Joel Levi - Declaring & Claiming - A choice of a lifestyle change - Sunday, June 21, 2026

There's so many things happened this morning.

I'm just um you know the readings that happened, people share about different things the praying for nations.

There was a Hebrews 3 in Praying for Nations, and as Garrima started to read from Hebrews, um, or maybe Zimi read it from Hebrews 3, and Garrima read something, and straight away in my mind is like, ah, Paul.

And you can just, I could just recognize his language.

And uh then Ephesians 3, uh, somebody read, and I was like, ah, that's Paul, you know, that writing.

Hebrews was not quite Paul.

People don't know whether it's Paul or Barnabas who wrote uh Hebrews, and for some reason, a few months, a few years ago, like maybe 18, 15, 18 years ago, the Lord brought me into a place where I fell in love with the writings of Paul again.

And for some reason, they started to really minister to me.

And this time the Lord took me into a season where I came to know the person Paul a little clearer.

We never know these people fully because we we don't really live with them or walk with them.

We have their writings, the people who've written the New Testament, the disciples and the apostles.

And we can learn so much as the Holy Spirit continues to reveal.

And I was so blessed this morning, and the worship uh again took us into a different place.

And yes, Wednesday nights, um, it is amazing.

What I share is it sets the focus, it sets the tone for what we're gonna pray that evening.

And oftentimes, though, what the Lord is saying is absolutely incredible.

And me myself, and the prayers that people bring and the sharings that people bring is worth worth recording.

So we're gonna go and record it.

What I want to share about this morning is something that's been on my heart off and on, and I notice it, and we do it so often.

It's it's it's the it's the culture of speaking the word, it's the culture of declaration, it's the culture of declaring the truths of the kingdom.

It's it's good and it's correct.

But the Lord, I feel like he's giving us, at least he's giving me this a measure of understanding.

And I'm not gonna say it's the full measure of understanding, but a certain revelation that I feel like I need to embrace.

I need to hold in this moment.

It's something that will probably empower our declaration.

And if I'll give you the title, and probably the title will spell it out.

And if you've received it with the title, you can probably go home.

And uh and and but I will continue to break it down even further.

The title is declarations and claiming, declaring and claiming a choice of a lifestyle change.

Declaring and claiming a choice of a lifestyle change.

See, I believe that as we make a declaration, oftentimes, you know, we grew up with this culture, or at least the church that I grew up in, you know, in the Pentecostal church in India, there was this thing coming in, just as I was towards my last few years in India, there was this thing coming in, which I thought was coming in globally into the global church, and it was very prevalent in the Pentecostal church, which was to just just speak it, just declare it, just speak it out and it will happen.

And I was never at peace with it because I feel like it's the words of God, it's not a magic spell that we can just speak it and it will happen.

Even God Himself doesn't just speak his word, his word does create things, but he also puts things into motion for that word to conform the things to become what they are.

He could have made humans just by his word, but the Bible explicitly defines and tells us that humans were actually formed and fashioned by the hand of God.

His word is still the word that transforms and changes us, his word is still that renews us, his word is still powerful, but that word requires a certain action into put into place.

You know, this is what I what I would say.

I was gonna say this much later, but I'll read it out here now.

And I think it will it will position us into a place where we will actually see the effect of what God is declaring over our lives, what he's giving us to speak out, what he's giving us to declare and release into a certain situation.

This is what I would say a declaration is not a one-time pronouncement, it is a vow that initiates a completely new way of living.

Does that make sense?

This two-line thing.

So I wrote it down.

A declaration is not a one-time pronouncement, it is a vow that initiates a completely new way of living.

Many times, if you think about many times when people came to Jesus and and he healed them and he says to them, Go sin no more.

That means what I've done to you, be healed, or whatever he said, you know, be restored, or be cleansed, or or you know, be made whole and lifted, you know, and and heal the blind guy, heal the leper, whatever.

Heal the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda, heal the woman with the issue of blood.

When he said, go sin no more.

That means there has to be a lifestyle change from this moment onwards.

Otherwise, you won't be able to hold on to this.

Otherwise, you won't be able to grab on to this, and there has to be a complete lifestyle change.

When we make a statement, when we say this is what the Lord is saying to us, when we take a promise from the word, when we remember a verse from some Psalms or the anywhere in the New Testament or anywhere in the Bible, and we speak it out into a situation that demands a lifestyle change.

It is not a magic spell.

And I'm telling you, if we pursue that, if the Lord says that declare peace in this situation, our next step or mental process has to be, all right, Lord, what do I have to do now?

Because let me tell you something.

The Bible does not say that you will be judged according to your faith, it says you will be judged according to your works.

Because there's a certain walking that's required to come out faithful, there's a certain pace that's required to come out strong, there's a certain posturing that's required to come out to be to be victorious, to to see the breakthrough into our lives.

Our confidence is in the Lord.

That's why we speak, that's why we declare his word, that's why we we we remember the promises that he says.

You know, years ago, decades ago, the Lord may have made a promise over our lives, and and we would go into a moment where his presence is strong, and somebody prays over us, or there's a song that's happening, and and we remember those promises, and something happens.

That's the confidence.

Our confidence is in the Lord.

1 John chapter 3, verse 21 onwards, it says, Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, so this is something I remember reading as a young 20-something-year-old, and I wrestled with the Lord.

1 John 3:21

I said, Lord, what is it about the heart?

Why does the heart come in here?

And John here, the beloved disciple, he wrote 1 John and 2, 2, John, 3, John.

And he says, he says, Beloved, if your heart doesn't condemn us, we have confidence towards God.

That means that we could be walking with the Lord, but our hearts may still condemn us.

And if our hearts condemn us, then we don't have confidence with the Lord.

So he's spoken some things to us, he's made a promise, and we've gone ahead and asked him for those things to happen.

We declare peace into a situation, we declare healing over a certain body, we declare freedom over a people, and whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

There is a general walking with the Lord that we all do, there is a general pursuit of the Lord that we are in and we should be.

Most of our lives we have we will find ourselves in a certain pursuit.

You know the difference uh between uh I was talking with Rowana yesterday, and the Lord just sort of pointed out to me, we can most of the time, not all the time, most of the time, differentiate between attack and trials.

Trials would always have a path that we can take and keep pressing on.

But when we feel cornered and there's no path, we just can't see anything, most of the times we are under attack.

And we and you can do and you can pretty much work it out that if there's a path, then we know the Lord is just making sure I just keep going on this path.

And it's hard, it's a trial, but I'm gonna continue going on this path.

That going determines that our words have power.

Otherwise, you're speaking to a stone wall.

Is his word true?

Yes, it's true.

Does it have the power to change?

Yes, yes, it does.

Can it heal me?

Can it restore my heart?

Can it restore my family?

Can it change my city?

Yes, it can.

But it requires a certain path to be taken, and sometimes we have to ask the Lord, Lord, what is the path that you want me?

I know you're declaring this, I know you want to do this, but how am I supposed to do this?

The Lord was the same in the Old Testament as well, but all of those prophets, all through the history of the nation of Israel, all through the the uh um the captivity, all those prophets and those judges, they continued to believe the word, and then they did something that was needed for that word to be accomplished and to manifest in the natural.

Our confidence is in the Lord, but our hearts need to come into alignment, and we'll break it down just a little bit more.

In the same John chapter 1 John chapter 3, verse 23 is something that breaks the break is breaks it down even more.

John 1 · chapter mention John 3 · chapter mention

And whatever he, I'm we're gonna read from verse 22, and whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

Verse 23, and this is his commandments that we should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us commandments.

Now, if you remember when there was one time when the Pharisees and the and and the sp and the scribes and all came and they asked Jesus, what's the greatest commandment?

And he gave them the two.

It was in alignment with this.

He says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbors as yourself.

Because I think that capacity to love is a hard thing, and we can't do it unless our hearts are transformed and changed.

And that transformation and change happens when we go into that a certain pursuit.

Proverbs chapter 18, verse 21.

Proverbs 18:21

It says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat of its fruit.

That's so much right there.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

So we can speak stuff, we can declare stuff.

That's we know, we know that we do it all the time.

But that's not the end of the verse.

It goes, and those who love it, that love is a very deep kind of love.

It's kind of love that you know that saying comes out of that the path to a man's heart is through his stomach.

Have you heard about that?

We've heard it.

I grew up with it.

So, you know, um a nice meal.

By the way, um I'll be spending time with the Lord, and 90% of the times, uh, even in our family devotions at home, you know, when we all as a family we sit down and we read the scripture, we talk about it, discuss it, and then everybody prays.

A lot of the times you read it and you finish that time, and it feels like you've just had a good meal.

I don't know why it is, but the word just feels like you've just had something amazing to eat.

That's the kind of love that this is talking about.

Uh the love between a husband and a wife.

That's the kind of love, really intense, no boundaries.

Love the love that you may have for God, it encompasses every kind of love.

That word love there.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it, love what?

We're gonna go after it in just a moment, will eat of its fruit, will consume those who love it, who's the source of all this life?

God Himself, Jesus Christ, my Savior, our Redeemer, our helper, the Holy Spirit, God the Father, God the Godhead is the source of all this life, and those who love it, those who want this life, how do you want it?

You want it with that kind of love, like a husband would have for his wife, what a wife would have for the husband, a friend would desire their friend.

I've had some amazing friends growing up in India, and still, if I go back, they just have to find out that I'm there, and they'll ring up or text, come and pick me up, you know, this this afternoon, and we go.

As if time doesn't exist, that kind of friendship, that kind of desiring is what's needed.

Those who love it, we have to desire that life in that way, and those are the ones who consume its fruit, not just it, but its fruit, it's growing, it's flourishing, the amazing atmosphere that that life will create, the amazing things that that life will bear in all the years of our living, we will continue to enjoy.

That is that love, human love for one another, the love that families have, the love that you know married people have, the human appetite, desiring.

When we desire something, the act of being a friend, you're a real friend to somebody, God's love towards man, God's love to his people, God's love to nations, all of those kind of loves.

You can just any kind of love that you can imagine.

We must love that life with that love to be able to consume everything that it has to offer.

One of the words for that word consume is to burn with.

Passion, burning passion, that desire.

You know, oftentimes you there may be a thing or or or something, you know, an actual physical thing that you may want.

And you may want it with that passionate desire.

That's how we're supposed to want this life, and only then do we have the lifestyle to be able to see the manifestation of it.

Because that burning desire is what enables us to and causes us to consume and eat.

That is what's on offer.

That's I mean what's on offer.

And his life is on offer.

Titus chapter one, verse sixteen, it says they profess to know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

There was a time in the nation of Israel when they were standing on this side of the Jordan.

If you can just imagine a whole entire nation standing on one side of the river, and there is this river, and on the other side of the river is the promised land.

And these plains were known as the plains of Moab.

And Moses, the leader at that time, he knew that he's not going to cross that river.

Because the Lord had told him, You're not gonna go into the promised land.

He knew that his time is coming to an end.

And he's standing across the seeing the whole nation across the plains of Moab, and he stands on a probably on a little hillside or something where everybody can see him, and he's aware of the fact that he's not gonna go over.

It's not for him to enter.

But he makes this passionate plea with the people.

He makes this passionate, almost like a sermon, a message, a last decree over the people, a last call to action.

And it's in Deuteronomy chapter 30.

Deuteronomy 30 · chapter mention

And this is one of the lines that he says, he says this he says, I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you.

And the word against could be understood in many different ways.

He's calling, he's he's passionate, he wants.

The best for the whole nation.

He knows he's not going to go there, but he wants them to receive and accept and be able to achieve every good thing that the Lord has for them.

And so he's standing there because the most he was the meekest man on the planet.

And he's aware of the fact.

The Lord's taught me I'm not going to go there.

But these people, they're going to go.

And so there is this burning passion in his heart.

That's how I read it.

There is this burning passion in the heart in his heart.

He knows he's never going to taste the air there.

He's never going to smell the fragrances of that land.

He stays this side, but he's so excited about them.

And he calls them into this place.

And he says, Today I bring heaven and earth before you.

And he's passionately calling them into where that I may have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.

Of course, he doesn't want curses for them.

Of course, he doesn't want death for them.

But he's calling them into this place.

Therefore, choose life.

His heart's desire.

The meekest man on the planet.

His heart's desires.

I hope they choose life.

I hope they choose things that bring goodness into their lives.

I hope they choose blessings.

Therefore, choose life that both you and your descendants may live.

And we know what happened.

Every time, the moment they crossed the Jordan, they had a battle to fight.

They met the tri the people group who were called the Hittites.

They were there.

And Joshua had to lead them into a battle.

Did they have a promise?

Yes, they had a promise.

Did they have a word from the Lord?

They had a word from the Lord.

But what was required in the hour, every man standing, fighting, moving forward, pressing in, because that is the task for the hour.

A declaration is not a one-time pronouncement.

It's not that I've said it and that's it.

That's a new age stuff.

We don't do all that.

There is no life in it.

There is no power in it.

It's a mind-conditioning sort of a thing.

It makes you feel good.

It makes you feel easy because we feel like you know Christianity should be easy.

Jesus died on the cross.

Yes, he died on the cross, but he says, in this world, you will have tribulation.

But he gives us the strength to continue to fight.

Even in situations when we feel surrounded, there is this capacity that if we are in him, we can ask for our eyes to be opened and we see heaven surrounding whatever's surrounding us.

But we've got to have that lifestyle.

A declaration is not a one-time pronouncement, it is a vow that initiates a completely new way of living.

In the same passage where Moses calls people into this passionate calling to choose life, choose blessing, that you and your generations and your you and your children's children may live wonderfully, prosperously.

Just a few verses before that, that was 19 onwards.

Deuteronomy chapter 30, verse 16, he actually defines that lifestyle change.

Deuteronomy 30:16

So let's go and have a look at that.

Deuteronomy chapter 30, verse 16.

Deuteronomy 30:16

And in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments.

Five things.

There is the string of five that the Lord is showing me, and it's a it's a context, it is it is a subject matter of a different message.

But I just wanted to just point out here there's something about this five.

I'm just gonna build a certain foundation for a different time.

But there are five things here that the Lord says and points out.

This is how you attain that blessing, this is how you step into that life, this is what will get you there.

Love the Lord with all your heart.

He has to be the one thing, he has to be the one thing that we go after, the one name that we go after in every situation.

He is the one.

You know, my grandmother was such a person that if if any of us grandkids were unwell, she would get really angry if we were taken to the doctor first.

She would say, You guys should have prayed first.

She wasn't against medicine, by the way, she she was fine with medicine, but she just didn't want that to be the first thing that we go to.

She wanted us to pray, ask the Lord for healing, and then do whatever you need to do.

And most of the times we were fine after that prayer.

Most of the time.

These are the five things that Moses commanded the nation of Israel to do as they pursue life, as they pursue, as they speak the blessing of the Lord over each other, as they declare the promises of the Lord.

These are the things they were supposed to do.

Love the Lord, walk in his ways, keep his commandments, keep his statutes, keep his judgments.

How do we do this?

None of that is possible if we don't have passion.

Love requires a passion.

The pursuit of God requires a passion.

The pursuit of his ways requires a passion.

The pursuit and just just the just the intensity that's needed to fulfill every commandment requires a passion.

No, I will stay faithful.

To maintain his judgments in our lives, it requires a passionate heart.

I don't have that verse here, but it comes to mind.

It was the time when Jesus says that if you don't eat my flesh and drink my blood, there's nothing of me in you.

And people walked away.

They said, This is too hard for us to understand.

Lawfully, we're not allowed to drink blood.

And then they took it literally.

And then he goes to his disciples and he says, Do you want to walk away as well?

But before he had a response, let me point out, he didn't go and say, Come on, guys, I was only joking.

I didn't mean literally that you're gonna drink my blood.

He didn't say that, by the way.

But Peter jumps back and he says, Lord, where would we go from you?

With you, are you have the words of life?

Plus, we have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

What is this?

This is passion speaking.

This is his heart, and Jesus goes, That was not released by flesh and blood.

Although some of that he he spoke when Jesus said, What who do people think that I am?

And Peter was the one against who replied back with this great passion and power.

We can't be in that place without passion.

And if we lack passion, we are to ask God and say, God, fill my heart with burning passion for you.

Somebody gave me, you know, uh, I think Jill was talking about Reinhard Bonke a couple of weeks ago, and there was his book, one of his books, his biography, actually, a really thick, big book that I've read, and there was another smaller book he wrote, Evangelism by Fire.

And I started reading it as a young Christian, that book, and it's got these pictures right in the middle of the book.

There are these six or eight pages with pictures.

The rest of the book is just text, but just in the middle of the book, right in the center of a book, about 300 pages, maybe just slightly more, right in the middle, there are some colored pages with pictures.

And the first picture I saw was his caravan, his 18-wheelers driving through the heart of Nigeria, and they say for Jesus on the side.

You know how you you see here the red trucks, you know, Ron Finimo trucks?

It was similar to that, but instead of the transport company name, his one said for Jesus.

And I felt the passion.

I said, Whoa, that is passion.

And then then there's a picture of an auditorium similar to this, and there's some kind of uh banners or something, uh little square made up with those banners, and there's this cutout of a bird hanging from the middle, and it just felt like I don't know how many of you even remember that.

I I remember it because it had such an impact on my heart, and I I felt passion, and I was like, I want the fire of God on my life, I want his Holy Spirit.

That's passion, and I'm I'm telling you, we can't maintain these five things without passion.

I want to quickly take you into, before my time runs on, I want to take you quickly to this passage, two passages.

One is in in James chapter 3, verses 1 to 6.

James 3:1–6

I'm gonna just quickly read, my brethren, let me let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment, for we all stumble in many things.

And if anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man.

So it's just not possible.

Able also to brittle the whole body.

None of us are able to do that.

Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.

Look also at ships, although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.

Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

So, how great a forest, see how great a forest a little fire kindles.

I mean, an entire forest can just burn up with just a spark.

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.

The tongue is so set among our members that if it defiles the whole body and sets fire, the and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire by hell.

And I should be wearing glasses.

You know, today is the time when I increase the font size.

Yeah, that's it.

You gotta be faithful.

Here we go.

Now I should be able to read it.

James chapter 3.

James 3 · chapter mention

I'm gonna read from verse 3 onwards now.

I've read the the couple of first ones.

Indeed, we put bits on horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body using those bits.

Look at also, look also at ships, although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they're turned by a small rudder wherever the pilot desires.

Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

See how great, see how great a forest, a little fire kindles.

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.

The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire by hell.

What does that mean?

He's writing to the saints, he's writing to fellow believers, and he's saying these these lines to them that this this tongue has the power to defile your whole body, this tongue has the power to destroy you, this tongue has the power to set you on fire like an entire force can kindle with just a spark.

Why is it?

How is it possible?

It's possible if we are saying stuff, but our lifestyle doesn't align with that, then we are putting ourselves under hellfire.

We are positioning ourselves in a place where we do not see the results that we are looking for, where we do not see the fulfillment of the words of the promises that we are declaring.

It's not just about speaking negative stuff.

Obviously, as Christians, we want to stop speaking stuff that is undefiling, I mean uh defiling or unedifying or anything that is criticism or or or or kills the life into somebody.

Of course, we want to stop speaking stuff like that.

Of course, we want to not go into criticism, of course, we want to not be into gossip and all sorts of things.

I mean, that's a that's a required thing.

That's a standard Christian behavior.

So, what's he talking about?

I think he's talking about that if we speak stuff, we better have our lifestyle aligned with it, because if our lifestyle is not aligned, we're gonna see some damage.

And I feel like this is this is something that we've got to build up in our lives.

It is like our words have the power to alter the course of our lives.

A little spark can change an entire forest.

That little rudder at the back of this boat can change the direction of the boat.

Our words have the capacity to alter the course of our lives and commit us into going to a certain into a certain direction, and we must pay attention to these directions.

I want to quickly just run through 2 Kings chapter 13, and I'll end with this.

2 Kings 13 · chapter mention

2 Kings chapter 13.

2 Kings 13 · chapter mention

Something amazing happened here.

It's the end of the life of the most powerful prophetic guy in the Bible.

Elisha.

He had twice as much what Elijah had.

The most powerful prophetic voice in the Bible.

Everything he said happened.

Second Kings chapter 13, verse 14 onwards.

2 Kings 13:14

Elisha had come sick with the illness of which he would die.

So this is the disease, this is the sickness that was that was going to finally take him.

Then Joash, the king of Israel, came to came down to him and went and wept over his face and said, Oh, my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen.

Now there's there's prophetic meaning in that.

And Elisha said to him, Take a bow and some arrows.

Now there was there was enemy, the Syrians were coming across the nation of Israel, and they were overtaking.

They were coming and they were destroying a certain spiritual positioning of the nation of Israel.

And that's what King Joash was referring to.

If you remember, Elisha said the same words when he saw Elisha being lifted up.

In that moment, as he's being lifted up, he says, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel.

If you remember, I'm gonna leave it there.

Otherwise, this will be another hour.

Elisha said those words as a young prophet, and here the king comes, Joash, and he's reminding him of that of that word, and he says, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel.

And Elisha knew what he meant, and he says, Take a take a bow and some arrows.

So he took himself a bow and some arrows, and then he said to the king, put your hand to the bow.

So he puts his hand to the bow.

And so the prophet put his hand onto the bow, and so the king put his hands on the bow, and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands.

So the king puts an arrow into the bow and he pulls the bow.

And the prophet puts his hand on the king's hand as he has the bow stretched, ready to be released.

That's a that's a that's a sign of passion.

Strung up, ready to go.

And so the prophet puts his hand on the king's hand and he said, Open the east window.

Let some sunlight come in.

Open the east window.

Let us see something different to what we can see here.

That's what windows are for, to change our perspective.

And he opened it, and Elisha said, Shoot! And he shot, and he said, The arrow, as the arrow is going through the window, through the east window, it's going out.

Maybe the Syrians were attacking from the east.

Doesn't make any difference.

The same thing.

As he shot the arrow, the most powerful prophetic voice in his time says, the arrow of the deliverance of the Lord.

The arrow of the deliverance of the Lord and the arrow of deliverance from Syria.

For you must strike the Syrians.

Now, here's the task.

Here's the task.

Came the word, the arrow of the deliverance from the Lord.

And next thing he says, you must strike the Syrians.

Why did he say it?

To ignite passion.

He's got a weapon in his hand.

You look at anybody on YouTube or anywhere, if they're showing off their new new toy, I'm not I'm not recommending that you watch gun videos or something like that.

But I would assume when people have that kind of thing in their hand, there is a certain passion that triggers.

One of my uncles, he had a nine millimeter sidearm.

And and uh beautiful, beautiful piece of human engineering.

And uh and I and he would give one of our younger cousins to polish it all up, and and they would polish it all up and put it back in his belt and all the bullets and everything.

And it was his service pistol.

And uh, and we were all really fascinated by it.

I don't know what it is about these type of things, things of power, things of strength, things that can do something like that.

Like uh it there's power attached to it, there's passion attached to it.

And so when when you when you consider a bow, which was the equipment for the two to do the same task at that time, it would ignite a certain passion.

It would It would it would draw, it would, it would shape a heart in a certain way.

So he the prophet has the king pull the bow up and he says, Shoot the arrow.

Now there needs to be a certain fire in you when you shoot the arrow.

And he and the prophet is trying to ignite more passion.

And as the king shoots the arrow, he says, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance.

Why is he doing that?

He's creating an atmosphere to get the king going.

He puts his hand on his hand.

Why?

It's not gonna do anything.

He's not going out fighting.

But it's a it's a it's a it's an emotional thing to get the king excited.

The prophet lays hands on me, the prophet declares I can hear his words.

He's trying to ignite passion into the king's heart.

The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and he goes and then he says, You must strike the Syrians.

And then he says something more incredible.

And I'm just gonna finish with that.

And so let me find where it is.

And then Elasti says, Shoot! And he shot, and he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria.

You must strike the Syrians at Aph till you have destroyed them.

That is passion.

The king should have gone at that point.

He should have gone, Yeah, I'm gonna strike the Syrians at Aph.

I'm gonna wait until I get to Aph.

And when I get to Aph, according to the word of the Lord, I am going to strike them, and I'm gonna keep on striking until I utterly destroy them.

And then he said, Take the arrows, and he took them.

He must have a quiver full of arrows.

He took the arrows and he said to the king, strike the ground, and he struck the ground three times.

If he had burning passion in him, he would have gone, Yeah, yes, I will strike the ground, and he will continue striking the ground until he ran out of arrows.

I cannot believe the king of the nation of Israel only had four arrows in his quiver.

He would have a quiver about this big, I would think, and he would probably have 50 arrows in there.

You keep pulling and keep shooting if he had passion in his heart.

And you must strike the Syrians at Aphakh till you have destroyed them.

And he says, Take the arrows, and he took them, and he said to the king, strike the ground.

So he struck the ground three times and stopped.

If he had run out of arrows, the Bible would have said, He sh he shot the arrows until he ran out.

But the Bible says he shot three times and then he stopped, looking at the prophet again.

Any other declarations?

And the man of God was angry with him and said, You have, you should have struck five or six times.

There's something about that five.

I have another message that builds up on that five and defines what those five are.

And the man of God was angry with him and said, You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it.

But now you will strike Syria only three times, and then they will run you over.

Based on the word that the Lord has given us, based on what He's positioning us to speak into a certain situation, declare a certain promise.

If we don't do some inner searchings and ask the Lord, Lord, what do I have to do to step into this?

How do I get in from here to there?

There is this false thinking, by the way, in the church that used to say, Oh, it's all works.

That's the biggest thing designed by the enemy to make us fail.

There's no such thing as works.

There is obedience, there is faithfulness, there is a passionate pursuit of everything that He is putting into our hands.

And He's putting a lot.

And I'm telling you, we can't just speak stuff.

There is a lifestyle change.

When we declare something, it is a vow, it is an acceptance before the Lord that, Lord, I am willing to change my life completely to come into alignment with what you are declaring through me in this hour, in this season, in this moment, upon this life over this nation to change this city.

And it requires passion to walk it out.

Let's pray.

We allow the Lord to show us his dreams, his ideas, opening the right windows.

We rely upon divine partnership and we transition from faith into there it is.

Father, I pray that you bring us into a place where we are burning with passion for you.

Holy Spirit, I ask that you come into our lives and turn us around.

Let the hour of slumber be gone.

Father, I pray that the sun rise over us.

Let the shout of the people be heard.

Let the sound of the trumpet be heard.

That the bridegroom is coming.

Father, that we may be awakened into a new place of passion and holiness and wholehearted pursuit of you, Jesus.

Where your words go out of our mouths and our feet, Lord, pursuing that word to stand in the ground where you've promised us to be.

Father, I pray that you give us this capacity to love you more than anything else that we love or desire in this world.

That you be the one thing, that you be the one name, Jesus, you be the one before us in every situation, in every circumstance.

That we love you, Lord.

That we love you.

And while none of us can be perfect, but Father, give us that desire to want to be perfect.

That we pursue this the rest of our lives.

We give you thanks, Lord.

We give you honor, we give you praise.

We give you praise.

Come and change us, Lord.

Set a new fire in us, a fire of wholehearted pursuit of your righteousness, your holiness, your ways, your kingdom, your river.

Your reign ruling across our hearts.

We love you, Jesus.

We honor your name.

Amen.

You know, I um Rwanda and I were watching.

I have the habit of putting YouTube on at odd times.

And so Ruan and I were talking, and for some reason I put it on, and she was like, Why are you putting this on?

I said, Yeah, I don't know.

That's why I turned it off, put it away.

But it was Elon Musk talking about um, you know, these starships and this and that and how he wants to do this.

He was making a statement at the NASDAQ, which is one of the exchanges, uh, instrument exchange in the States, and he's he was making a statement there, and I realized just in that three seconds that I heard, I realized sometimes it is good to have an unattainable target because it keeps us going.

It keeps us going, keeps us going.

So while we can't be perfect, it's good to have a desire that, Lord, I want to be perfect.

So bless you all.

Have a great, great week.