The Orphan Spirit!

Hello. Okay, there we go. Hello, good afternoon, Happy Resurrection Day.

It's dark up there, can you guys see both? Like

you guys are like in the shadows upstairs?

All right?

Well, for those of you who are maybe new or

visiting today, my name is Kylie. Justin and Lisa Carpenter

are senior pastors, and they are out of town today

having an opportunity to visit with their oldest son as

well as get some rest and refreshing so that when

they come back they are charged and ready to continue

pouring out as they have done so well. So I

have the immense honor and privilege to get to share

with you today, and I'm so honored just to be

able to be here with you. Like Sean said, there's

just so much excitement and celebration in Easter Sunday. It's

really the cornerstone of what we live as Christians on

a day today basis, it's this day that we set

aside to celebrate and honor the fact that Jesus lived

on this earth, that he died, and that he is risen,

and that power that lives in that rose him from

the day, that raised him from the dead, lives in us.

And today I was I have a message that the

life felt like the Lord's put on my heart. Over

the last few weeks, he's kind of dropped a topic

if you will, that he's been showing me, and it's

actually on the orphan's spirit. And some of you, if

you've been in the church for very long, you may

be familiar with the orphans spirit, or I've heard of

teachings I'm taught on the orphans spirit. Sometimes when we

can give something a name and we can expose it

for what it is, then we can truly get to

the terms where we can deal with it and allow

the Holy Spirit to bring us into an area of freedom.

How we perceive ourselves really affects how we live our

lives on a day to day basis and how we

interact with each other. So I want to uncover and

expose what it looks like to live as an orphan.

And maybe there's areas that the Holy Spirit will highlight

that you might have a mentality of an orphan. I

know even more recently I have. And as we I mean,

it kind of is layer upon layer, right, we can

have certain areas exposed, we can know what they are

and call them out and deal with them. But then

years can go by, and it can these little thoughts

can start kind of creeping in. But if we know

what they are, then we can more quickly deal with them. See,

we were designed for a relationship. We were designed for attachment.

We're wired that way to need attachment, to need relationship.

We come out of the womb looking for it. Some

of us were fortunate enough to experience it in the

homes that we were born in and raised in, and

we had healthy relationship with our families. And some of

us have continued the quest and the search looking for

someone to notice us, someone to validate us, someone to

give us value and worth, someone to care about us.

You see, the orphan spirit can cause us to feel

three things, three points that I want to make. Orphan

spirit can make us feel like we have to prove ourselves,

like we have to protect ourselves, and it can make

us feel like we have to pursue a seat at

the table. When we feel like we have to prove ourselves,

we're striving, constantly, working and doing to be noticed and seen,

validated and valued. We find we're looking for value and

so we hope someone will notice it based on what

we do, and there's a constant striving. There a lot

of times that can come from rejection. How many in

here I have ever experienced rejection. We're all in the

same boat. When we felt that feeling, or experienced rejection

turned away by somebody, then we feel like we have

to prove that they should not have rejected us, that

we do in fact have value. Let me show you

why you were wrong and you shouldn't have turned me away.

You shouldn't have rejected me. I do have value. I'll

prove it to you. I will strive to earn your acceptance,

your validation. When we have an orphan's spirit creep up,

we feel like we have to protect ourselves. I've been

hurt so many times, have been rejected, So I'm gonna

hold on to this offense and I'm not gonna let

you any closer than this. You don't deserve my forgiveness.

And we start thinking that unforgiveness is like a badge

that we wear. We have a right to it. You

do have a right to it, but it will poison you.

Maybe you do have a right to be offended. Maybe

you really were treated that terribly. We probably all can

raise our hands to that. And when we hold on

to a fence, what we're doing is we're creating this

shield around us to protect ourselves, to protect our heart. Oh,

I could still smile and love you even though you've

hurt me. Maybe I'm holding onto an offence, but I'm

going to withdraw myself from you and keep you at

arms distance so it doesn't happen again. An orphan's spirit

can cause us to look around the room and feel

like there's no room for us. The table's full and

there's not enough room for me. So the only way

that I have room at the table is if I

remove one of you. And that might sound really harsh,

but people become threats to us if we don't have

our value as a son or daughter of God, and

we see ourselves as an orphan. You may not intentionally

feel like you're going to pull someone away from the table.

You may just realize and feel like they're a threat.

A lot of times it comes from jealousy. Orphans tend

to feel jealous, and again, it's that need to be seen.

As long as I have a need to be seen,

I need to not let anyone see you, right, you know,

in the Old Testament, They refer to three positions. You

have a slave, you have a servant, and you have

a son. The slave could become a slave and fall

into and the Hebrew culture could have fallen into captivity

in three different ways. A could have been from a takeover.

That would be a tribe or group of people that

won a war and so they take captive the rest

of the people in that community, and so they've become

their slaves. So we say that happen with Daniel as

an example. A slave could also be someone who had debts,

had a debt, and as they were put into slavery

until they could pay off that debt. I heard someone say,

it's not unlike you or I. If you have a

mortgage on your home or alone on your vehicle, then

you show up to work every day to pay off

your debt. So that's what they were doing. They would

become the slave. It's not slavery like we think of

and like what we're used to in more modern history.

It was very normal for someone It was understood, and

slaves weren't often treated terrible like what we're more familiar

with In the Hebrew culture. They were treated with respect.

They were simply working off a debt that they owed.

The Hebrew law, though, allowed the slave to be set

free after seven years, regardless of the amount that they

had paid. After seven years, they could be set free

unless a family member showed up and paid off their debt.

Unless a family member showed up and paid off their debt,

we have a big brother who paid off our debt,

and we no longer have to strive. So what happens

sometimes is we come into the Kingdom, we come into

the family of God, and we know what our past

has entailed, and we know what we've been saved from,

and we know the prist Jesus paid, and we're so

grateful that we feel I feel like we want to

serve Jesus. I just want to give you everything. You

paid it all for me. Now I want to step

into servant and I want to serve, and I want

to get my life. I'll go to the ends of

the earth, i will lay it all down, I'll get

my money away, I'll work at the church. I'll serve, serve, serve, serve.

And in doing so, what can creep in is this

idea that we're now having. We feel like we're paying

off our debt instead of freely receiving the gift that's

been given to us. It's good intentions doing great things,

but we can bring along with us this mentality of

an orphan unless we become aware of it and we

expose it for what it is, and then we can

deal with it. They also had servants. A servant was

often referred to as a bond servant, and they may

have owed a debt, but they would choose to stay

even after the debt was paid off out of love

for their master. A servant would often be treated like

a family member. They would have a close relationship, not

like we would think of as maybe a maid or

butler in today's society. They were close, they had a relationship,

and the servant would often choose to stay because they

love their master. And then of course you had your son,

and a son was an heir. It was not unusual,

and it was actually custom in their culture that the

son would not leave the father or mother until the

father and mother actually passed away. So they would get married,

they would go about their lives, they would have children,

they might even have grandchildren at that point, and they're

still all stay together because it was customary that they

would stay until their father died, and they would receive

the transfer of the blessing and of the He would

become the heir of what the parents owned. I want

to look at a scripture that you're probably familiar with

that kind of would show that I feel turned with

me to Luke, and we're gonna go to chapter fifteen.

You're probably familiar with the story of the prodigal son

and the older brother. We're gonna start with verse eleven

and read through some of this. And this is Jesus

speaking to his followers. And Jesus said, there was a

man who had two sons, and the younger of them

said to his father, father, give me my share of

property that is coming to me, and he divided his

property between them. In that culture that day, because the

sons would naturally stay with their parents until they died

before they received their inheritance. This is the son saying,

I wish you were dead. I really don't care about you.

This is taking away too long. I just want your

stuff and I want to move on with my life.

So he was. That is the attitude that we can

see the prodigal son having here. Not many days later,

the younger son gathered all he had and took a

journey into the far country, and there he squandered his

property in reckless living. And when he spent everything he

had a severe famine arose in that country, and he

began to be in need. So he went and hired

himself out to one of the citizens of that country,

who sent him into the fields to feed pigs. And

he was longing to be fed with the pods that

the pigs ate. And no one gave him anything. But

when he came to himself, he said, how many of

my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, and

I perish here with hunger. I will arise and go

to my father, and I will say to him, father,

I have sinned against heaven, and before you I am

no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me

as one of your hired servants. And he arose and

came to his father. But while he was still a

long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion

and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the

son said to him, father, I have sinned against heaven,

and before you I am no longer worthy to be

called your son. But the father said to his servants,

bring quickly the best robe and put it on him,

and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on

his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it,

and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son

was dead and is alive again. He was lost and

is found. And they began to celebrate. Now his older

son was in the field, and he came and drew

near the house, and he heard music and dancing. And

he called one of the servants and asked what these

things meant. And he said to him, your brother has come,

and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he

has received him back safe and sound. And the older

brother was angry and refused to go in. His father

came out and entreated him. But he answered, his father, Look,

these many years I have served you, and I never

disobeyed your commandments. Yet you never gave me a young

goat that I might celebrate with my friends. But when

this son of yours came, who has devoured your property

with prostitutes, you killed a fattened calf for him. And

the father said to him, son, you are always with me.

All that is mine is yours. It was fitting to

celebrate and be glad for this. Your brother was dead

and is alive. He was lost and is found. The

older son stayed. What was he doing when the younger

son came. He was working in the fields. He was striving.

He was a son who had access to the whole farm.

But he was striving and demanded a goat. He did

not know his identity, He didn't know what he had

access to. Because he was striving. He could not celebrate

when his brother had been found. Do you see the

jealousy that comes in. He was looking for a a

place at the table. He was pursuing a place at

the table, and he did not want his brother. He

did not feel that there was room for the both

of them to be there. He was striving to prove

his value instead of being with his father and gaining

identity and love from his father. I think in the

church we get it backwards. We go from slave, because

before we're saved, we're slaved to sin. We sing about it.

Today we're slave to sin and fear and the things

that bind us. And we learn about Jesus, we accept

him as our lord and savior, and we think that

that means we go from slave to servant, and we

earn our way into sonship. God is saying no, no,

you went from slave to son, and now out of

sonship you can serve me. Brandon, are you here, bud

Ara downstairs? Can you come up here? Down here, wherever

I'm at? I have this illustration, I asked my son.

He willingly agreed. I wanted to show you see an

orphan strives for identity. Okay, just done, not here, But

when we get saved. I turned around and look at me.

I think when we get saved and we leave slavery,

that father just grabs our face. I said, daddy. So

I don't want you to do anything for me. I

just want you to know who you are, and I

want you to know me as your dad. I want

you to know everything that I've put inside of you,

the gifts. I'm the one who affirms you. I'm the

one who values you. Let's just slow down, Let's pump

the brakes. You don't have to do anything to be seen.

I see you. Let's just get intimate. Let's get to

know each other, know me, know my heart for you.

When we're validated by our heavenly father, we're not looking

to be validated by the next person. If his sisters

were standing here. This is my son, for those of

you don't know, and he has four sisters. If his

sisters were standing here, as as their parents, my husband

and I could stand here and we could pour into

them or say you know what, you are chosen, you

are called, you are valued. And then what if his

sisters stood here and started getting envious that I was

pouring into him and validating him, and so she started,

you're not good enough, you can't do that. Who told

you you could do that? And starts trying to devalue

him because she's looking for validation from her father, from

her mother. So does he turn his ear and listen

to that, or does he come back to me? So

many times, thank you baby. So many times we can say, oh,

we can wake up in the morning and say, man,

if I if okay, we'll use Justin. If Justin would

just notice me, I would be success. It would I

could do. I would be validated. If my friend, if

my neighbor, if my boss would just notice how hard

I'm working. But we're going to the wrong source to

get our identity. We're going to the wrong source to

get our validation. Because when we live by the praise

of those people, we will fall by their criticism. And

the father is saying, would you come to me, and

would you just lean into me? Would you come to

know me that I'm the one who gets to determine

who you are. I'm the one who created you. I

breathed life into you. I formed the world and I

formed you. Nobody else gets to say when they don't.

When somebody else doesn't get to qualify you, they also

don't get to disqualify you. So those things that you hear,

those are not your thoughts. I'm not good enough, I'm

not chosen. This isn't for me. I don't belong No, no, no,

that's the accuser. And he also doesn't get to determine

who you are and your value. We don't have to

strive for identity. We don't have to strive to be known,

We don't have to strive to be seen. We go

to our heavenly father. The father and the older brother,

they had two different perspectives. They lived on the same farm,

they were in the same family, but they had two

different perspectives. The father viewed everything that he owned as

the sons that his son had a right to everything,

he would have given it all. He already showed that

with the younger son, everything you wanted him to have,

it's yours. The son needed to shift his perspective to

the father's perspective. Turn with me to John thirteen. And

this is the last supper Jesus having with his disciples

Verse three. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all

things into his hands. Jesus knowing that the who Father

had given all things into his hands, and that he

had come from God and was going back to God,

he rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments

and was taking a towel tied it around his waist.

Then he poured water into a basin and began to

wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with a

towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter,

who said to him, Lord, do you wash my feet?

And Jesus answered him, what I am doing. You do

not understand now, but afterward you will understand. And Peter

said to him, no, you shall never wash my feet.

And Jesus answered him, if I do not wash you,

you have no share with me. And Simon Peter said

to him, Lord, not only my feet, but also my

hands and my head. Jesus, knowing that the father, he

sets an example for us. He knew that the father.

If he knew that the father had called him, he

knew he was a son. And because he had his

identity firmly rooted in the fact that he was a son,

then he was able to serve. He didn't need Peter

to validate him. He didn't look for anybody to validate

him and give him his identity. He knew he had

a father, he knew he was a son, and when

he humbled him solf to serve. When we go from

slave to son, then we can serve freely without striving,

because we know who we are. Then we're there to

come and lift up our brothers and our sisters. And

don't get me wrong, encouraging is good. We're called to

encourage each other to lift each other up. But we

just can't hang our hat on everything that our brothers

and sisters tell us. We can't find our identity in

it or our value in it. A son serves from identity,

an orphan serves for identity. Bill Johnson said, if we

knew we had access to unlimited resources. We wouldn't come

making demands, We would come looking to serve. What if

the older brother in that story, what if he didn't

have an orphan mentality? What if he knew he had

access to everything? Then what could have been his heart

attitude towards his younger brother returning home? He would have

I imagine he would have been joy joy filled. Let

me go get the fattened calf. My brother has returned.

Let me go get the robe, let me get the

ring and put it on him. He's not fighting for

a place at the table. What a different story it

could have been. When we understand that we're his sons

and daughters, and we get a hold of that identity,

and we've spent time in his presence and in his word,

then we realize and recognize the authority that we walk in.

Until we really know who we are, we don't walk

in authority. Self promotion, maybe you've seen it. Self promotion

is a symptom of an orphan mentality. Bill Johnson actually

has a really good quote about self promotion. He said,

self promotion is an orphan's heart fighting for recognition. However,

be cautious because whatever you gain through self promotion. You

have to keep alive through self promotion, and that is exhausting.

Whatever you gain through his promotion, he sustains. We see

that even back as far as Abraham. Abraham received a

promise and instead of waiting for God to fulfill the promise,

he decided to fulfill it on his own from the

encouragement of his wife Sarah. But it wasn't what God

had ordained, and it became a mess, and that's exhausting,

and that it caused heartache because he had to kick

Ishmael and have are out. You know, we've been talking

a lot about sadly that the church has had this

celebrity mentality, which I can't even imagine what that looks, smells,

and tastes like to our heavenly Father, the stench that

that must be when we're serving, because we're a son

or daughter of the Most High God, then we're serving

to make Him known, not ourselves known. He may have

given you a talent, He has given you a talent,

He has given you a gift. A lot of times,

what happens in the church is we start becoming into

our identity of who the Word says that we are

we start realizing like, oh, he gave me these talents,

and he gave me these gifts, and then we start

becoming impressed with them. Maybe you're impressed with your own

gifts and talents, or maybe you're even impressed with the

person next to you or somebody else their gifts and talents.

And the truth of the matter is that those didn't

originate from us. They originated from God. And unless His

Holy Spirit shows up and breathes on those, then they're

going to fall flat. The gifts and talents don't make

us who we are. It's simply a tool that He

has given us that we are able to come in

and play the smallest role in his kingdom, to see

his kingdom established and spread on this earth. Our job

is to make him known, to bring him glory through

the gifts and the talents. Nobody else is worthy of

the glory. Nobody else is worthy of the praise. Nobody

else is worthy of the sacrifice of a life lived

for them. Nobody else can save you from your sin.

He is the only one. The one who empowers others,

is the one who has the greatest influence. You know,

in striving. It may not even be in a position

that you're striving for. It may not even be that

you're striving to be known. Maybe you feel like your

marriage is your responsibility. Maybe it's a false responsibility. If

I work hard enough, I'm gonna make this marriage what

I want it to be. My kids are my responsibility.

Their education is my responsibility. Their safety is my responsibility.

And we strive and it is exhausting. Your heavenly father

is like, baby, just would you just bring it to me?

I can take care of your kids. Would you trust me?

Those things are the easiest to get caught up in

because there in our day in and day out of

our lives, and we do have a responsibility. We can't

wake up and say, oh, sorry, sorry, there's no food

in that pantry or the fridge. I thought Jesus is

going to go to the grocery store for me. We

have a responsibility. There's something we do have to do.

But with their where their destiny is concerned, where their

safety is concerned, where their hearts are concerned, that's where

we have to give them to the Lord and say, Jesus,

I trust you, because you are a good father. I

trust that you'll take care of my children. Those things

where we can get into false responsibility, we can strive

and be exhausted, and he's asking us to just operate

as a son or a daughter and trust him with

those things. Trust him with our job, Trust him with

our siblings, our parents, our loved ones, our marriage, our finances,

if we hold on to if we find our identity

in a position, maybe that's a wife or a husband.

I'm not in this season yet, but I've heard of

people talk about it when all of their children have

grown up and left the house and they're left wondering,

what do I do now, because that's been their whole

world for so many years, taking care of their babies,

and it's like they have to find themselves again. They

have to find their identity again. If your identity is

wrapped up in being so and so's husband, or so

and So's wife, or so and So's mom, or so

and So's dad, or so and So's daughter or son,

or maybe it's the CEO of a company. If that's

your identity, then when the Lord says, hey, it's time

to move on to the next season, you're not going

to and you're not going to have the grace to

be in that season. That you're currently in because you've

wrapped your identity around that position instead of just something

that we do an area that we serve in. You

do not want to be in a place where you

do not have God's grace to be in that position.

Hold these things loosely so that when the Lord says

it's time to move here, it's time to do this.

I have something new for you. You don't want to

miss out because we found our identity in a position.

A few months ago, my husband came across a I

think it was like a coaching thing for business online

and this guy was he's an entrepreneur and he was

doing like a business coaching teaching if you will, And

he said, you know, for so long in my business,

I had the wrong mindset. I had it backwards. I

had this My pattern was do.

Have B.

If I do X, Y and Z, and I work

really hard and I strive, then I can have the

business I want, the marriage I want, the family I want,

and then I can be the businessman I've always wanted

to be, the father I've always wanted to be the

husband I've always wanted to be. And then he had

any that he had it backwards and he said he

changed his mindset from do have be to be have do.

He woke up and he realized, you know what, I

need to be the husband I've always wanted to be.

I need to be the father I want to be.

I need to be the business person I've always wanted

to be, be the investor I want to be. Then

I can have the marriage I've always wanted to have,

the family I've always wanted to have, the business I've

always wanted to have, And then I can do those

things that my heart is set on doing. And we

have it. In the church, we do the same thing.

We come into the Kingdom of God, we become saved,

and we're like, Lord, I'm gonna do all these things,

and then I can have these things, and then I

can be your daughter. And he said, no, baby, no,

you are my daughter. You are my son. Because from

my daughter and my son you get to have these things.

And when you realize that you have these things, you

can go and do what I've called you to do. See,

there's freedom, freedom and knowing our identity, freedom in being

the son and daughter that He's called us to be.

Do you see how the enemy can come in and

this little orphan mentality can creep in, and we're just

gonna expose it today, and you get to be released

from striving because you belong. And when I realize who

I am, I'm not worried about there being room at

the table. I'm clearing space and pulling up a chair

because there's room at the table for you. I'm not

threatened any more. I know my daddy and I know

who I am in him, And now I can come

alongside you and tell you who you are and encourage

you and pull up a chair right next to me

so you can hear from your daddy who you are.

This is the Kingdom. Do any of you in here

have children? Do any of you have more than one child?

And do they ever fight?

Yes?

Do you love it? I never wake up in the

morning and go, gosh, man, I hope my children fight today.

That would be amazing, but just really complete my day.

I hate it when my children are at each other.

I love peace and I love harmony. How do you

think our heavenly father feels when we let that orphan

mentality in. He wants us to cheer each other on,

to encourage each other, to lift each other up, to

be there as a support system for each other. He

wants you to know how deeply in love he is

with you. If you never did another thing for him,

he still loves you. He just wants us to gain

revelation of how much he loves us. Is there anyone

that could play anything we have? Anybody? Could you play? Keys? Micah?

Thank you? I know Chris had to leave. Would you

stand with me? And can I have our prayer teams

come forward? Please? All the prayer teams come to the front. Please.

I don't want to release everybody today without giving you

the opportunity. If you've never met Jesus and you've never

made him your Lord, your savior and received the sacrifice

that he paid on the cross for you, I want

to give you an opportunity to do that today. Maybe

you've done that before and you've turned away and you

just want to come back. We want to give you

the opportunity to do that today. Maybe the Holy Spirit

it's been highlighting some areas where you've had an orphan mentality,

and he's wanting to expose those because he's such a

good father. He's not waiting to smite you. He's waiting

for you to run into his loving arms and wrap

you up. He wants to pour himself into you. He

wants to lift your face to him. He wants you

to identify as his son or his daughter and be

so firmly rooted in that nothing can move you. So

if any of those apply, if you're saying Jesus, I

want to spend eternity with you, and I invite you

to come to the front and allow one of these

amazing people to pray with you for salvation. If you've

turned away and you want to come back and renew

your commitment to Jesus, come to the front. And if

the Holy Spirit is showing you, hey, baby, see this

mentality where you've been operating as an orphan. Let's heal that.

Let's heal the rejection, the fear. Let's heal the pain.

There's room for you at my table and there always

will be that. I invite you to come forward for that.

For prayer, We're gonna wait here just a minute and

give people a chance if they want to.

Before I close this out in prayer.

We'll wait for you. If the lord's moving on you,

I'm gonna pray for us and release you. But if

the Lord is highlighting anything, and you want prayer for

any reason, then these amazing people would love to pray

with you. So I will pray over us and then

release you. Jesus, Jesus, we just celebrate everything you've accomplished today.

We thank you so much for who you are, for

everything you accomplished on that for us. Father God, thank

you for bringing us into your family. I thank you

that you call us sons and daughters, that you desire

intimacy with us, You desire for us to know you

and to make yourself known. Father, thank you for uncovering

and exposing where we've had the orphan mentality in different

areas of our lives. Forgive us for striving. Forgive us

for feeling like we had to pursue a place at

the table. Would you heal the places of rejection of

hurt and would you seal in us our true identity

as sons and daughters? Throughout the week, If any of

those mentalities creep back up, Holy Spirit, we invite you

to reveal them to us so that we can walk

in freedom. I just bless everybody here at the sound

of my voice.

Thank you for listening.

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