Known Not Made - Will Power

Thanks for checking out the Anchor Faith Message podcast

from St. Augustine, FL.

Now enjoy this message. Isaiah chapter 46 verse 10 says

Isaiah 46:10

this. Declaring the end from the

beginning. And from ancient times things

which have not been done, saying my purpose will be established

and I will accomplish all my good pleasure, so the.

Lord says from the end or declaring the end from the

beginning, which tells us when God speaks he's already seen its

completion. Now this is a very powerful

principle, because if God is truly talking to you about

something and speaks to you the minute He talks to you, you

should consider it over, even though it's not in

manifestation, because God is not going to say something to

you at the beginning that he hasn't already seen its end.

This is why when God gives a word to you and you take it by

faith, it will come to pass because He's declaring you in a

beginning of hearing something already finished.

Are you hearing me? You know as well as I do when we

when God began to speak to us concerning purchasing the mall,

I'll never forget that particular Camp Living Faith

conference that Pastor Kenneth Estrada and Pastor Roddy

Schaefer were here and we had heard the Lord and so we decided

in that service based upon pastor preaching on moving

mountains. That and this was in 2015.

We didn't sign officially till 2021 that it became ours.

But in 2015, which would have been a January in 2015, US 3, we

came over here to this area, right here, and we began to

dance and shout like we had signed papers and it was

finished. So the day that I actually

signed, I didn't jump around and shout because I had done it six

years earlier. Come on, you hear what I'm

saying. So that's how it is with God,

with you. If he says by his stripes you

were healed, well, then guess what?

You are. So that means your body must get

alignment as long as you fail not to believe.

Amen. Now, there may be some things in

the process between your belief and its manifestation that

you're going to do some things. That's not just God alone, OK?

Because God may have some different methods by which he

brings that healing to pass. And when I say that, I'm not

saying don't continue to hear God in the process.

But you never abandoned. I can only be healed.

I have to walk in wholeness because again, Jesus, with some

that were didn't have the ability to see at a word they

saw, but with others he puts mud on their eyes and tells them to

go wash it off. With one he spoke to and I think

he may have spit in his eyes or did something, maybe just spoke

to him or laid hands on him. And he opened his eyes and he

said, what do you see? He said, well, I see people that

look like trees, which means when he opened it wasn't

instantaneous. So the Lord laid hands on him

again. The next time he opened it was

crystal clear. Well, you understand that man

didn't get mad at God and say, well, how come I didn't get it

like blind man, Bartimaeus. The problem with believers is

sometimes they want their manifestation of healing to be

like somebody else's manifestation or their

manifestation of faith would be a better way, you know, like

someone else got, which that's not the point.

Do you get the end result? I said, do you get the end

result? That's the issue as you want to

be able to stay with the end result.

So he says, he declares the end from the beginning.

He says, my purpose will be established.

I will accomplish all my good pleasure.

So then we brought up this because we're talking about the

power of the will, OK, in God's Kingdom, OK, there's there's a

power contained within the will. In fact, God's creation has

within it a will of its own. We talked about this last week,

that there are created beings that are in God's Kingdom, that

he's given them a will and they can choose.

And God doesn't stop their choice, even though He may know

their choice will bring death. If you weren't here last week, I

encourage you to go online so you can see that even in the

realm of angels, there was the capacity or the ability for them

to think on their own. And one anointed cherub, he was

called the Morning Star in Isaiah chapter 14.

Isaiah 14 · chapter mention

Because of his beauty. He got lifted up in pride and he

decided that of his own free will.

I'm going to take over the throne in heaven.

I'm going to take God, the Creator of all things.

I'm going to take him off his. Throne.

He made a choice. Now do you think God wanted him

to make that choice? Absolutely not.

But he allowed him and he and he received the consequences of

that choice, which means Jesus said, I saw Satan fall like.

Lightning out of heaven. Right.

I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Not only did he fall, but a third of the angels with him,

which means he was able to convince a third.

I said a third to to exercise rebellion against the Creator of

all things, and they were convinced they could do it.

Then God said, let us make man in our image according to our

likeness. The minute he did that, he gave

you a will as well. So when he places man in the

garden, he said, Let us make man in our image.

Genesis 126 According to our likeness, let them have

dominion. God has dominion, He has rules.

So he gave man rule and dominion on the earth.

He describes what it was on the earth that he had dominion over

and then he set a parameter for man to determine does man love

me or not. Now man should love him because

he was creating the nature of God and God is love.

However, love is not known unless love is exercised.

So he said you can eat from any tree of the garden, but of the

tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

You shout on to eat for the day you eat.

You will, surely. What do you think God's will?

For Adam was to live, to never ever eat the fruit of the

knowledge of good and evil. Don't you believe that was His

will? Do you think the Lord was like,

I really want him to die? I'm going to put that tree here

because I really don't like him anyway.

No. We know it was his will for him

to live and be like him. However, Adam had the free will.

And you know what the Father didn't do?

The Father did not go against his will.

I said the Father did not go against his will.

He bore the consequence of his decision.

And love 'cause God is love. Put Adam out of the garden.

Put Adam out of the garden. Are you hearing me?

So when we hear this because again, why are we in this series

Again, just to help connect the dots, right?

We started this year out calling the reigning spirit because we

have the reigning spirit greater is he that is in you than he

that's in the world. If the same spirit that raised

Christ from the dead dwells, where in you we have the third

person of the Godhead, He is the Holy Spirit.

He is the reigning spirit and all other spirits are subject to

him, right? And if we have the reigning

spirit, then why are we listening to other voices?

OK, because and because of this whole context, we came out of

Timothy. When Paul wrote to Timothy and

he said now listen. In the last of the last days or

in the latter times, he said the spirit explicitly says meaning

the spirit is saying this is going to happen.

You can't pray away. You can't fast and pray that

it's gone. This is going to take place, he

said. In the last days, he said, some

will fall away from the faith, paying attention to doctrines of

demons and seducing spirits. So then, it's going to behoove

us to understand the realm of the spirit this year, but also

understand how we need to keep ourselves connected to the

reigning spirit and then attack certain things that are being

spoken in the in our circles. When I say our service, I'm

talking those who call themselves believers that we

need to deal with the cliche statements that have a form of

godliness. But it actually lacks power.

And not only does it lack power, but it actually has a seduction

to it. And if you take hold of certain

aspects of things that are just flippantly being said, without

you examining it yourself to determine its truth, then it can

take you down a road to deception.

That you'll begin to view scripture through a clouded lens

and be firmly persuaded that you love God and you are doing his

intention. All the while, the devil has

made you powerless and have no significant.

Effect on the earth. Amen.

So we. Are dealing with the power of

the way. It is the most powerful force

God created. So powerful that He doesn't

violate yours. He does not violate your will,

but He will hold your will against His, and ultimately His

will wins. Now, He does this not because

He's making you. He does this because His will is

His word and His word is life, and he's giving you the

opportunity to submit to life. In fact, Joshua said it this

way, which was really powerful and it just resonates all

throughout Scripture. He said.

I set before you life and. Choose.

Choose life. But who gets to choose it?

Who does? OK, so if we have the reigning

spirit, you have to understand the reigning spirit is not

making you do something. And since he's not making you do

something, 'cause if God made people do stuff, don't you think

he would have made Adam not eat the fruit?

Could God had closed his mouth. I mean we know this happened in

the Gospels with was it Zechariah?

Is that his name That was, you know, the husband of Martha.

And he's like, how in the world my wife going to have a kid now

And the angel's like, bro, you didn't believe my word.

You know, that's Pastor Earl's paraphrase.

And he said because of that you are not going to be able to open

your mouth. Now he can open his mouth and

eat, but he could not talk, which means the Lord caught tied

up his vocal cords. That doesn't mean Zechariah

couldn't communicate because he could write.

He could carry on whole conversations right now.

I'm not saying that he started sign language.

I'm just saying he could write ultimately.

But when he acknowledged that his son after he was born with

his name would be John, then Lord loosed his vocal cords and

he began to speak again. Well, don't you know that God

can shut mouths? Well, we know he actually can

shut physical mouths so they don't open up when he did what

he what he did for Daniel and the lions den because you know,

those those lions were hungry. I don't believe the the lions

were satisfied where they had no hunger, pain.

I believe the Lord made them more hungry all night long.

In fact, I surmise that when Daniel laid down with the lion

that could not eat him but his stomach was grumbling.

It's much like you having one of these beds today that that that

will massage you while you're sleeping.

So he was being massaged by the rumbles of the lion's stomachs

and went to sleep and slept great because the minute they

pulled Daniel out and he threw the ones who came against Daniel

in, they couldn't even hit the ground.

And those lions said about time we get to eat, we were we were

held 24 hours. My point is, if God is in

control like people say, then why did he not shut Adam's mouth

or wither his hand? Oh, OK, come on now.

'Cause we know it's God's will, that he doesn't eat it, and we

know he's all powerful. But he doesn't stop.

He doesn't stop him. You know, God sees it when he

eats, Because when God comes down and says, Adam, where are

you? It's not because he was blind.

It's not because Adam was a good hider, right?

No, he's like, you're out of position.

He's just trying to get him to take responsibility for his

action. Have you eaten the fruit?

I told you not to. So we need to be careful when we

say God's in control because we can mislead people.

In fact, I'll just be honest with you, there was a whole

article written by someone at one juncture who was having a

hard time with God and Jesus because they had heard the

statement God's in control so much that says, well, if God's

in control, he's doing a really horrible job right now because

why are there famines? Why are there women being raped?

Why is there inequality and unjustice in nations?

Why are there this? If this is God, then I don't

want to serve him. And the reality is God is not,

you know, wanting famine. God is not wanting people to

kill each other. God is not wanting women rape.

That is not his will, so he's not the author of those actions.

Yet we, in our illiteracy of Scripture and the knowledge of

rightly divine the truth, will begin to give God a power he

himself doesn't even possess, to try to justify him as if He's

greater because his ways are higher than our ways and his

thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

And if God wants a woman to be raped to teach her something,

then that's on God and they ought to just accept it.

He is not unjust like that. He's not, because really the

word control means to have power over.

Well, does he have power over? Ultimately, his word has power

over Does he exercise, restraining or directing

influence over? I would say he definitely gives

influence. How did he control Adam?

The most he could control Adam was this Adam.

See all the trees? You can eat from any of them.

Now see this tree right here? Don't eat for the day you eat,

you're going to die. And that's all the control he

had over Adam. He was trying to.

Influence him because what did he say?

This fruit, what did he tell him?

Don't eat it. He told him what to do.

Don't eat it. He told him what to do.

Don't eat it. He told him what to do.

Don't eat it. Because the day you do, you'll

die. So did God.

Make Adam eat the fruit. No, Adam chose, although he had

the answer to not. So we've got to be.

Careful when we start saying, well, God's in control.

He doesn't control. In fact, let me just go ahead

and drive on a little bit so I can prove this to you.

Some things. Again, God cannot force anyone

against their will, but only influences it by giving them the

right answer. But ultimately, you decide, OK,

go ahead and look at your name and say I decide, don't be

blaming God for all your mistakes.

Don't think God willed it, OK, no, I'm not going to go there.

God will let you do anything you want to do, but we'll hold you

accountable to whatever you do according to His will.

Because at the end of the day, what is will?

Will is the. Decision to do.

An action something. And at the end of the day, who

has the ultimate say so in anything?

OK, now you say we do. You have the ultimate ability to

do anything you want. To but the ultimate say so is

the Lord's. And if you choose not to do it,

you get the consequences of not doing it.

But it was still your choice, because he sure didn't make you

right. How many of you felt forced by

the Lord to be here today? How many of you did the Holy

Spirit come up out your body, snatched your sheets off your

bed this morning? Threw you out of bed.

You're like, what? Get dressed.

And I I don't feel like going today.

And he picked your arm. You put your jacket on.

You're like, I don't want you. And he's brushing your teeth.

I don't. Want it done.

I don't want to go. He hits you and spit the stuff

out, and he throws you in the car and he drives for you while

you're sitting there hitting the brake, and then he makes you

come in today. Did he do that?

So why are you here now? Does God want you here?

How do you know that? Because it's in his word, do not

forsake the assembling of yourself together.

And all the more as the day draws near, as some do, they

forsake it. So don't do that.

And all the more as the day approaches, What day?

The day we're waiting on. The day when the trumpet sounds,

The day that we are changing The moment in the twinkling of an

eye and we jump up out of this place.

Yeah, all the more. And if there's ever a day that

that day is, it's today. We're closer than ever.

We should be the best perfect attendance people on the planet.

But that comes by free will, and that's not religion, That's

choice. Hallelujah.

So will is the power to control one's own actions and emotions.

Mental powers manifested as wishing, desiring, choosing, or

intending to determine by an act of choice.

And we all have this. I had a choice today of what to

put on. The Lord did not talk to me and

say, put this on. Now if the Lord told me what to

wear, I would put that outfit on.

I would do that. But if He didn't, He did tell me

this though, to put on an outfit in a general sense.

Why? Because he said that I need to

be modest. So coming in here naked would be

pretty embarrassing, right? I mean, that wouldn't be God's

will for me to say I'm free. I'm free.

I'm back in the garden, people. I'm free.

No, no. I mean, I'm not building a

doctrine on nudity. Right?

Come on now. Now we're all free.

We bat like the original Adam. We in the garden.

We just have a nudist church. I can see it now.

I can see them now. Getting off that bad.

I'm not attended people I am not attended.

I have. I have never heard of any nudist

colony that the people look good.

Anyway just to let you know funny story.

Funny story. So I have a pastor, a friend of

mine who used to be a district director for Rhema out in the

Tampa area and he had a person in his church said hey, my mom

or my father. One of those.

I think it was my mom or father. I think it was father.

You know, he's sick and he needs.

Would you go by his house and pray for him?

He's like, sure, because, you know, pastors pray for people.

A person, a friend of someone, OK, So he's sure he got the

address right. He was ignorant of the address.

And he followed the address, got there, showed up at a gate

because there was a gated community.

You know plenty of gated communities, right?

In Florida, for sure. And so anyway, drives up.

Well, all of a sudden, you know, he, you know, says you know what

he needs to do. And then the guard who worked

for the place said a guy drives up, rides up on a bike naked.

So it was a nudist colony. He said, oh, I know where he

lives, just follow me. So he said here I am following a

guy on a bike, naked. He said his.

Pastor. He's like he, you know, I kept

my word, he said. I just felt like I had blinders

on the whole time, he said. I didn't look to the right or to

the left, man. I just got to the house, prayed

for the person looking in their eyes and then left the

neighborhood as quickly as I could.

Right. No, but you understand people

are goofy. I'm telling you, people are

goofy because they do not rightly divide the word of

truth. I mean, you understand, I could

sell you all kind of false stuff in Scripture.

Well, if we're back in the original purpose of man and

man's in the garden, then we're in the garden and we were free.

But no, and they weren't wearing any clothes.

We were unashamed. So we can all come here together

unashamed. Yeah, right.

It's not true. Come on.

It's not true. Quit looking at people.

Stop it. Stop it.

Right, and don't listen to that. If you're ever going to do

public speaking, just imagine everybody naked.

Don't do that. That's that's worse.

It's like I can't even preach now.

Are you hearing me? But it's will you decide.

Say I decide. You are in control, so no one

can control you. You're in control now.

You can be in places where they limit your ability to do, and

most of those places that are really tight is called prison.

Now, in prison, they tell you what to wear, what to eat and

when their movement. But even in prison, there's some

liberty. But again, a prisoner can still

choose to either be in the general population, or they can

even rebel against what layers of boundaries are set there and

find themselves in solitary confinement.

They didn't have to be in solitary confinement, but

because they will not get along well with the general

population, so there's still a matter of choice, even in

prison. But if you're not in prison, you

understand your job doesn't control you, 'cause you could

quit. Your spouse doesn't control you.

You could get a divorce, You could.

Are you hearing me? Getting pregnant doesn't even

control you. There are people who make

choices to not be pregnant anymore.

Are you hearing me? If you are speeding in the

police officers, you can choose to either pull over or keep

driving faster, right? So it's kind of crazy when

people are always acting like people are trying to control my

life and then begin to get on social media and talk about the

abuses that are happening in the workplace or, you know, among

their family. Especially when it comes to

church. You know, because you know,

pastors are the most controlling people on the face of the

planet, apparently. But the reality is no one's

controlling you. You control your own life.

Even right now. I don't control you listening,

'cause don't think. There's not been plenty of

people that while I'm preaching, some are like praise the Lord,

thank you Lord, and are receiving the engrafted word and

renewing their mind. And others like I don't believe

that I'm not going to do that, but yet smiling the whole time,

Hallelujah. And there are some that even run

down and shout, but then on Monday, cuss.

What happened to Sunday? You.

Where's the Sunday person? It's your choice.

Well, you know, at work, you know, they made me.

Nobody's making you. I said nobody's making you,

nobody's making you. And you know, in the United

States you really have no say. So it's not like you're in these

dictator countries and. Even then, the dictator

countries, there's still the ability to choose because you

could choose to go against the dictator and just leave the

planet quicker. Right.

I mean, you could do that. Just say Amen.

But why do people want to put the control card on others?

It's because they don't want to take the responsibility of their

own choice. They want to accept the lie.

And you know what? It came from the believer saying

God is in control. Because if God can do something

to me that I don't want, if God forces, if God's making the

choices in my life and I'm basically walking down those

paths, period, well then you understand it's easy to put that

on anyone else. Well, the reality is, God lets

you take your own path. Now how do we know this?

Let's, let's destroy a little little false doctrine here

first. John 15 says this.

This is the message we have heard from him and announced to

you that God is what light. And in him there is what there

is what there is what. No darkness at No darkness at,

No darkness at So God is what now Colossians says that he

redeemed us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into

the Kingdom of his of the Son of light, his beloved Son, or the

Son of Light. So darkness is associated with

evil and disobedience and rebellion and light is

associated with life. And he says there's no rebellion

in God, There's no evil in God. In fact, Jesus said it this way

in John 1430. He said, I will not speak much

more with you, for the ruler of this of the world is coming and

he has nothing in me. He has what?

Nothing. So you understand one particular

thing we see all the time is the yin and the Yang.

The yin and the Yang. You know, it stands that in

everything evil there's a little bit of good and everything good

there's a little bit of evil. And so we actually think God's

all good, but yet he can dabble in darkness if he chooses,

because he's in control and his ways are higher than your ways.

And we've accepted that as truth.

But that's conflicting, because how can a holy God and a just

God play with the devil? In fact, how can he employ him

if if the devil's on his payroll?

Come on, he's on his payroll. Are you hearing me now?

Again, let me read James 1st, and then I'm going to deal with

you. Job and false doctrine.

James 112 to 15 says this blessed is a man who perseveres.

Under what? Under trial.

What's he do? He perseveres under trial, for

once he has been approved, he will receive what the crown of

life which the Lord has promised to those who what, Let no one

say when he is what? Tempted I am being tempted by

God for God, What cannot be tempted by evil?

Well, if he can't be tempted by evil, and in him is no darkness.

And the God of this world, or the rule of this world has

nothing in him. So there's nothing in God that

uses evil to teach you a lesson. I don't know why the Lord let me

get in a wreck. The Lord didn't let you get in a

wreck. The Lord was not the author of

your wreck. There's a devil that comes to

still. It's amazing.

We want to give all the devil's weapons and his warfare

attributed to God. I know, we know that God is

ultimately the source of authority and his will reigns

supreme. But there are other forces and

there's other humans that are functioning of their own free

will and they're trying to thwart and come against God's

ultimate will. And God can take the will of

someone against him that can come against you.

So in essence, what the devil meant for bad, God can turn for

good. But he wasn't the author of what

the devil brought. Let no one say when he's tempted

I'm tempted by God. For God cannot tempt by evil,

for he himself does not tempt anyone.

Now notice this comes off of verse 12.

Blessed are the man who perseveres under trial.

I mean, this is how powerful God's word is.

The minute he makes you known the answer.

He doesn't care if something comes against you, because he's

already giving you the power to overcome God.

Never. Told Adam.

Hey, son, we tide. And you know I love you, right?

Look at all this fruit I've given you.

It's pretty awesome, right? And you know you can't eat this

tree. This tree right here, son.

You don't eat it, right? I've told you that.

Don't eat this tree. You'll die.

I've said this to you. Every time I come to the garden,

I tell you that I just remind you.

But listen, where your daddy lives.

I had a problem. Now I take care of problems, but

I cast one of these creative beings.

I head out and I'll be honest with you.

I think he's coming to see you. I just want you to know that way

when he shows up, you'll be ready.

He never told him that. Never.

Never. You think why in the world would

the father not warn his son? Well, how in the world can Adam

die no matter who shows up? There's only one way to die for

Adam. It's to eat the fruit.

Tempting. Being tempted won't kill him.

Being tempted won't kill him because Jesus was tempted on all

accounts like us. But he didn't sin now.

He became sin. He didn't willfully divulge in

rebellion. He took on what he resisted his

whole existence because he did the will of his father.

So he didn't ever warn him that he was coming.

He just said don't eat this tree so you understand why the devil

comes in. It's like I got to figure out

what God said. Because his will is what he

supports, and if you go against his will, then you get the

alternative. And so I got to find out what

his will is. I need to know what his will is.

Let me ask Eve. Let me just ask Eve.

Let me see if I can get it out of her and she lets him.

No, no. We can eat from any tree of the

garden, bro. Just this tree right here.

We can't eat because the day we eat we going to die.

And he's like, that's it, that's it, that's it.

OK, OK. I'm going to tempt them with

what evil? I am going to tempt them.

Not the God. And God didn't send him the same

power that God had Adam possessed in the earth.

He could have cast the devil out of his realm, but instead he

chose to rebel against his own father.

It was his choice. That's why Romans 5 says it's

through one man's transgression, not because of the temptation,

but because of the choice. So when we get over into then

and let's go on, he said. But the one who is tempted is

carried away and enticed by his own lust.

So there was something that fabricated in 'cause you

understand? When God created the anointed

cherub that we call Satan today, he didn't put any evil in him.

He conceived that himself he'd started to lust.

And then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to

sin. And when sin is accomplished, it

brings forth what? Death.

So when Adam, he began to lust for power that was never his,

and he made the choice to act on it because he thought he could

get it. But in turn he just gave his

authority over to the devil. The devil usurped in essence

through deception was able to receive freely from Adam.

Not stealing, but receive freely through manipulation and

deception. The power of dominion over the

earth. That's why he was called these

is called the God of this world or the systems that are on it.

That's why Jesus called him the ruler of this world.

It's not the earth, it's the systems.

In essence, he is functioning in the systems.

He's established those systems because he's Lord.

He's king over them. But I've come to destroy the

works of the devil. Get.

Can I get an Amen? He wants to bring God's Kingdom

back. So if you jump back over into

Job and you can study this for yourself when you're reading the

account and you read these other accounts, you have to know then

God himself is not wanting to destroy Job.

It's not God's will that he loses his kids, loses his

livestock. The enemy comes to the Lord in

the heaven realm because he is the God of the world.

And the Lord says, have you considered my servant Job?

He's a righteous guy. The devil did.

Satan did. And he begins to say, yeah, he's

blessed all right, you sure are blessing him.

But if you take the things you've given him Now, what gave

the devil rights anyway? Well, what was Job doing?

He was very concerned that his kids may sin against God, so he

was doing sacrifices for them. Oh, thank you, Jesus.

He was doing sacrifices for them in hopes that in the event that

their kids did something and they died, that they could make

it into God or be with God. In essence, he was trying to be

the sacrifice for his own kids, but his kids had opened the door

themselves and so it gave him, gave him the right and it said

he feared this. He was afraid, very concerned

that his kids weren't living according to the will of God,

the known will of God. At the time.

It gave an open door for the devil to come and kill his kids,

kill what they were responsible for, which was his livestock.

They oversaw a lot of his stuff. They were response.

He was able to destroy all that stuff in hopes that he would

begin to think God as a bad person.

Now he never called God evil and it was obvious he did not have

any context of Satan like we do. We've been given letters and

context of Satan, which is why he said the Lord gives, the Lord

takes away. Why?

Because he is not aware of the entity or the person.

Called the Devil. But we are not ignorant of him.

Again, You understand somebody can do something for you and

you're unaware of it. I mean, I've gone to

restaurants, somebody pay for my meal.

I have no idea who did it. Now I could just say, well, the

Lord blessed me, the Lord paid for it.

Well, the Lord ultimately did in one sense, but he did it through

a human being, right? So again, when he's making the

statement, it's in ignorance. The whole book of Job is him

trying to understand why all this befell but would befall him

when he's been living righteous in the 1st place, you say?

Well what about the sickness? Man was made out of the dust of

the and Adam had a a dominion over all thee.

So when he says if you touch the man's skin, if you get sickness

on him, he'll curse you to your face.

And what did God say? He's within your power.

Both times he said that he's within your power meaning.

But he he limited what he could do to Job's suit, he said.

Because he's righteous, you can't put a sickness on him that

he would die where his spirit would have to leave.

He's done nothing deserving of physical death, so you cannot

put anything on him that would cause him to die.

So God limited what the tempter could do because of the

righteousness of Job. And we say God's in control.

Now again, when the scripture in Job says you've tempted me to

move upon my servant Job, all he's saying is, is you're trying

to have me come against him, but I'm not.

He's within your power, but I'll still protect him because you've

given the condition, Satan, that based upon what's in your power.

If you come to kill, steal and destroy it, he will curse me.

I don't believe he'll curse me. He's a righteous man.

Just like I don't want Adam to eat the fruit, but it still will

be Job's choice. But you know what?

Job always chose to maintain righteousness and everything.

The three friends came and said he rebuked them.

Fact they had to do a sacrifice and get Job to pray for them.

But after it was all said and done, what did God do to Job

because of the trouble the devil brought?

I'm giving you double for your trouble.

He got double the kids, meaning he got the same amount on earth

because the other three had already died.

Which means then there was something that happened in the

process, that they were still a candidate to be with the Lord.

I can't tell you what that is. All right.

So with that being said. Turn over to Romans Chapter 9.

Romans 9 · chapter mention

I'm going to have to start in verse one and I didn't.

I put this I I put this technically as just Roman 9

because there are verses in here I need to go to and even this

morning I'm like Lord, I need some clarity here because I need

to be able to explain this with clarity.

I need to explain this with clarity because this is the

issue. This is the chapter everybody

goes to and says God's in control, God's in control.

God's in well, God is in control of His word.

He will control His word because His word is Him.

It's who he is, and it's the highest word, period.

But we get to choose whether or not we get to do it.

And if you don't choose God's word, you get the alternative.

His word is life. So if you don't choose His word,

what do you get? Death.

And who decides death. Who decides death?

And this is in any situation in your life.

You decided. You decided OK.

But let's start in verse one, because verse one sets context.

I said verse one sets context. Paul says this.

Look what Paul says. He says.

I am telling the truth in Christ.

I am not lying. My conscience testifies with me

in the Holy Spirit verse 2. That I have great sorrow and

unceasing grief in my heart. Next verse for.

I could wish that I myself were cursed, separated from Christ,

for the sake of my brethren, my kins, kinsmen according to the

flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belong the adoption as sons

and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law and

the temple service and the promises whose are the fathers

and from whom in the in is in Christ according to the flesh

who is over all God bless forever.

Amen. Verse 6.

But it is not as though the word of God has failed, and I'll stop

right there. Now what's important about this

passage? So leave it up so I can kind of

go to it. What sets context of Chapter 9

is Paul's opening statement. He is saying.

If I could take the responsibility of the choice of

every one of my kinsmen, that I could bear that responsibility

and their some of their choices, so that it's me who will be

eternally separated from Christ forever.

And by doing that, although it was their choice, I'm taking

that choice. And if that could have happened,

I would gladly do it. So all of them could be with

Christ. If I could be their will.

If I could just somehow be the one who took on all of their

choices and got accounted their choices to me so that the

choices they make aren't accounted to them, then I do it

because I have this grief. I want them to be in Christ.

But what does he conclude? You can't.

If there was a way possible that the will of man could be

overturned and they could be with Christ independent of their

choices, I'd be the first one to take it on.

And he said, why would he do that?

Well, he's really demonstrating the heart of Jesus in one sense

because Jesus, although he can't take on your choice, he can take

on your sin, which by all right is your choice, meaning he took

on your wrongdoing. He's paid the price for death so

that you can now, being born of God, born of him and the

reigning spirit lives in. You can always choose the side

with God's word, live the life that has life, and no longer

longer make the choice of wrong. But you still have to make the

choice. So what Jesus could do for us,

He did. Which means I will pay the

payment for the sum of all your choices.

However, you still have to choose me, because here's the

thing. Has Jesus died for the sin of

all humanity? Has he done it once and for all?

Does he ever have to go back to the cross?

No, he's done it so before we were ever thought of in a womb.

In the natural, God already paid for the sum total of all of our

sins that we would ever commit while we were on the planet.

Yet we cannot be born again. Although the blood has been

applied to our sin, it is forever settled in heaven.

How is it that we get the blood applied to our account so that

we can become a new creature in Christ?

We choose of our own free will to accept Jesus Christ as our

Lord and the substitute of our payment, the one who paid the

price of all of our wrongdoing. And when we make that choice, we

become born again. At that point, we begin to do

everything in life still based upon choice.

It's just now we're attached to life and our spirit man is no

longer dead. Separated from God who the some

choices of a spirit separated from God is only death.

Because we're we are eternally rebellious.

Now we've been empowered with the choice of life and we can

choose life. I said we can choose life.

We can choose life. Now the reason why this is

important, if you jump down to verse 13 as he begins to deal

with some things that says this, and it was written.

Jacob I love, but Esau I hated. What shall we say then?

There is no injustice with God, is there?

Paul answers it. May it never be.

I love Jacob. Hate Esau.

OK. So I have problems with the

stupid billboards that say God's not mad at you.

God hates sin, God hates rebellion.

God's giving you a way out. But if you keep doing it, wrath

is being stored up for those in disobedience.

So to give the world this idea that God's happy with them, come

on, we have bought this lie that if we don't tell them what's

wrong, then inevitably the wrong just disappears.

Again, Robert can go to the doctor and he can say I found

this. Well that doesn't move the

covenant child, thank you for letting me know.

Now that I know I can speak to and do something.

Because if I was ignorant of it, it could have taken over My

whole body, brought me, took me out and I all the while I'm like

I didn't know again if the Doctor.

Said. Well, Robert, you know, I feel

like he's a little bit older and you know, he's probably lived a

good enough life. We'll just, I don't want him to

have a hard time the rest of his life.

You know, I'm just not going to tell him, Robert, you know, you

got some high blood pressure. That's, you know, we'll we'll

deal with that and deal with different symptoms and don't

even tell him what's going on. Man, you're looking good today,

all the while knowing he's got cancer and we're telling the

world God's not mad at you, God's mad at sin.

God hates sin. God hates the Sinner.

It's like we've tried to separate the spirit of a person

from themselves. I mean, a Sinner functions in

sin. I mean, a person dead, separated

from God is a Sinner. In fact, Jesus called them their

father was the devil, not him. Now their original risk creation

was in the image of God, but the minute they sinned, they fell

from that dominion. They no longer have the life of

God and their father by All right is the devil, and God does

not love the devil. And that's not being mean.

That's saying we have an answer. We have an answer.

Well, you think you're better than me.

I don't think I'm better than you.

I'm alive and you're dying. Period.

I just saw one minister do this. He took a a a goldfish bowl, put

it on the sanctuary on a stage, and he took the one of the fish

out and put it on the table and walked away and it started

flapping and it fell off the table and they gasp.

He picked it back up and stuck it back on the table.

And he says this fish is dying right now and everybody's just

shocked. And then he picks it up and

throws it back. And he says you're more

concerned about this fish dying than your neighbor who's dying.

If they're not born again, they're done.

If they're not born again, God is going to his wraths being

stored up from them. And you have the answer to get

them out of it. But yet you don't want to offend

them. We don't even want to give them

a right diagnosis. We don't even want to give them

an opportunity. Look, if Robert chews, I don't

care. I'm going out this way.

God can't even stop it. God can't stop it.

God won't stop it, but at least he now has the He wasn't robbed

of the choice. We shouldn't rob people of the

choice to get over into life. But he goes on and says this OK,

Jacob Babla Esau hated. Why shall we say then Is there

no injustice what God is there may it never be for he who for

he says to Moses I will have mercy on who I have mercy on.

I'll have compassion who I have compassion.

So it does not depend on the man who wills are the man who runs,

but on God who has mercy. That is really kind of unclear

man when you first read it. But again, we're talking in

context of Paul saying now if I could take on all their choices

so that when they make their choices, it doesn't matter and

they get to be with God because I'm the choice, I take the

choices. But he's like, I can't do it.

They have to make their own choice.

In essence what he is saying is, is that God knows some things.

And this is the problem. That's why I titled the message

Known, not made. Just because God has knowledge

doesn't mean he's going to make you.

Because God actually already knows the sum choices, sum total

of all your choices. But they're still your choices.

And God's word's going to come to pass because God's eternal,

He's very patient, which means God can say, I'll wait till a

spirit raises up that will obey me so that that objective can be

accomplished in the earth. And if there's a generation of

nobody obeying, he'll wait till one comes around where someone

will of their own three will say I'll choose to obey God and it

keep moving his plan forward. God is on an eternal timeline.

So at the end of the day, what God says going to come to pass.

He is patient for a spirit that he is placed in the womb in the

ark to be able to fully be persuaded that his word is his

word and he'll use that person to continue propel his word

forward. Although it's not God making

them do it, it is God knowing that it is their choice to do it

and he's influenced them to make the choice and of their free

will. They do it so just because God

can prophecy about a John the Baptist before he ever shows up,

there's a voice crying in the wilderness.

Isaiah said he knew that when the opportunity that I

influenced this guy, this child that's going to come into the

womb of Martha, when that spirit hits him, he will of his own

free will, will do my will, but it's still him.

So he goes on and says so. Then that doesn't depend on the

will of man, which means this God is saying, it's that my

word. Things are coming to pass, and

it's not by a man's will. By himself.

It's a man submitting his. Will to God's will for the

Scripture says to Pharaoh for this look at this.

Very purpose. I raised you up to demonstrate

my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed through

the whole earth. So then he has mercy on whom He

desires and he hardens whom He desires.

That's misleading when you just read it by itself.

If you don't know what He's saying, you will say to them why

does he still find fault? Who can resist his will?

Well, you understand that that's a very good question, because if

God's in control, well then how could he find fault if he makes

you do wrong, if he makes someone else do wrong by you?

So he's trying to set context here in essence.

In fact, when it comes to Pharaoh, you'll read it if you

go over to Exodus that says then a Pharaoh rose up that did not

know Joseph. Now that's very powerful

statement that we gloss over all the time.

What it's saying there is that all the exploits of Joseph and

how it was herald from that Pharaoh that brought Joseph on

that saved Egypt and acknowledged that his God was

God. Although they didn't quit

serving gods, but they understood the God of Joseph.

There was still something in the land about the God of Joseph.

Finally a pharaoh came up that had no testimony of that and had

no concern. And in fact he was so dedicated

to his gods and so resistant and then began to pressure the

Israelites, made him a slave, had his own self-interest.

Why did he make them slaves anyway?

They were productive without it. They were bringing a blessing to

the nation without it, No, he didn't want them to side with

another Kingdom and come up and overthrow his Kingdom.

So through selfish ambition and self preservation, he made them

slaves. He forced that.

He controlled them the best he could.

Now again he may control their movement, but he doesn't control

their mind. They have to give that I got.

I got to go on. I got to go on.

So my point is, is that when Moses shows up, he says I'll

harden his heart. Well, how did God do that?

If you just understand scripture, how's he going to

harden Pharaoh's heart? There's one way hearts are

hardened. He's very consistent in

Scripture. It is when the word is spoken to

you and you resist. It you harden your heart, come.

On even right now in this room, you can harden your heart by

what I'm saying, and that word can either soften you so that

you get your mind renewed to it, you begin to let the life of

God, or you can keep entertaining your own will and

your own thoughts of what you want it to be through the lenses

you want it. And when I say something that

can set you free from your own thought pattern, but you love it

more than God's as the the prophetic word came forth, you

like that throne more then all of a sudden.

You harden your heart. How did he harden?

He said go to Pharaoh and tell him God's.

The Lord said, let my people go, He said.

Let my people go. And what would Pharaoh say?

I don't even know your God. That's right.

Come. On he didn't say, well, I got

quite a few gods myself. Who's yours since you're telling

me he said something, right? I mean, the guy's got a lot of

gods anyway, pretty confused. So you know what's another one?

But then he he is so adamant against it he when Moses leaves

he says you make it worse on those guys.

So that what this guy has just told me to them they'll think

it's a lie and that's what deception will do.

Reception tries to make what truth is a lie in the hearer's

voice And Moses already went to the nation of Israel and say the

Lord has sent me he wants to deliver you.

We going to come up out of Egypt and they're like woo you the man

Moses we love you Moses go tell Pharaoh go kicky man let's do

this thing right. Moses came back and he said what

he say. Well, he said he wasn't going to

let y'all go. And then they end up having to

do it worse, labor. And now they're mad at Moses.

Like you need to take yourself back to your sheep, bro.

Just you need to leave town. But Moses like Nah I'll just do

the will of God anyway so he keeps showing up.

Every time he shows up, the fairy says, the Lord said.

Every time he comes, this fairy says, the Lord said.

Every time he comes, the Pharaoh says, the Lord said.

How do we know there's a hardening of heart?

What did the Lord say about the Israelites when they're

wandering in the wilderness? He said.

Why are they stiff neck and heart of heart?

Every time I tell them what I'm going to do, they don't do it.

So you understand, some of the places where it's the most

difficult is church, because the minute you decide, you take

everything I say personal and not examining it.

As the word of God. Come on.

Oh man, Last week at Rhema man, I was.

I was sliced bread. I mean, they just don't know.

Oh, that's Pastor Earl Glisten. Oh, I heard you were in town.

I came to listen. Well, they, I told them.

I told the class. I said everybody loves me till I

correct them. But in the words you're going to

correct people. You know, and as long as I

travel around and don't correct. And I just tell them how who

they are in Christ and how they walk in the Kingdom and give

them these great words, they're like, wow, they're so amazing.

They're so great, right? Then you're awesome.

When you hit, people get healed through your ministry, whatever

the case, which is God doing it all.

But you know, they equate you. But then to make you crack

somebody, now all of a sudden they're waiting for you to blow

it, because they want you to blow it now so they can tell

everybody you've blown it and everything you're saying to set

them free, they just harden their heart.

More and more and more. And it's not God doing it, It's

you doing it by resisting His word.

So when he is talking about these particular things, he is

saying, I've raised up a pharaoh to show my power, 'cause I just

happen to know that every time my word comes he's going to

resist it. And I'm coming now to deliver my

people, because they have got accustomed to the gods of Egypt

and they know I'm out there. They've started crying out to

me. And so I'm going to demonstrate

to them, because if they're going to be firmly persuaded to

me, they got to know that that I'm greater than the God of Raw,

the God of the sun, and all the other gods that they worshipped

in Egypt. That's why the plagues

personally attacked what those gods were known for.

It was God declaring to his nation I am supreme.

And it's not that I didn't give the guy an opportunity to let

you go at my word, but when you resist my word, I have no

problem giving you the alternative.

So Pharaoh brought destruction to his nation through the sum

total of his choices. That's why his people let her,

Own said. Man, let him go, bro.

Let them go. Y'all all right.

With that being said, look at Hebrews chapter 4.

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

We'll wind down a little bit so we can carry it into next week.

He again fixes a certain day. Hebrews 47 He again fixes a

certain day today, saying through David after so long a

time, just as it has been said before today, if you hear His

voice, and do not harden your hearts.

For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken

of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest

for the people of God, For the one who has entered his rest has

himself also rested from his work, as God did his.

From his Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest so

that no one will fall through. Following the same examples of

what disobedience. So we could, we could sum this

up pretty quick in one statement, And that is you want

a perpetual Sabbath. Always be doing the will of God.

You'll constantly interest Jesus, was accused.

Often of working on the Sabbath, the actual day.

But he's like, look, the Sabbath was not set up for God.

It was set up for man. And that's what puts you in,

remembers who's who's, who you supposed to be listening to.

And he says, my father's always working.

That's kind of crazy. I thought he's resting.

Well, he's working in the context that he's performing.

His word. And Jesus has said, I'm doing

the same thing. I'm here to do the Father's

will. And he was doing stuff on the

Sabbath day. Did he heal people?

They were miffed that on his Sabbath he had the audacity to

heal somebody. And there are churches right

now, people who are letting, well, you know, we're going to

take a Sabbath, Sabbath Sunday. I mean, you want to get

perpetual rest. Just obey.

Now, that doesn't mean you won't have a rest day, because if

you're following God, he'll say you need to take day off.

Your body needs the rest, whatever the case may be.

But I'm not going to get into all that.

Let's go on at verse 12, for the word of God is living in acts of

sharper than intuit, sort of piercing as far as the division

of soul and spirit of both joints and mayor, and able to

judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

So what does this, The word? What does this the word?

What does the word do? It pierces, it pierces soul from

the Spirit and from both joints and marrow, That is spirit, soul

and body. What does it The word now turn

to 1st Thessalonians Chapter 5. First Thessalonians chapter 5,

1 Thessalonians 5:23

verse 23 says it this way. Now may the God of peace Himself

sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be

preserved, complete without blame, at the coming of our Lord

Jesus Christ. The power for you on all three

levels of your being to be all that it can be rests in your

choice. And here's The thing is that we

can be very proficient at controlling an area of our life,

but yet not controlling the other areas.

There have been people that I've met that when you look at their

physical suit, they are disciplined, They control what

goes in their mouth, they control how often it goes in

their mouth, They control the regiment of their exercise.

Are you hearing me? And their body produces the

fruit of it. But in their soul realm,

emotionally they are whacked out, out of control.

Their bodies are as fit as they can be, but they're sleeping

with everything 'cause they have no control on their soul realm,

they're letting other things influence them.

Now when I say no control, they actually are controlling it.

They just haven't submitted it to God's will.

Here's the thing, most of us, we only want to submit our spirit

to God and not our soul. That's why there's a lot of

churches that know they're going to heaven, but they live like

hell on earth and then they act like God's allowing it to

happen, 'cause he's in control. He's in control of what your

body looks like. He's in control of your

emotional state. He's in control of the how

educated you are. He's controlling what all your

jobs are. But you know, at least I'm going

to heaven when I die. Yet it's our responsibility.

It says that God may appease, sanctify you entirely and may

your spirit be preserved complete well.

If God was in control, don't you think he would put all those

perfect None of us should have diabetes.

Come on, come on. None of us should have any

health issues. We should have no problems in

our emotional state or mental state at all.

Yet there are. We'll close with this scripture.

It got quiet. Well, everybody was happy.

We're doing good. I guess I should have stopped 30

minutes ago, Galatians 5 start verse 16,

Paul, riding under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost,

says. But I say to the church, walk by

the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the

flesh who's in control 'cause if God is in control, how in the

world could you ever carry out the desires of the flesh?

And he's talking to born again people.

I mean, really, he's rebuking this whole church.

This is 1 rebuke letter. This whole letter is a rebuke

letter. I don't know that they ever

invited him back to preach. Just one big rebuke from chapter

one all the way through. He's rebuking.

Although he's, you know, giving instruction trying to tell him,

hey look, come on now guys, let's get this together, right?

But he said, Now if you walk by the Spirit, but I say walk.

In essence, that word walk is implication.

You've got to do it. Walk by the Spirit, and you will

not carry the desires of the flesh, For the flesh sets its

desire against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh,

for those are in opposition to one another, so that you may not

do the things that you please. Now again, you can do whatever

you want to do. It's the large If you walk by

the reigning spirit, in essence, if you'll yield your will to the

reigning spirits will, then you will not carry out the desires

of the flesh that wage war against your soul.

He goes on and says, But if you are LED, if you are, what if

it's a conditional statement? This is a born again,

sanctified, completely righteous, made in the likeness

of Christ, believer in the spirit.

Yet if you don't do this, then you get the alternative, and

it's not God's fault, because God is not controlling you.

God has empowered you. Verse 18.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the

law. Now the deeds of the flesh are

evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry,

sorcery, enmity, strive, jealousy, outbursts of anger,

disputes, dissension, factions. In be in being, drunkenness,

carousing, and things of the like Of which I forewarned you,

just as I have forewarned you so that those who what practice,

those who what practice, those who what practice, those who

what practice, that means they're doing this.

They're doing it. You know what they're in

immorality. They're doing sensuality.

They're gossiping, have strive, they have outbursts of anger.

They're all this is just like part of their life.

This is how they live. I mean this is like common

occurrence with them, he says. Those who practice such things

will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

I mean, we are given massive passes.

Instead of saying are you born again?

Come on, come. On Well, yeah.

What are you doing? Well, don't judge me, bro.

That stuff don't get in the Kingdom, 'cause our God's not a

God of injustice. You don't get born again and

keep living like your old way. That's not God.

His ways are not higher in our ways, where he gives you the

ability to habitually sin yet still make it into the Kingdom.

His blood does not give you the right to be like the devil and

still make it to heaven. No, but if you're led by the

Spirit, you won't do any of those.

Which means the Spirit's going to say don't go to sleep with

them, Don't say that y'all ready for this, but the fruit of the

Spirit is. Come on, say, Lovejoy.

Peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness. Self, self, self, self, self,

self. It's a fruit of the Spirit.

You know what the Spirit says? He says I can't control you, but

I you can control yourself, he says.

You know what one of my fruits is?

Is I control myself. That's why I'm holy.

That's why I'm righteous. That's why I'm light.

I know how to control myself now I'm going to give you a piece of

my fruit. You control yourself.

Quit blaming people. I don't care where you're born,

what color you are, what track you were on.

I don't care how you came into existence.

He'll want to give you some self-control that you can live

the life of God. The best life ever.

But you've got to decide to do it.

You have to take the responsibility, I said.

You have to take the responsibility.

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh

with his passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us

also walk. And who controls that?

We do. You do by your will.

Let's pray. Thank you so much for listening

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