Sermon
Heaven's Strategy of Delay
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Hi. This is Dave Olson.
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I'm the senior leader of Hartman church located in Ankeny Iowa.
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I hope the following message, challenges and courage's and
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ultimately changes you. Thanks for joining us when the
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spirit of God Falls. There are suddenly no experts in
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the room. We all become little children
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novices and if you can sit in an environment where God is pouring
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out and you still hold to your status as an expert, then you're
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like Jacob who awoke at Bethel and said God was here and I knew
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it not. You were immune to what was
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going on in the room. I don't care how much you have
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in God, how much history? I've had the great privilege,
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the honor of being in revivals, for a number of revivals over
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the years and have even had the privilege of leading a few Mama.
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Tell you, when God shows up all of a sudden all that goes out
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the window and it's just like Lord, Let's Get Low and Lord, we
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just want to go with you and so here's been my concern.
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I was talking to my 17 year old. We were driving after Wednesday.
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Going home and we're talking about this and and I said, you
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know, I said Nathaniel we this church has had a reputation of
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being in some people's mind, the Revival Church, some people's
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mind, a Revival Church in the region, and I know there's
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others, there's others that are contending, don't don't
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misunderstand me. There are different, callings on
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different churches, but the calling of this house is we are
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crying out for a break through the spirit of God, to fall on
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this nation. I'm not Not saying that every
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church should do that they're responsible for their calling
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and I bless them to do it. But that's our calling.
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The danger of having that reputation in the danger of
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having tasted. Some things in the past is that
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we can arrogantly assume that when God moves of horses going
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to move here, And our history can actually produce in us and
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apathy born of this assumption that.
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Well God, surely God's going to do it here.
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And that posture is the wrong posture.
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We need to go low and say God I've just had this thing going
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through my heart of blind Bartimaeus where he stood on the
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sidelines. He said, Son of David do not
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pass me by the Lord walked right by blind Bartimaeus and others
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wanted a touch They were not willing to violate.
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Decorum. They wanted to look proper.
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But blind Bartimaeus. He was a desperate man.
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And he screamed out, son of David do not pass me by and
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people rebuked him said, calm down.
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You're embarrassing yourself just calm down.
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What did he do? He yelled all the louder and
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Jesus turned back around and said what do you want from me?
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He said, I want to see And we need to have this Harker
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whenever we're here of God moving we need to do two things.
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Rejoice and bless what God is doing, but then cry out.
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God, if you're going to move, don't pass this by Lord.
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Don't forget us. I don't want to have the
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arrogance that just because we talked about Revival, we've had
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Revival. We've prayed for Revival that we
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assume, that will be the next place that God's going to break
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up. I want to see God break out
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everywhere. I'm not praying for church
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Revival. I'm praying for National and Or
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national Revival. And I was telling someone the
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other day. I said men, the Lord challenge
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me a number of years ago when I first became the pastor of this
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church. We were fasting and praying and
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contending for a move of God and the Lord asked me.
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He said, what if I answer your prayer by visiting the church
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across the street? What if I answer your prayer
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about visiting a church that's criticized you in Des Moines?
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Are we willing to Humble ourselves and go and drink from
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a stream that we don't necessarily agree with and that
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doesn't agree with us? There was named.
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Am that that he Heard there was a prophet in Israel and he
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needed a healing, and he went to the prophet and he said, you
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know, would you pray for me said, go dip in the River.
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Jordan and he felt there was this arrogance with and we said
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we have cleaner streams and our own Nation, we have cleaner
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Rivers. Sometimes God will take you to a
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stream of Christianity. You don't fully Embrace
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sometimes she'll take you to a river that you don't fully agree
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with just to test your humility, many of you know who Randy Clark
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Is by the way, we're going to be hosting Randy again next year
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for a healing school and Randy is one of the heroes of the
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faith and this this hour of human history really is he's
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been tremendously used by the Lord but Randy used to have a
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real prejudice against the word of faith movement.
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But tell you there's a lot of prejudice against the word of
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faith movement whenever you hear someone talking and they spit it
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out, the Prosperity Gospel. They're usually talking about
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those who believe that the kingdom of God also affects your
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livelihood. There is an effect on wisdom,
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it's not just we're going to get into a whole different thing.
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Three manifestations of the spirit of God in your life are
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wisdom, power, and love, most of us has Pentecostals.
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We always want to talk about the power element and that's real.
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And that's that's important. It's Acts chapter 2.
Acts 2 chapter mention
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You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
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that's a real deal thing. Now that power is both internal
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and external internally. It's the ability to live a holy
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life, that's the Holiness stream.
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That's the way they preach and it's right, and then there's the
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Pentecostal stream external. Holiness for Ministry to give it
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away. And you know what?
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That's right, and it's scriptural.
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They're just neither one of them are the whole picture and even
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if you merge both streams together, it's not the whole
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picture because there's also this love stream Romans chapter
Romans 5 chapter mention
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5. The the love of God, is she'd
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abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Spirit, much of the
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missions movement has been impacted by the love of God, the
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last move of God some 25 years ago whether it was out of
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Brownsville. Or out of Toronto was an
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outpouring of the Father's Love. And we need that we need the
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supernatural ability to love beyond our means.
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I don't need that if I'm trying to live within my capacity to
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love you, we're all in trouble. Anybody that's in the wake of my
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relationships is in trouble. I need the Lord to make up the
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difference. I need to walk in his love and
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there is a supernatural impartation of love that's
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available to us. But there's also a supernatural
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accessing of the wisdom of God, a spirit of wisdom and
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Revelation and make no mistake about it.
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That wisdom helps you to be a better.
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Dad, a better mom, a better employee and in better employer
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and more financially, a depth because the wisdom of God can
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fall upon you so that you can become a source of supply for
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others. And when people begin to talk
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about when they when they degrade someone because they
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believe that God also operates supernaturally through Finance,
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some of the people that have been criticized.
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The most for their messages on Supernatural, Finance are some
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of the most generous people in the Kingdom.
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Let me step out on some thin ice for some of you this morning.
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You know, Kenneth Copeland gave literally tens of millions of
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dollars to Reinhard bonnke alone.
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Reinhard bonnke would do Crusades in Africa.
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They would have over a million people show up at one service,
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they would literally have flatbed trucks for the altar
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call. They would load people up on
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trucks as far as the eye could see and drive them to the front.
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Waves of healing would go out over the crowds.
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You can't gather a million people with the sound systems in
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the trucks and all the logistics without a lot of money.
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And a lot of that money came through a man named Kenneth
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Copeland. Now do I agree with everything
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that Kenneth Copeland is Todd over.
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There's no. But you know what?
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I don't agree with everything. Dave Olson is taught over the
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years. And so, we've got to be really
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careful because that man operates in a wisdom from Heaven
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people, people Point, let me just as long as I'm on this ice,
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let me just say, people criticize, Joel Osteen.
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Do you know that? He does not take a salary from
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his church? Do you know that?
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Furthermore, he is the largest Giver in his church and that
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church gives millions and millions of dollars.
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Way. Now, do I agree with everything.
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Joel Osteen is taught. No, but again, there's a pastor
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here, the lead Pastor, I don't agree with everything.
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He's taught over the years either.
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I've had to talk to him and have some.
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Do I have to sit him down and correct them over the word at
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times? And so we just, we just need to
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be careful. I don't know how I got into
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that, but the what was that? Randy, Clark.
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Thank you, John reel it in. Okay, Randy.
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Clark Randy had a real beef. Beef with the word of faith,
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movement. And Randy was he was, he was a
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southern baptist that became a Vineyard Pastor, he was
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pastoring and st. Louis and he would get up in
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front of his church, Sunday after Sunday, and he would
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greet. The visitors will welcome to
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church this morning. And by the way, if you're one of
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those name, it claim it, blab, it grab it.
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People were not the church for you.
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There's the door. It's up the street and his wife
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with you, Randy. You can't say that but Randy had
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an issue in his heart. With those people, Randy has
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become very dear friends with some of the leaders within the
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word of faith movement. In recent years.
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You know what, the Lord told him.
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He heard about a move of God, through a man named rat.
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Rodney. Howard Brown.
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And the Lord said, if you want a fresh touch, you go to Rhema The
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Citadel of the word of faith movement.
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Amen. He said, you go and dip in that
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stream and in Randy's mind that was a river.
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Jordan, it was a muddy stream, but the Lord said you go there,
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if you want a fresh touch. And so he went to Rhema and sat
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on the service and every chance he got.
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He would have ran Rodney. Howard-browne pray from Rodney.
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I think prayed for him, three or maybe four times.
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The last time he prayed, Paid for him.
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Randy said his hands just like came like ice and Rodney said,
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pray over everything that moves It broke out in his church.
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Then regionally went to Toronto for a weekend meeting that lat,
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that turned into, like, 10 years of Revival out of which came,
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Heidi Baker, and life Headland and a bunch of lesser known
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names. He received a fresh impartation
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in a stream. He disagreed.
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With I tell you what. We've got a, we've got to go
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low, and if God is going to move in a church that I don't fully
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agree with theologically, You know what?
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That's God's business. He knows more than I do.
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And we need to Humble ourselves and go low.
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And just say, Lord we bless what you're doing.
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God, wherever you want to move, but Lord and the process don't
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pass Us by, let's not assume. But let's go low and let's stay
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hungry and let's bless what God is doing.
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Now I had planned on teaching on something else and what we've
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been talking about we're going to jump back in this God willing
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in a couple Couple more weeks. But this morning I woke up.
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I always get up early on why don't get up, I wake up early,
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pull the blanket over my mouth and start to pray.
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Pull the blanket over my head and I woke up and the Lord began
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to minister to me out of a passage that I'm very familiar
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with but I haven't talked on and some time.
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And so I was shocked when they when the words went up on this
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last song, talking about sing O barren, woman Singh oberoi,
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Broken Man. Man, I love that sing O, barren
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woman, single Broken Man and the Lord began to talk to me about
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barrenness. So I want you to turn with me to
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First, Samuel chapter 1. First Samuel chapter 1, I
1 Samuel 1 chapter mention
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believe the Lord has something he wants to speak to us about.
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We are living in a very, very unique time in human history.
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Decades from now, we'll look back at this as one of the most
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tumultuous transformative seasons in human history.
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We are in an epic shift and on the other side of this thing,
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the boundary lines in so many areas of life will have fallen
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in new places, spiritually nationally internationally.
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There's there's just a lot of things that the Lord is doing
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and in those seasons of Epic shift, God.
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God needs to position his people.
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There are there's a need for people who hear real clearly.
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In an hour of transition, God needs transition men and women
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people who will Usher in what God is doing in those Seasons.
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The prophetic gift becomes, especially important, The
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famous, verse many of us are familiar with.
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It says, The sons of Isaac are who understood the times and
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therefore knew what they should do.
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How many are familiar with that? Verse talk about the sons of ice
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go. There was a tribe that the Isaac
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are the sons of that tribe. They it says that they had a
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unique sense of what God was doing and therefore knew what
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they should do. So there's this prophetic
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element to their their sensibilities and they knew
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where their to throw their strength.
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The context of that was that there was a shift from The Saul
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regime, to the davidic regime. That it was a leadership change
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and conventional wisdom National protocol would have dictated
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that they get behind the son of Saul because he was the
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inheritor of the throne, but they sensed what God was doing
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and they threw themselves behind the house of David and they lent
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their strength because why they had a sense of what God was
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doing. And so there was an epic A chef,
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there was something going on and we see this again, and again, to
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the prophetic rising. In these times.
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These these chapter turns these hinge moments of human history,
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And Samuel was one such man. Samuel was a hinge, man.
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He was a transition man in human history.
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He was the man who oversaw the Epic shift from profits to
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Kings. That was a big deal.
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But not only from profits to King, he was the last of the
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ruling judge prophets and he initiated the Royal lineage in
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Israel, crowned Saul. And then also oversaw the even
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bigger shift from the saw regime to the davidic regime and
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literally ushered in the Royal lineage that you.
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And I said, under that of King Jesus, the son of David.
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And it was because saw was a man who heard the word of the Lord.
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And when there are shifts in what God is doing, it's
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essential that there are people that can hear clearly so that we
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can throw our strength behind what God is doing.
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One of the great fears of my life is that I get stuck backing
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what God used to be doing. It's not a bad thing, it's just
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not the now thing. I want to be in what God's doing
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right now. I want to make sure that I'm
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about my father's business that I am doing what I see the father
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doing and I'm saying what I hear the father saying we don't want
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to be yesterday's man. There's a great book called The
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anointing written by RT Kendall he and Papa Jack were dear
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friends. We need to have Artie come in
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sometime but he was taught, he wrote this book on the anointing
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and it was based on one verse he was reading one day and it was
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something the Lord spoke to Samuel.
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He said he said how long will You Weep For Saul because Saul
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had been deposed he still occupied the throne on Earth but
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he'd been Acted by heaven. So now he had the responsibility
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of the king but the anointing of the king had left him.
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That's a horrible place to be. He said fill your horn with oil
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for. I have found a man after my own
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heart, that man was a young teenage boy by the name of David
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but God already saw something in him.
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He could use. And so Artie, got a flash of
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insight. And this is the way he framed
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her, the Lord framed it to him, and he wrote a book on it that
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yesterday's man. Today's man and tomorrow's man.
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Yesterday's man was Saul the man who once was what God was doing,
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but had forfeited and disqualified himself.
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Then there's today's man the man who stands between and has to
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hear the voice of the Lord and say, we're going to get behind
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the next thing. This thing, this this space
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between waves between the purposes of God.
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God God does things in history and as one waived is cresting
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and hitting the, shoreline God is mounting another wave at Sea
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and we want to be those who understand what he's doing and
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throw our strength behind it. And then you have the davidic
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regime, tomorrow's, man. Saul had a throne, but no one
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knowing David had anointing, but no Throne, that's very
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frustrating as well. Not quite as frustrating as Saul
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situation. And then there was Samuel who
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had to go against protocol and even endanger his own life by
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siding against a man, that what he considered a son in the
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faith, Saul, who he had anointed as king but had drifted from the
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Lord and turned his back on the things of God and he had to he
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grieved it, but the Lord said your grieving is done.
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It's time to get on into the future.
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And he had to go find David and he anointed David.
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Saw was a very key character and I believe this story is relevant
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to this hour in human history because I really do believe,
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we're in between seasons in the Lord, that there are things the
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Lord did in the past. And now there's there's fresh
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things emerging and I'm not even talking about just Revival and
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on it. That's more of a microscale.
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I'm talking on a macro scale in human history.
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We are entering a new era Not the last time, but the time
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before that life was with us, he brought a message that I
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believe, was more prophetic than many of us realized it was a
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teaching, and he talked about the difference between a
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multipolar and a unipolar world. And he talked about the unipolar
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world of pax, Americana, American peace.
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And how we've enjoyed this season of Peace as a nation.
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But now there's there is a battle for the Thrones of the
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Earth right now. And we're entering into a
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unibrow multipolar world, where there's there.
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Several different nations that are vying for ascendancy and I
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believe the intercessors will determine who ends up in that
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place. These are very key times and the
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prophetic is essential in those in those seasons.
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I was how many of you did anybody catch Dean Briggs and
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Lou Engel yesterday on there. I tell you what we're I'm going
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to I'm going to reach out to Dean and I'm going to ask him to
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when he comes here in a few weeks to bring that message on
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communion it. Rocked my world it was so bad
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that I was struggling keeping on track with what the Lord had
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spoken because I started listening to it this morning and
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I got pulled into it, it, but it was a powerful word.
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One of the things they brought out in this conference.
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It's was this that America that the church in America has had
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the privilege, the, the luxury of living from a piece
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perspective. Both missions and the
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intercession movement, the prayer movement, the missions
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movement, we've pretty much been able to go wherever we want it
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as Americans, the door, swung wide and there's something
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shifting in the Earth right now, and we're entering a wartime
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mentality. Whether you realize it or not,
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one of them said this. They said many thought that
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abortion was the giant that David had to fight and that we
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brought the giant down. I think was Matt Lily.
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He said I truly believe that abortion was married merely the
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lion or the bear and the real giant is China.
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I believe he very well may be, right?
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And we need to be like the sons of Isaac, are who understand the
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signs of the times. And therefore, know what we
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should do. The thing about the, the the
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privilege of being a prophetic people is we begin to pray into
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the crisis before it rises we begin to pray into the problems
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before they emerge. It's like the New Testament
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Church where was it agabus? Gave the prophecy of a coming
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famine so that church was already able to take a cup
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offerings before the famine head so they could provide an answer
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before. The problem arose, they were
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already positioned. And we need to be that people.
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So, real quick here, I'm getting like, you're the one keeping me
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from it. Come on.
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Okay, that's read in chapter 1. There was a certain man of
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ramoth am zopim. Just say it real fast and it'll
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sound like, you know, Hebrew ramoth am zopim of the Hill
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Country of Ephraim. Whose name was elkanah the son
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of Jerome, son of Ally, Who son, of tohu, the son of Zeus and
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Ephraim effect F recite. He had two wives, the name of
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one was Hannah, and the name of the other was Pnina, I love the
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poetic nature of this passage is so beautiful, and if you read it
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like it's written, there are, there's this prophetic, poetry
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that he culminates his comments. There's so many little punch
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lines here and this is one of them and Panetta had children
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and Hannah had no children. Now, this man used to go up year
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after year from his City to worship and sacrifice to the
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Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli hophni and
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Phineas were Priests of the Lord, on the day, when elkanah
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sacrificed he would give portions to Pnina his wife and
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to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah, he gave a double
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portion because he loved her though.
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The Lord had closed her womb. Let's just pause there.
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That is a troubling statement. The anointed inspired word of
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God, States, clearly that the Lord himself had closed the womb
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of Hannah It wasn't that they were seeing this wrong and they
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were speaking culturally and just didn't understand what.
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We Now understand in the New Testament, the text is clear.
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God had closed this woman's womb.
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And her husband, he loved her and so he would give her a
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double portion when they would go up to worship verse 6 and her
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rival used to provoke her grievously, to irritate her
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because the Lord had closed her womb.
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So we have this scenario, this man, this man had two wives,
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Hannah and Pnina, Pnina had a bunch of kids.
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Hannah had none elkanah loved both his Lives.
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But there was a unique affection, he had for Hannah be
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precisely because she hadn't produced any children.
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And he knew how hurtful this was to her and it was during the
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time of worship that thing would really rise up.
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And it was that unique time. When they would go to the Temple
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of the Lord, or the, the tent of the Lord to worship that Pnina
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would grievously, irritate her and provoke her precisely
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because she had no children. How hurtful?
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And she was questioning there was, as you can imagine seeing
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our culture. It's hard enough when you want
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children and you have not been able to Bear children, but in
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that culture, it was always attributed to a spiritual thing
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and I'm not saying it is, I'm just saying that from that
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cultural perspective and this situation, it's very clear.
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God was the one who closed her womb.
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And in that culture, they looked at as a spiritual thing and it
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became an identity issue for the woman alkane.
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Knowing that would give his wife a double portion and his heart
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hurt for her and listen to what happened.
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So, Pnina would provoke her and irritate her because the Lord
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had closed her womb. So, what went on here, after
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year, as often as she went to the house of the Lord, she she
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used to provoke her, I find it interesting that it was in the
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secret place. It was in the place of worship
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that that provocation would rise.
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And I believe there's a spiritual lesson for each one of
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us in that that little observation.
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Therefore, Hannah wept and would not eat.
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Hannah's response was she would lose her appetite appetite.
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She would fast but it wasn't a fast of choice.
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It was almost imposed upon her out of the grief of her own
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heart and she would weep and not eat and elkanah her husband said
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to her Hannah, why do You Weep? Why do you not eat?
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Why is your heart sad? And then he would say this, am I
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not more to you than ten Sons? Now, his heart was hurting, he
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was saying, honey, you're so fixated on this thing.
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What about our relationship? I've given you a double portion,
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don't? I mean more to you than
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children, am I? Just a means to an end.
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It was causing friction in their marriage.
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After they had eaten and drunk and Shiloh.
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Hannah Rose. Now, Eli, the priest was sitting
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on the seat beside the doorpost of the Temple of the Lord.
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She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept
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bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, O
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Lord, of hosts. If you will, indeed look on the
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Affliction of your servant. And remember me, and not forget
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your servant but give to your servant of sun.
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Notice she wanted. She was very specific in her
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request. She didn't say I just want a
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baby. She wanted a son.
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And that culture that was a bigger deal, not in this one.
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And every man should say, Amen guys, I'm giving you an
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opportunity here to get some points here it and that culture
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was a big deal. Have a son that she said if you
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will give me your servant of son then I will give him to the
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Lord, all the days of his life and no razor shall touch his
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head. What she was saying is Lord, I'm
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going to, I will dedicate him unto you as a Nazarite.
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He will be given unto you uniquely consecrated, even to
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the point what she was saying is this God, if you will allow life
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to come through me, I don't need to even raise this thing.
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I'll give it to you. I'll give the fruit of my womb
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back to you to use any way you please.
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As she continued praying before the Lord Eli.
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Observed her mouth. Now you got to understand.
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You go on to chapter 2 and it's one of the most Heartbreaking,
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but poetic passages in scripture.
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Describing a backslidden condition.
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Samuel came out of barrenness and a backslidden religious
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system, and he single-handedly became the hinge upon which God
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ushered in the greatest era in Israel's history.
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So we need to have great. Hope you look around you.
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What God's doing in the nation? I'm telling you ought of
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barrenness and a backslidden state, God can raise up profits
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that can become the hinged people to change history.
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Israel's greatest, our came through the anointing on in
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Samuels horn that he anointed king David as she continued
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praying. He'll, I observed her mouth.
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Hannah was speaking in her heart, only her lips moved in
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her voice was not heard there for Eli, took her To be a
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drunken woman. He lilac the discernment to even
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recognize a woman in intercession.
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He thought she was drunk. The next passage says, it
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politically says that Eli had lost his eyesight and the King.
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James version says, in are the lamp of God was about to go out
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in the temple and the word of the Lord was rare.
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A blind backslidden priest, who wouldn't correct his own sons,
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who were profligate and were sleeping with that.
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The, the girls that served at the temple and they were robbing
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people, who would come to bring their sacrifice to the Lord, and
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they would literally Rob the Lord, and the Lord, and, and Eli
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would try to correct them, but he didn't do anything about it,
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and it says that they didn't receive it, because it had
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become the Lord's will to kill them.
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Their sin was so great in the eyes of God, that God was going
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to take him out. And God sent a prophet to Eli
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and said the day on the same day, both of your sons will die
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and it will be assigned to you that I've removed you.
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It's a sobering thing. And in the midst of all that
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description, it says, but Samuel served before the Lord, a boy
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and a linen. Ephod panel of that The hope of
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Israel was already in place a little boy.
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Playing priesthood. But God had set him apart.
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How was God able to accomplish that in such a backslidden?
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Now, our of Israel's history, what he did is he closed the
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womb of a woman who deeply desired to be used of God.
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See you don't know if you're Barren unless you've known
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intimacy. I mean I know that's obvious.
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But we need to understand that. Baroness can only you can only
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know it if you've known intimacy a barren woman has to have been
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intimate with a man to realize her barrenness.
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She was a woman who knew her husband, but nothing was coming
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from it. There are a lot of believers.
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Who attend the same church has as their fellow believers.
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They, they go to the same prayer meetings, they've applied
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themselves the same way, but God will withhold fruitfulness from
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them for a season precisely because he's trying to deal with
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something. He's there's a greater purpose
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in mind. I really believe that much of
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the barriers to Samuel becoming what he was called to be were
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taken care of, in the intercessions of his mother.
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Before he was ever conceived, Samuel started much farther down
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the road than his peers because God withheld, something from his
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mom so that her frustration would rise and that frustration
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became the fuel of her intercession.
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She began to lay hold of God, and she began to cry out to God.
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She would fast and she would weep.
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But notice from the text nothing happened.
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Until she took the vow And The Vow was Lord, if you give me a
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child, I don't even have to raise it.
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Lord, I'm just asking let life come through me and you can have
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the child. It's an amazing amazing story.
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That's exactly what happened with Pnina sea, lice are
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mumbling and said woman you know, put away your drink.
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How long will you remain a drunk?
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She should know my Lord, you don't understand.
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I am I am in grief. I've wanted a child and he said
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well, so be it unto you, as you know, let your prayer be
-
answered just off the cuff word from a backslidden priest and
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her faith latch to hold of it. It says they went home and
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induce He's and she conceived a child.
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And then her husband was worried because they went to worship and
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she said, I'm not going with you this year.
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He knew her vow. She said I'm going to wait till
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the child is weaned. And then I'm going to bring him
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to the temple to the tent of meeting.
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And I'm going to I'm going to leave him there.
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He's going to be raised in the house of God and elkanah said,
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okay? Just if you read the text it
-
seems to insinuate elkanah was worried.
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She wouldn't follow through on her vow.
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But she did, it's an amazing story.
-
A woman who so long to have a child, but God did such a work
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in her that she was willing to surrender the answer to her own
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prayer. Here's my point.
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This is what I feel like the Lord wants to say to us this
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morning. That there are times where
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Believers will experience God, imposed barrenness and an area
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of our life. It's not because of a lack of
-
intimacy. It's not because of a lack of
-
faith, it's because God has a greater purpose for your life.
-
He withholds from you, what he will give to others easily.
-
But the reason he does it is because he's wanting the
-
accumulation of that heart cry and those intercessions because
-
there's a greater purpose that he wants to bring through you.
-
And we've got to be so careful. Remember what elkanah said to
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his wife? He said, don't, I mean more to
-
you than ten Sons I believe that's one of the great
-
Temptations when we're suffering out of barrenness in our life,
-
where there's an area of our life, where we know God, you
-
made me for so much more there. Something you want to bring
-
through my life. I'm not talking about just
-
latching hold of someone else's dream, I'm not talking, I'm
-
talking about, you know, in your heart that there's something
-
that God wants to use you. You for and you're not seeing
-
any movement out of that thing, and the matter what you pray,
-
other people are breaking into it.
-
And there's this frustration elkanah came to her and said,
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don't, I mean more to you than ten Sons essentially, isn't my
-
love isn't what we share enough. And there was a temptation to
-
settle for this faulty. Consolation You see what had
-
happened is. God had provided provocation in
-
her life to bring to the Forefront, her own barrenness.
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To highlight that area of her life.
-
When God begins to do something somewhere else, we don't need to
-
be jealous and and begrudge somebody else's blessing.
-
But there are times when it should provoke a hunger within
-
us where there should be something within us that says
-
God, if you're going to move their move here, Lord Lord, I'm
-
asking you feel it more there. But Lord, I'm asking.
-
You do it here. There was this provocation that
-
made her aware more acutely aware of her own barrenness, and
-
I find it interesting that she became very aware every time
-
they would go to the tent to worship.
-
And so she would cry out to the Lord and she refused to be
-
consoled. The words of Rachel, what?
-
She told her husband. I can't imagine being her
-
husband. She said, give me children, or I
-
die. He's like, I'm trying woman, but
-
there was something within her that is saying I need to give
-
birth to something. There's a shared exchange here,
-
that an expression of our love that I want to give birth to.
-
And that's really what intercession is there?
-
Something of our life? We want to give birth to to that
-
is an expression of us and God. And until that happens, there's
-
a sense of barrenness within us. It looks different for all of
-
us, but there's something of you God wants to birth into the
-
Earth. And there needs to be a hunger
-
and if you're finding that there's a sense of barrenness
-
then begin to cry out to him and realize that often God will
-
withhold the natural processes because he has a greater purpose
-
for what he's wanting to birth from us.
-
I've told this story before, but years ago I was it was a Monday
-
morning in that I had slept in. I was just laying in bed and I
-
grabbed my phone and I'm scrolling.
-
I started reading the word and I'm reading about John the
-
Baptist and how it says that John the Baptist, his his his
-
mom and dad have been praying for years now there she's beyond
-
the childbearing age, he's an old man but he grabs the law,
-
hit the lot Falls to him so So he's the one that goes into the
-
temple to offer the sacrifice and he goes in there, and an
-
angel appears to him. And the angel says, I am.
-
Gabriel I stand in the presence of God and he's like Judith
-
about them, he's scared spitless and the angel says, your prayers
-
have been heard. I love that.
-
Because I'm assuming I might be wrong, he might be such a man of
-
faith that he's still asking for a child even when they're beyond
-
the childbearing years that could be.
-
But I'm assuming that he had prayed and prayed and gave up,
-
but the prayers of yesteryear were still coming Before the
-
Throne. That those prayers never fell to
-
the ground and God was still listening to those prayers.
-
And now, the time had come and the angel drops in and says,
-
your prayers have Been heard. Your wife is going to be found
-
with child. And he will be filled with the
-
spirit from his mother's womb. It's an amazing story.
-
And remember Mary, you know, you got Elizabeth who's carrying
-
John and Mary, who's carrying this?
-
This is a great story. We don't have time because we
-
got to eat chili but I'm telling you this is this is a great
-
story. You've got the older generation,
-
who knew intimacy but never had fruitfulness.
-
You've got the younger generation who is a virgin womb
-
who has never even known intimacy.
-
He and the spirit comes on the younger generation, six months
-
after its come on. The older generation because the
-
older generation is carrying something that's going to pave
-
the way of what the younger generation is carrying the John,
-
the Baptist in the elderly womb, is going to prepare the way for
-
the Lord that Mary's caring. Now, that'll preach another day,
-
but that'll preach and I'm telling you, there are, there
-
are some of you who God is still Wanting to awaken your womb.
-
Some of you have said, hey, I've done my part.
-
It's now time for the younger ones to step forward.
-
Hey, we want a champion, the next, the next Generation matter
-
of fact, I have sensed it in my heart.
-
These last number of months, there is a Groundswell that's
-
coming of this Young Generation stepping in, and we're going to
-
build a platform for them for them to run.
-
But you know what? They're going to need the wisdom
-
of us gray hairs. Because something we carry is
-
going to pave the way for what they carry.
-
John the Baptist message prepared.
-
The way for Jesus. So I'm reading that passage in a
-
and it says and he was filled with this for the spirit from
-
his mother's woman and Mary walks in the room.
-
She's got her little baby bump and Elizabeth's got her big baby
-
bump and when Mary comes in, she says, how you doing and Hebrew?
-
Yeah. All said Elizabeth her baby
-
jumped. And he was filled with the
-
spirit. And this is what I asked.
-
The Lord God. Why don't you always do it that
-
way? I mean, wouldn't that solve a
-
lot of problems if every Mama carried a baby that was
-
Spirit-filled from the womb? Wouldn't that just solve a lot
-
of problems? I wish I'd have been
-
Spirit-filled from the womb. It would have saved my mom and
-
dad a lot of Heartache. And I just kind of said it out
-
loud. I didn't expect an answer, but
-
the Lord spoke to me. And he told me, he said it was
-
the years of barrenness that paved the way.
-
So what she carried could enter in early into something, because
-
the mom and dad had to wait so long, they entered in late.
-
So, their baby could enter in early the previous generation
-
had to wait much longer so that the Next Generation could get in
-
earlier. And it was because of this God
-
imposed barrenness. There are times where God will
-
withhold something from us because he's wanting the
-
accumulative Cry of our heart, the frustration and the prayers
-
in the fasting to ascend before the throne because he's doing
-
something in the spirit, he's Paving the way, he's removing
-
things so that they can enter in early.
-
And there needs to be something in the heart of every gray hair.
-
Even, if you color your hair, every true, you know where the
-
color at the roots. If you have gray roots, there
-
needs to be a cry within your heart.
-
God Pick Me, Lord. I am willing to pay the price
-
for the Next Generation. I will labor longer if they can
-
enter in earlier. And so I was meditating on that
-
and bed, not that, that is fascinating later on that day.
-
I got my car drove to Central Nebraska.
-
I'm preaching on a Ministry School that night and I get
-
there and I caught and then I'm just praying over the students
-
prophesying and, and I'm standing before this one guy
-
praying, and all of a sudden that came back to my mind and I
-
said, I need to share something with you.
-
I said, just this morning, I was laying in bed and the Lord began
-
to talk to me about how he Will at times imposed barrenness
-
because he's clearing the way later in life for that
-
individual. And I explained that principal
-
and he looked at me, his eyes got real big.
-
He said that is so crazy. You would share that.
-
He said my Mom and Dad tried to have a kid so many so long, they
-
couldn't get pregnant and I ended up being the child of
-
their latter years. They conceived me in their
-
elderly years. I was like a miracle.
-
And I told him on the authority of what God had told me that
-
morning. Listen, you're starting the race
-
much farther down the road than your peers.
-
There is a holy obligation that you carry because your mom and
-
dad's prayers accumulated and they paid a price God withheld
-
something. So he could clear the way for
-
you so that you could run hard. There were, there were battles.
-
Most people have to fight themselves that were fought for
-
you before conception so that you could run hard.
-
And I'm telling you that some of you, there's there's areas of
-
your life that have been Barren. Let me quote to you the prophecy
-
from Isaiah sing, O barren woman, sing O, barren woman.
-
You who have no children because more are the children of the
-
barren womb than she who has many children.
-
I could based on the word of God, add to that prophecy and
-
great are the children of the barren womb.
-
Because all through scripture, we see these Unique Individuals
-
popping up that were heroes in the faith that were the products
-
of barren wombs. and I'm telling you that some of you there has
-
been a god-ordained withholding in an area of your life, not
-
because God has something against you but because he has
-
something great for you and he wants you to not become
-
embittered or discouraged or or succumb to the faulty
-
consolations that you are loved, believe me, you are But more, so
-
what he wants to do is birth something through your life of
-
significance. The very area of our pain is
-
often the area where he wants to give us the greatest
-
breakthrough. You've heard it preached?
-
Your test becomes a testimony, your mess becomes a message.
-
It's the year of your pain. I'm going to ask the worship
-
team to come forward. I want us to close with this
-
song, the song that they sang. I couldn't believe it this
-
morning because I really was wrestling with what to preach on
-
this morning because Lou and Dean mess me up this morning.
-
I shouldn't have listened to that message.
-
And I got so rocked, but this last song pulled me back in to
-
what I feel like the Lord is saying to us this morning.
-
Some of you, there's an area of barrenness, there's an area of
-
pain, you feel like there's been a lack of breakthrough, you
-
know, is God's will, this is this, it's not God's will for
-
that thing to remain a fixture in your life, but no matter how
-
much you pounded on the door, it seems like it hasn't moved.
-
And I'm telling you, it's because there's a greater
-
purpose for your breakthrough, than just your own pleasure and
-
believe me, God cares about that.
-
But there's something greater for the fruit of your womb of
-
faith and that area. So I'm going to ask you to go
-
ahead and stand. And let's let's go ahead and
-
sing that song. Go ahead and stand and I want
-
you just to just receive this as a prophetic word, this morning,
-
single barren woman, single broken, man.
-
Thanks for listening to our podcast.
-
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-
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-
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