said, and then
you may be seated. So fun. Look at you, my goodness,
good to see all of you. Yeah, Heilue, your wife is back.
I see your beautiful wife is back. From Ethiopia. Helu had a
trumans. Yes, thank you, so good to see you. That he
had a tremendous testimony, and he came by the church and shared with me
a tithing testimony and task a testimony of God's goodness. They had both gone
to Ethiopia. He applied for a new job and it would be it's going
to be a miracle to get it. And he presented it before the Lord,
and they contacted him in Ethiopia and said come back for your interviews.
So he flew back early and was awarded this amazing job. So it's I
know, it's one of many testimonies that have been coming in and just so
thankful for the two of you, and and just your trust in the Lord.
When I loved your humility as you came in, and just like,
ah, God has done this. You know God has done this and this.
You know God to do miraculous things in our lives. We are remember
remember the Hebrews says that the New Covenant has greater benefits, greater blessings than
the old. And in the Old he said, you are the head and
not the tail, above only and not beneath that you're blessed coming out,
and you're blessed coming in. You're blessed in the city, you're blessed in
the country. You're and you know, one of the things when we think
about the throw up those ten promises, maybe if you would I identified only
ten promises of a faithful tithing. There's there's a there's a ton more than
ten, but I only identified ten. But one of the one of the
words that I felt was important. Last week we shared a little bit on
it was that if you're not experiencing these benefits and your tithing, it's not
that God is the problem. It could be that you're the problem. It
could be that the devil's the problem. It could be that there's a window
for you to press into something deeper in risk taking or education or relationship building.
It could be that remember James One says that when you're facing a trial,
a trial means that you have a promise, but you're not experiencing it,
so your experience falls below your promise. And it says, if you're
facing a trial, you're going through a trial, then ask of God,
who gives joyfully and liberally wisdom to you. He will give you wisdom and
you'll come to know. And so you know, sometimes sometimes even just a
one day fast or a one meal fast and getting before the Lord will literally
open up the windows of wisdom over you, and you'll know what's holding up
your promises. You'll know what's hindering your promises. All at once. You'll
have illumination and you'll know what to do to press in, or you'll know
what enemy to subdue to press in. You'll know, but it's not God,
that it's not And The thing is is that you know, we we
touched on this because Jeff had talked about Malachi three. You know, Malachi
three eight through ten says I'll open the windows of heaven for you. But
then Malachi like verse twelve, I think it says, you know, God
says I have this against you. Remember me talking about that. He said,
I have this against you, And they said, you've got something else
against us? What is it? You know? And he says, your
words, your words have been saying it's in vain that I serve the Lord.
Your words have been against my blood. I want to bless you,
but you're saying it's it's in vain that we serve the Lord. There's and
actually the King James says there's no profit in serving the Lord, and so
we don't want to get in that spot. And I think if any of
us are tithing and just you know, bringing that sacrifice of love and that
sacrifice of finance to the Lord and we're running into stuff. He just wants
you to know this this morning, it's not him that's causing the stuff.
That there is a breakthrough for you, and that if you'll press in a
little bit believing he'll meet you with wisdom. Then he'll pour out wisdom upon
you and you'll see what you haven't seen, and you'll have the insight to
overcome what's trying to overcome you. So let's just pray on that right now.
Let's just agree on that right now. Okay, can you do that
if that's you even a teensy bit, just like do this, just like
then. We don't want everybody to know that shoe. But just this got
just okay. You want to go big, Roman wants to go big?
All right, Holy Spirit, we just agree right now that you have ordained
blessing. You're not trying to get money from us. You're trying to get
money to us. You've called us the head and not the tail above and
not beneath, Blessed going out and blessed coming in, and Lord, we
just agree that whatever we're going through, whatever is harming, oppressing, holding
up the blessing and the promises you yourself. We didn't beg for these promises.
We didn't submit a list of promises like a demand. You better promises.
This is your idea. Father, You have ordained all this, so
you came up with all of this, and you want us to press in
and believe, and so whatever is hindering, Holy Spirit, we ask you
now turn on the wisdom. Turn on the wisdom, lose wisdom over your
kids right now, to see what's missing, to see what's lacking, to
see what needs to be subdued, to see what needs to be done was
to see what needs to be advanced against even the identity. Just shift at
royalty within us and over us, Holy Spirit, and subdue doctrines of demons.
Where we've we've blamed you for bad stuff, we just dismiss the doctrine
of doctrines of demons. You've ordained good stuff. You're the author of good
things, and we come into agreement with that right now. Every good and
perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no
variation or shifting of shadow. You don't change your mind. You don't change
your mind. You're the Father of goodness, and we turn our hearts toward
you in every way. This morning in Jesus name, everybody said, amen,
Wow, I want to I want to talk to you specifically this morning.
Oh, it's gonna do it. I think it's it might yeah,
I don't know. We might have to send this into the to the factory
for rebuilding in the first service. I can't take the Lord. I can
go somewhere, all right, okay, we oh here we go? Where
about that? Oh? Yeah? I want to talk to you today,
especially about being planted in the House of the Lord and how important it is
and in fact is I want to I want to start with that scripture.
If we've got it. I don't know. Did we get it. We
might have got it. Look for Psalm's ninety two Psalm ninety two. Because
there's so much blessing that flows in the House of the Lord. There is
God has ordained to bless abundantly with wisdom and grace and the outpouring of his
spirit. There is a dispensation of so much revelatory gifts and so much that
He wants to bring in and through our being planted in the House of the
Lord. And this is it's like super contrary to American thinking or because Americans
we pride ourselves on End Dependence Day right and our nation, our nation is
a democracy that means actually we're in charge were it's a democracy. But what
we don't get sometimes is the kingdom is a theocracy and the Kingdom is a
family, and it's a family under authority, and so this is tough for
us as American Christians. Many times it's tough for us to understand the power
and the grace of being planted in the house of the Lord. And we're
also we are the number one nation not only of independence and democracy, but
we're the number one nation of consumer ism. We are consumers. We know
the power of voting with our dollar, and how we can manipulate or move
things with our dollar, and how that things must please us. Things have
to please me, and if they don't please me, they don't get my
dollar. We're consumers, and all of this is trying to make its impression
subtly on all of us as we think about church, as we think about
God. It's it's trying to And so we have a tendency we have to
break out of even to serve, even to give, even to to be
apart, even to knit ourselves to something. We have to break out of
so much American thinking. And many churches and many Christians never break out of
it. Never, they never break out of it. And so everything's done
by a vote, and they let the church be a democracy and and everything.
We gotta be seekers sensitive, we gotta we gotta figure out exactly what
the consumer wants. And then we've got to provide exactly what the consumer desires
or they won't come. And if they don't come, we don't grow.
And if they don't grow, we can't brag about growing. And so there's
this whole minds said that is actually it's counter Bible. It's contrary to the
word. It's contrary to theocracy, and it's contrary to family. It's contrary
to Christ is king. What does king sound to you like? I mean,
maybe if we were in Britain, this would be easier for us.
I don't know. But but Christ is king. We didn't vote him in
and we can't vote him out. Verse twelve. The righteous will flourish like
a palm tree. They will grow like a cedar of Lebanon, planted in
the house of the Lord. They will flourish in the courts of our God,
planted in the house of the Lord. They will flourish in the courts
of our God. Planted. That's putting down roots. That's finding where you're
called and who you're called. Two. This is another distortion we've made church
about the nominations. We've made church about buildings. We've made church about marketing,
We've made church about signage. We've made church about every kind of thing
that it's not about. It's actually about who am I called to, where
am I called? And who am I called too? And Biblically, we're
more likely it's more likely that we're called to a leader and a leadership team
church leader than we are called to a building or a denomination. Fourteen was
fourteen. Soon they will still bear fruit in old age. Will come on,
somebody, let's have the fruitful youngsters and the fruitful ulsters so they will
still bear fruit in old age. They will stay fresh and green. Wow.
I was playing football last night. I even caught a pass proclaiming.
What will they proclaim? The Lord is upright? Oh, that means he's
faithful to his word, He's faithful to his promise. This is the opposite
of what they were saying in Malachi three versus twelve and following they proclaimed,
the Lord is upright, he is my rock and there is no wickedness in
him. Isn't that good? Oh? My gonna say. I want to
start with that, because when we think about tithing, that one might work.
Yeah, that when we think about tithing, we race up here to
the Christ right, and he is the fulfillment of the seed of Abraham.
Right, So Isaac was only a picture of the fulfillment Jesus. Oh,
look at that. I do hope my pants are zipped. This could be
an embarrassing morning right here. Alrighty then, okay, so we're we're we're
trying to get well over on the fringes. We acknowledged last week the fringes
couldn't see. And then this week this church leadership team who's highly anointed.
They were supposed to get doodle working for me and they didn't. So we're
doodling on the boards more so over here, here's here's Abraham. All right,
Uh, we're gonna we're gonna go. We're gonna go Abraham and we're
just gonna go like that. Is that all right? And then we got
this, we got the mosaic period here, we got done, okay,
And so the law was added four hundred and thirty years later, and the
law gave us all sorts of insights on tithing, but the law gave us
all sorts of other insights. The law gave us a bunch of insights also
on the priesthood and the priesthood over here, it started with mel Kezedek,
So Holy Spirit, forgive me for all these abbreviations. It started with Melkzedek
over here as the priest. And Melkesedek was the forerunner of the fulfillment of
Christ. And so when Jesus comes, he actually comes as the fulfillment of
the Malkesic priesthood. Right, let's go to Hebrews chapter seven. Let's read
it real quick. How much time do we have Hebrews chapter seven. Just
think how great he was is talking about Melkesedick. Even the patriarch Abraham gave
him a tenth of the plunder. Now the law, the law was added
later four hundred and thirty years later. This is the law over here under
Moses. And under Moses we had a priesthood of Aaron, the high priest,
and then we had the es as the priesthood. And so the law
requires the descendants of Levi who become priest to collect a tenth from the people,
that is, from their fellow Israelites, even though they are descendant from
Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi,
Yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
And without doubt, the lesser is blessed by the greater. So in underwords,
Malkezdick was greater than Abraham because he was the blesser. In this case,
if you're the blesser, then you're greater than the one who's getting blessed.
In one case, the tenth is collected by the people who die,
the Levites during this period, these Levites, they would all die. In
one case it's collected by people who die, but in the other case by
him who is declared to be living. So Malkezidek continued to live. One
might even say that Levi, who did the tithe or the tenth, paid
the tenth through Abraham, because when Mkazadick met Abraham, Levi was still in
the body of his ancestor. Right, if perfection could have been attained through
the leavitical priesthood, and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood,
then why was there still the need for another priest to come, One
in the order of malk Kesaedick, not in the order of Erin so this
is interesting. The levitical priesthood was added with the law until the fulfillment came
and the fulfiller came, but after that we revert to the malk Kaesadic priesthood.
But what we see is that there's still valid principles throughout in the Mala,
in the Lavitical priesthood that relate to the malk Kasadic priesthood. So when
people say, for instance, you'll hear Christians say, yeah, you know,
this doesn't apply. That doesn't apply, the other thing doesn't apply.
And they might even say tithing doesn't apply because we're not under law, we're
under gray. What they don't understand, though, is that there has been
a transfer of priesthood. We're still under a priesthood, and the priesthood of
Melksedek carries with it parallel principles to the priesthood of Aaron or Leo Levite.
And so you know, people don't realize that, and so and what my
job is to get us under the spout where the goodies come out. And
if you have missed, if you have missed, you know, if somehow
you have missed the truths of tithing and how it relates to being planted in
a church and under the theocracy of Christ and the authority of Christ, that
it could be you're missing out on so much that it would blow your mind.
What would happen if you would bring yourself under that place where you're in
this theocracy and partnering with God by coming under the covering of authority, the
authority that still does exist in a priesthood, because it's a Malkaic prieston we
Okay, Paul talked about this some more for Strinthians chapter nine. He actually
says that those who serve in the Gospel, the mel Keesitic priesthood, the
priesthood of Jesus, those who serve in that ministry actually have a right to
receive tithe from those who they serve, just exactly like the Levites had a
right to receive from those who came to the altar. Now he uses the
word right. I only bring it up, not to be harsh, not
to be weird, not so we can take a second offering, not for
guilt or condemnation, not for any that. I only bring it up because
He brought it up. He uses the word that we have a right.
We apostles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ have a right to receive from you
exactly like they did under this discipline station. So yeah, we're not under
this dispensation. But there are parallel principles that are central to our victory,
are anointing and the revelation we flow in even Okay, so here it is
for strengthened. Chapter nine. Am I not free? Am I not an
apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result
of my work in the Lord? Even though I may be an apostle to
others, surely I am to you, for you are the seal of my
apostleship and the Lord. So he's kind of establishing the groundwork for what he's
going to talk about. But he's actually going to talk about money, and
he goes on verse seven. Who serves as a soldier at their own expense,
who plants a vineyard, does not eat the grapes, who tends of
law, and does not drink the milk? Do I say this merely on
human authority? Doesn't the law say this? For it's written in the Law
of Moses. Do not muzzle ut. Now he's going to talk about something.
Then, in most of his writings. He says, has found its
fulfillment Christ, So why is he going to talk about it. He's going
to talk about it because Jesus showed him that the parallel. There's a parallel
in mel Kezedek. That's why he's going to talk about it. And so
he says that there's a parallel. So he says, doesn't the law say
do not muscle the ox while he's treading out the grain? Is it about
the oxen? God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn't
he? Yet? This was written for us because whoever plows and threshes should
be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If
we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap
a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you
other apostles, And he's talking about him because he hasn't exercised that right.
But because he hasn't exercised the right, now some have come along and said,
you're not an apostle. And he's saying, no, no, no,
Just because I haven't exercise the right doesn't mean that just doesn't mean I'm
not an apostle, nor does it does it mean that I don't have a
right to this even as others have this right. So I mean this was
very well known in the early Church. If others have this right from you,
shouldn't we have it all the more. But we did not use this
right. On the contrary, we put up with any anything rather than to
hinder the Gospel of Christ. Don't you know that those who serve in the
temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altars
share what is offered at the altar in the same way, or by saying
in the same way. In the same way, the Lord has commanded that
those who preached the gospels should receive their living from the Gospel. Now what
did he just do? He just elevated gospel ministers, who we know from
effusions, for we're gonna talk about that in a moment. He just elevated
gospel ministers to the melchastic priesthood. He just infolded gospel ministers into the mal
Keztic priesthood. And he just showed us the correlation between gospel ministers and leolitical
ministers. And though we're not under Levi anymore, we're under the covering of
gospel ministers. And he says, these gospel ministers have actually been called by
Him. By the way, this is not talk you into going to New
Horizon. This is not I hope you stay at New Horizon. This is
not about any of that. By the way, this is about all of
us coming to grips with I need to be called to the house where I'm
going. I need to have some sense that the Holy Spirit wants me in
this house. I need to be knit to the covering over this house in
some manner, shape or form. I need to come with honor to the
house where God has called me. I need to see that the headship over
the house where God has called me has been called by Christ. And I
need to have that heart toward them so that I can partake from the anointing
that flows through them and into this house and over this house. And that
doesn't have to be New Horizon house. I mean, you could have been
here for six months and this is your morning, this is your last morning
because you're realizing, oh, I need to go. I need to go
find a place where I'm calling. Or you could have walked in this morning
and filled out a newcomer card on the back of the chair and turn that
in. And we don't possess you, and we're not demanding this should come
to this place, and we're not trying to talk to you into anything God.
We want God to be the one that talks you into something. If
the Holy Spirit niche you to a house, and the Holy Spirit niche you
to a leadership team, then you can't be ripped off. It can't be
stolen from you. You can't get offended in the four you're you're leaving next
week. You can't be popping around here and there in the other place and
getting planted. Once you know you are where God wants you under the leadership
God's called you to, you're gonna flourish, and you're gonna cause that place
to flourish, and everything is going to go better for you. And it
doesn't have to be here. It doesn't have to be here. Let's jump
over to Ephesians for and I want you to see, you know, just
some stuff. So the priesthood has some parallel principles that the functions are different.
Everybody say different. The Levites and the priest you know, the majority
of their time was spent around the sacrificial system, and the majority of their
time was spent helping the people bring sacrifice and then presenting that sacrifice either in
the Inner Court or the Holy of Holies. And so their role was different,
Their ministry was different. Our ministry role those who are called the churchly
ship. And I'm going to put Jesus in the clouds Galatians Force says that
he is leading us from heavenly Jerusalem, and then I'm going to put church
leadership here. And most of us know that our role here is different.
And Ephesians For kind of defines a little bit of that. But there's otter
places too where it talks about that. We'll read a couple of those.
And here's what Ephesians For says. Ephesians Force says, So Christ himself gave
the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and the teachers
to equip his people for works of service. Now, service is the niv.
Doma is the word. Doma is the word in the Greek, and
it means equip his people for the works of ministry ministry, and that ministry
is broad, it's expansive. We could we could define all sorts of ways
that now we're called as people into we're all called into the ministry. Every
Christian is called into the ministry. Yes, and so the leadership folks over
the church, and he defines a bunch of them here, five of them.
Here. We call this the fivefold ministry. Apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors, and teachers. They are to equip the people, to equip
these people for the works of ministry, so that the body of Christ may
be built up. Oh, they're also to build up the body of Christ
until we all reach unity and the faith and the knowledge of the Son of
God. So they bring more knowledge to the Body of Christ, and it
says, to the and become mature. Oh, they bring maturity part of
the blessing until we all obtain the fullness of the stature of the faith of
Jesus. So part of part of what church leadership is called to do is
that they are called to bring the body into maturity. They are called to
equip, they are called to build up. They are called to teach,
terrain, correct, and reprove. They so there's this calling on them.
It's different, but it's still a function that's parallel to the levitical function in
that I'm serving, or church leadership is serving under Jesus, who is the
fulfillment of the malkastic priesthood. Yes, I want to read another one till
you, because I think this is really a cool one, and it is
first pet or five. And you guys know there's more about these. You
know a lot of these an adjustment first Peter or five. Though, to
the elders among you, I appeal as a feller elder and a witness of
Christ suffering who also will share in the glory to be revealed. Be shepherds
of God's flock that is under your care. So this is one of the
callings on church leadership, and it's mentioned several times in scripture. Be shepherds,
Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them,
not because you must, but because you're willing, as God wants you
to be. Not pursuing this honest gain right. So they have a right,
they had a right to receive financially from those are caring for. But
there's also an obligation to not manipulate, not deceive, not trick, not
not have schemes that bring finance in so so being careful, not pursuing dishonest
gain, but eager to serve, not lording it over those entrusted to you.
Okay, well, this is an authoritarian model. This is a theocracy.
But now we're given instruction church leaders that begin being they're giving instruction here
that they aren't to lord it over those It's like, you know, church
leaders are supposed to be like the prime minister, right, and the prime
minister the word minister doma we saw it here just a moment ago, as
servant. You know, a prime minister is it means first servant. That's
what it means. Prime minister means first servant. It goes back to what
the Lord's declared in Matthew twenty. He that wants to be the greatest must
be the servant of all, right, and so not lording it over those
entrusted to you, but being an example to the flock. And when the
chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade
away. Jesus is the chief shepherd, there are shepherds under him. And
then like in our structure, we have an eldership team, right, And
this eldership team help us care for the flock and help us care for the
atmosphere of the flock, and the teaching of the flock, the instruction of
the flock, the people of the flock. And then under in our situation,
then we have some staff, right, we have staff, and and
right there equal to staff, we have department leaders, right, and so
you know, we have all of these utters. And then under you know
some of that, you know, we have connect leaders, right, and
connect leaders have a role that's under authority as well. But it's kind of
knit up here as well, because we call the connect leaders lay passers and
they are to help us shepherd and care for the flock. But then you
know, here we are. And I think the question is, you know,
a question is you know, are we finding ourselves in this family?
Are we planted in the house? Are we serving under authority? Are we
revering that Jesus has set this thing in place and that Jesus has called this
whole thing Because there was a promise over Aaron, there's a parallel promise now
over Melkaesedek. And I want to read it to you out of Psalm one
thirty three Psalm one thirty three, and you probably know the passage, but
I want what you've heard concerning the priesthood of Erin. I wanted to relate
to your thoughts about the priesthood of Melkaesedek, because there's a parallel truth.
Here. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together
in unity and the sister and are welcome to It is like the precious oil
upon the head. Okay, so the oil. The oil isn't dumped down
here. This is kind of interesting. The oil isn't dumped down here.
The oil is dumped on the head. Are you with me? It is
like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even
aaron's beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like
the dew of herman coming down upon the mountains of Zion. For there the
Lord commanded the blessing even life evermore. What you know, what keeps you
know? The thing is, you still got like a peerid. You've still
got a very finite leader. Right, you got a finite leader, and
you've got a leader with imperfections. But that's the way it was with Erin
as well. That's the way it was with erin as well. But when
there's unity, When there's unity, and when we come together, and when
we plant ourselves in a house and we come under authority and we revere the
calling of God on a leadership team and we knit ourselves to that place all
at once, we get in a spot where these blessings are coming over our
lives. And it's the blessings aren't limited by the finite imperfection of whoever God
has called over the house. I'm not a kinked hose over the house,
right, and so the flow can't get through because because of my finite imperfections.
No, as long as I'm cooperating with Holy Spirit, and you're cooperating
with Holy Spirit, and we're cooperating together with Holy Spirit, then Holy Spirit
is being is pouring out these crazy blessings upon us, blessings of revelation and
blessings of help and hope and support and teamwork and success and breakthrough and prosperity
and kindness and healing. And this is all flowing in an imperfect environment,
like it's an imperfect environment. But because we esteem that this is how God
works, then God loses this upon us even in our imperfection. Now,
I would say that the American way, the American way, which is,
it's contrary to this, the American way, independent consumer, the American way,
it's set up to keep you from really joining yourself to a house.
It's set up to keep you in as long as you're not fully joined to
a house. Satan knows you have an excuse not to tie them. You
have a reason to not tie because we're just going here until we find the
right spot. We're just going here because they got a good kids ministry back
there and it works for us. We're just going here because you know,
we needed something that was a five minute drive and this one's five minutes away.
We're just going here because I mean, you know, they switched the
coffee beans last month over there. I hated him before, but they went
to that new coffee bean. And I don't know. It's a black rifle
being or something like that. I don't know, but it's like a conservative
being and like I don't it's wrapped in American flags. And then and then
they you know, and it's so good. So that's where we're going for
now. And we don't really serve, we don't get involved I'm not talking
about any of you. But we don't really throw ourselves into it. We
don't really lay our lives down, we don't bring the homage of our money.
We don't do those things because of the American influence, the American influence.
And I'm just saying that the American influence is not the Kingdom influence.
It's not what Gods are damed for your life. And through this little sneaky,
tricky stuff that Satan is playing upon your heart, it's keeping you from
tithing. And the keeping you from tithing is a part of keeping you from
unity and proper submission to authority. And so all of this is we're going
so you're not under a covering. It's twelve thirty seven. I've gone over.
I finally looked at the clock. Kay, I want to tell you
a story. Let's send I want to tell you a story. When we
were getting ready to start this church in nineteen eighty nine, nineteen eighty nine,
the word of the Lord came upon my heart. I heard very clearly,
not only the what the church was, the DNA of the church,
the picture of the church, but even the city. God called me to
this city. So we didn't. We didn't. We didn't call ourselves.
By the way, no pastor, no spiritual leader, no apostle should decide
this is what they want to do. Stupidest thing I've ever heard. Just
deciding you want to be in the ministry. You don't decide you want to
be in the ministry. He decides and he calls you. So the visitation
came upon my heart and we're praying into it. I prayed into it for
like a year and a half, and we're putting things in order, and
but we're just kind of, you know, behind the scenes, and we're
cautious and we're careful, and we're serving in another house at that time,
so supercautious and careful, but just praying into it and trusting God. God's
confirming it with you know, various signs and wonders and and uh. But
I really felt the unction. I really felt like the moving of the spirit,
that this was the time, like the time was upon me. And
so I spent a week in fastening in prayer, and that week of fastening
in prayer was all about show me the timing Father. I don't want to
I don't want to move till it's time to move the whole The whole week
was just getting before the Lord about the timing of launching the church. And
at the end of the week, I mean the correlation. I didn't know
all this was going to correlate like this. But at the end of the
week, I went to a ministry conference. And at the ministry conference,
I was invited. First day the ministry conference, I was invited to lunch
with a bunch of pastors. And so I'm kind of the young buck and
I didn't know these guys, and they all invite me to this law lunch
during the break, you know, like on day one or whatever. And
so I go to lunch. I'll go to this restaurant. And so then
the men separated from the women, all the ladies or somewhere else in the
restaurant. All the guys were sitting at these tables, you know, together,
and and so the conversation turned to something and it made me remember that
last night I had this crazy dream. So I'm sitting there and I'm remembering,
Wow, that reminds me of that dream. So, and what had
happened is I had woke up the morning of that ministry conference. I had
woke up from a crazy dream, and I didn't know the meaning of it.
I didn't think it wasn't meaning. I actually thought it was stupid.
I thought it was a stupid dream. And so that's how spirtual I was.
And so the conversation turned. I'm like, oh, yeah, so
I wanted to tell him about this dream. So I start telling these guys
about the stream that, Yeah, last night I had the dream I walked
into a barber shop and the barber put me up in the barber chair and
you know, kind of pumped it up a little bit, and then you
know, I had an apron on and it was just it was total barber
scene, right, It was just this total barber scene. And then he
said, what kind of you know, what do you want me to do?
And I said, yeah, just you know, trimmed the back up
a little bit. I had, you know, I had business in the
front and party on the back, and you know, I had a big
curly mullet back in those days. I had hair in those days and so
so, and you know, and then just trimmed the top. And he
said, well, I don't know how I'm gonna do that. Uh,
And he as he said that he spun my chair around to face the mirror,
and when I looked at myself in the mirror, the whole top of
my head with bald all I had with a little bit of hair going around
the side of me like this, and the whole top of me with bold
And that was the end of the dream. So I'm sharing this and the
guy across from me, what's the chances of this? The guy across from
me, he just likes, looks at me sober, and he says,
pastor divine, I had a name tag on. He said, that's not
a humors stream. That's a word from God for you. And God just
gave me the interpretation. You don't know it, but I interpret dreams.
He said, would you see me afterwards, I'll tell you what the Lord
just showed me. So I meet him after the lunch and you know,
we're talking and he says, here's what the Lord showed me. The Lord
said that you're about to leave where you're at and about to start something new.
And I said, yes, that's true. And the Lord showed me
you're moving from where you're at in ministry. It's going to be north of
where it's at, and it's going to be a ministry endeavor. And yes,
that's true. And he said, here's what the Lord was showing you
in that dream. The Lord was showing you because you've been asking him when
should I go. But the Lord was showing you that you'll know when to
go because you will have a covering. And the Lord was saying to you
to not launch this ministry before you have a covering, because the covering is
the symbol of your annoying and if you're not covered, you won't have the
anointing. And I think this is so relevant for American church. You know,
thinking about statistics, say that in the Puge Sound in Washington State Pugi
Sound that well over thirty percent up to thirty five percent of the Pugi Sound
region call themselves Christian. They declare they are Christians believers in Jesus. But
on any given Sunday or what we know in terms of actively involved in church
in the Washington State region, the Pugisund region, nine percent of the population
are actively involved in church, nine percent are involved in church. Well over
twenty to twenty five percent of our population are not involved or engaged in any
church at all. And I think what they don't realize, and what people
don't realize is that the covering over you has a lot to do with the
anointing that is upon your life. You're anointing for influence, your anointing for
breakthrough, your anointing for your calling, your anointing for what God's ordained for
you, your anointing as a marketplace apostle, or your anointing for whatever it
is that God has for you. It is so related to your covering.
And so many of us don't realize that we need to be under the right
covering, knit to that covering where God has called us, and honoring that
covering and that covering, that right relationship will release something in our lives we've
never had released before. Father, we even pray over this region right now,
would you just lift a hand with me, Lord, We just shout
right now that scales are lifted off of the eyes of the believers across this
region, that the tricks, the schemes, the doctrines of demons, the
influence of darkness, or the hearts of those who believe in Jesus and seek
to follow him, that those scales are lifted right now, right now,
that there is a coming back to the House of the Lord. There's a
coming back to the church. There's a coming back, and there's a mending
and a healing right now, and I want to speak to something with your
heads about your eyes closed, just for a moment. Is that every one
of us, the enemy wants so badly to keep us from being planted in
the House of the Lord. And so every one of us, every one
of us, it's not just these American schemes that I've talked about, but
it's injuries, it's offenses, it's even noting sin or problems and leadership.
And I just want to speak over all of you this morning that there would
just be a healing in our hearts that we would just allow. I want
to kneel before you, and I want to just ask right now on behalf
of church leaders. Would you forgive on behalf of church leaders? Would you
forgive us? Would you forgive us for manipulating your family? Would you forgive
us for continuing in sin when we knew it was wrong? Would you forgive
us for coming into the pulpit flagrantly not prepared, not seeking your game but
seeking our own? Would you forgive church leaders? Would you forgive church leaders
that brought harm to your family, brought harm to you, offended you.
Would you forgive church leaders today that struck you like Moses struck the Rock,
with a harsh attitude and negative attitude, a condemning attitude, a judgmental attitude.
They didn't shepherd your heart as they were called to do by Christ.
To the chief Shepherd, I'm asking this morning that she would allow the Holy
Spirit to bathe your heart right now with the water of Walsh. Whatever obstruction
has harmed you, it's kept you from planting, it's kept you from fully
giving your heart to a local body, an assembly of Zion and expression of
Melkasitic ministry. Whatever has harmed you and hindered you through the hands the voice
the ministry of church leadership, I'm asking that you would forgive them, that
you would turn them over to Father. You would no longer you would no
longer hold or withhold trust, withholding trust from church leaders, be angry,
being frustrated. Holy Spirit cleanse us today, make us a refreshed people who
us to the very core. Holy Spirit cause us here to model a theocracy,
causes heaven to come, causes the full stature of Jesus to be manifest
work, Holy Spirit in a powerful way, with mercy and grace and perfection.
Let all of it be present, so that we are able to receive
from finite and imperfect vessels and yet believed together for the fullness of Jesus to
come and the perfecting worth the Lord to be completed in us and through us.
Do a good work here, Holy Spirit. I'm asking also, Holy
Spirit, that you would lead each of us to the house where we belong.
Let there be just a witness of the spirit that is undeniable. Oh
nit is to the leadership team and knit us to the house where you've called
us, and let the calling be made clear. We thank you for it
today. Thank you for it today. Thank you for it today. Thank
you Laurd, Thank you Lord, Thanks your Lord, Thank you Laurd,
Thank you Laurd. People watching online, I've experienced the same thing. And
if we're still if we're still online, I don't know if we are just
you that are watching. Oh, the Lord wants to plant you in a
body. He covets that you are knit to a family. You've been wounded
through family, You've been wounded through dads and moms. My father wants to
plant you in a family. He wants to knit you to a family.
He wants you to become a valuable family member. We just lose the love
of the Lord, or for you that are watching you, that are going
to watch this stream, that you two find healing and that you're able to
migrate hand forsake independence and become adopted into a family, find that place where
you're called. This is how we overcome the enemy. We can't overcome the
enemy with unity. Unity, unity, unity, unity, Unity releases the
fullness of Jesus in our midst, Unity releases the anointing of Jesus in our
midst. Would you reach over and take a hand of the person beside you,
as sweaty as it might be, and let's just do this as we
close this morning, just symbolically, Holy Spirit, but more than symbolic,
lead to the core of our hearts, just asking, Holy Spirit, would
you make us swan? Would you make us swan? Would you make us
one with Jesus? Would you make us one with Jesus. If we'll become
one with Jesus, will become one with one another. We'll become one with
one another. Lose a unity with Jesus in this place, Holy Spirit,
lose a unity with Jesus in our lives. Lose a unity with Jesus,
and cause us to be those who hold on to one another and build up
one another and strengthen one another. Let the love of Christ be lose to
flow through us one to another. We come into agreement with that right now
in Jesus name. Everybody said, God, bless your church. We love
you, appreciate you as worship as we go this morning,