The Good Fight of Faith//12PM// Pastor Terrance Richmond

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Love Quest International

Church Podcast, where we seek to love all nations, equip the

church, mobilize the equipped, and serve all.

We're super glad you're joining us from whenever and wherever

you're at in the world. Welcome to the family to get

your Bibles ready, get some water, get some coffee, maybe

some tea, and get ready to receive.

Let's get into it. Come on, if you believe that,

just give God a good old round of applause.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Come on. Really quickly.

As you are being seated, I need you to tell two to three people

around you that today is going to be a good day because you are

sitting next to me. How many people came to church

today with some expectation? Amen.

What I do know is the Lord is here to heal, deliver, and set

free. Yeah, go ahead.

Give Him praise for it in advance.

Lift your hands and pray with me for this Word today.

Father, we thank you that you have created in us a clean heart

and renewed in US a rice spirit. And so we declare that the word

that is about to be sown, it is going to be sown into good

ground. My heart is good soil.

And Lord, I thank you that the enemy is defeated.

I thank you. Yeah, that the word will be

received unhindered. So, Holy Spirit, have your way.

Holy Spirit, do what only you can do.

Today. I lay down my cares.

I lay down my worries. Because I know that you have a

word for us today. I fix my heart, fix my mind.

I fix my posture to receive and I will not just be a hearer of

the word, but I declare right now that I am a doer of the

word. I am a doer of the word.

I believe for 100% of us in this room today.

This word is for 100% of you today.

So before we go, I'm going to ask you to say something to the

person on the right of you. And if you look to the right and

no one's next to you, look to the left because someone on your

left is going to be looking today, right?

And then y'all going to stare at each other.

And I want you to say if you are not going to help me receive the

word today, find another seat. But if you come on, come on,

stay with me. But if you are ready to grow

with me, consider us growth partners, OK?

I don't see nobody moving, so you must be growth partners.

Here's what I find out today is there has been an immense amount

of words spoken over my life spoken in this room in this

church. There is an immense amount of

words, encouragement, inspiration on social media.

We are not lacking word. OK, but isn't it funny no matter

how much. Goodness, you experience, no

matter how much word you know, no matter how much you think you

believe God is good. Ain't it funny that when you

wake up in the morning, bills are still there, stress is still

there, haters are still there, the job you don't want to go to

is still. There.

No matter how much faith you have, you still have to wake up

to your faith being challenged. It's not going anywhere.

Life is going to life. Say that with me, life is going

to life. So if life is going life, then I

got to do whatever God said. I'm going.

To do right because life gone life, life been life in since

Genesis 1, OK. Now, are you going to say

Terrence gone or Denny's gone? What is Danny gone?

Right for me? I'm going to declare.

Terrence going to live, Terrence going to win, Terrence going to

overcome, Terrence going to climb to the top.

Terrence going to walk by faith and not by sight, right?

Life, If life go life, then Terrence going to have to.

Terrence is not submitting to fear.

Terrence is not giving in to lack.

Terrence is not going to be like his daddy was.

Terrence, what are you going to do?

If life go life, what is you going to do?

And so I understand that faith is not really faith until it's

antagonized by the wind. Yeah.

You you can't say you got faith until you see how your faith

respond to your win. Right.

Everybody in here be like, I got faith.

But how you respond to pressure, how does your faith respond?

So don't call it faith. Call it something else.

Inherited strength. My my Mama was strong.

OK, that's not faith. That's your Mama strong.

And you grew up. Oh, my Mama worked hard.

So you got a good work ethic. You ain't got faith, right?

So call it what it is, but I'm talking about faith.

And so This is why we call it the good fight of faith, or the

Word calls it the good fight of faith.

Because Paul was like, it's only one fight that's good.

Can anybody guess what fight is good?

OK. All you guys just like, oh, I

guess. He think no, no, no, that's.

Not what I want to hear. It doesn't matter.

It's still a good answer. But what fight is good?

While you guys are thinking, I'll turn my slide.

You don't, But I will. What fight is good?

We got people afraid to answer. Sure, that's good.

But that's not it. It's not what I'm looking for.

Well, fight is good, huh? No.

No. You just said.

No, a good fight is the one you win.

Come on, praise the Lord. Hallelujah, the good fight is

the one you win. And so if we look at Paul and

all he's went through at the end of his life, he was like, I have

fought the good fight of faith because I have come to the end

of my journey and I look back, no matter what I've been

through, I ended my life being closer to God.

I've ended my life doing what God's called me to do, and I've

ended my life evolving into the son or daughter that God has

predestined me to be. That was a good fight because I

won. Although the devil punched me a

few times, I won. Although I was in the fiery

furnace. I came out and you wouldn't even

tell I was by fire, right? The good fight of faith is good

because I win. You can have a word, but you

still got to stand on the word. Look, it's been prophesied to me

that I'll write many books. Well, guess what?

I didn't have a book till I what?

Wrote a book. Oh, you mean to tell me prophecy

don't do the work for you, right, So I can come here every

Sunday and encourage you, but you have to do things that will

allow the word. You got to make room.

For the word in your life. You, you can't, you can't hear

me say today that the peace of God transcends all understanding

and this week is going to be the most peaceful week you ever had.

And then you go out there and act a fool and you like, well, I

guess God wasn't right. Oh no, you just didn't listen.

Faith without works is dead. So some of y'all waiting on God

and he's like my word is always true.

What are you doing to partner with my word?

So you still got to stand on the word and and and and and when

the wind blows, the wind blows and is allowed to blow in your

life because it challenges your posture.

Right A nice. I'm glad the wind has been

blowing because there's some things that I realized was

compromised in my posture and then it was some stuff that the

wind was just like we don't. You're good there, you're good

there. You're doing good right there,

right? But the wind is always going to

blow because we always are evolving.

Mark 4. Says this.

And he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, hush,

now did you ever have something moving or talking so much you

just got fed up and was just like, hush, no, no.

And then they was like but no, no, no, no, don't even explain.

Hush, be still muzzled. And the wind ceased, sank to

rest as if exhausted by its beating of the wind, ceased,

sank to rest as if it was tired from its own tossing.

And there was immediately a great calm, a perfect

peacefulness. Watch this, you guys.

Calm came after steel. Steel and calm ain't the same

thing. You're trying to find calm

without being steel. Watch what he does.

He arose posture. He got up.

He rebuked the wind authority. He said to the sea.

Hush, enough is enough. He was very specific and he says

be still, I'm not there yet. Bring it back and rewind.

Be still muzzled and the wind. Cease.

Oh. The wind cease.

Sank to rest as if exhausted by its beating and there was

immediate there was an immediate calm after the obedience to

steal some of y'all some people that was here in the first

experience could tell you he going to be all in your Business

Today he going to be all in your Business Today enough right he

is saying here the C did not argue with the command the.

C did not negotiate. Well, let me get a few more

tosses and terms. Let let me just sleep with the

frogs one more night, one more drink, 11 more smoke, one more,

one more porn, one more, just one more.

No, it wasn't. No negotiation, He said be

still, and it ceased. Then calm came.

When the Lord spoke, it became still.

And I believe the Lord is inviting us into the same

response today. Love quest.

So as the Lord spoke to the sea, I sensed the Lord saying to us

today, enough is enough, be like the sea and be still.

Love quest. We we thought peace is the

absence of storms, but it's not. We've assumed stillness is the

absence of movement, but it's not.

Stillness is a response to authority, not to an emotional.

Angst. Although the angst may trigger

the revelation that I need to be still, the peace of the Kingdom

follows command, not effort. And in knowing that stillness is

enabled or activated by obedience, stillness is what

enthroned the king, and peace is the Kingdom.

Peace is the Kingdom. Peace is the presence of God's

Kingdom that expands within, overwhelming our lives once He

rules and governs our souls. This means if peace is missing,

pay attention. If peace is missing, it's not

because God isn't present. It's often because we're still

moving anxiously and frantically where he's already conquered.

Watch this. You're doing and working and

busy where God has already settled it.

You're talking longer when God is already shut up.

You're you're you're you're you're you're you're moving

where God has already ruled. You're, you're you're, you're

fighting for things that God has already blessed you with.

Watch this. You are still praying for stuff

that God is like I heard you. I heard you the first time, OK,

he tells Daniel. I'm glad you didn't stop

praying. Watch this.

What I pray initially evolves once I know it's done.

So if I know he's done it and it's only a matter of his

timing, then my request goes to Thanksgiving.

No, no, no. You.

You already promised. I found the word, so now I'm

standing on it. That by your stripes I am

healed. So now I know that I got the

receipt for my healing. Thank you, Jesus.

Hallelujah. I am healed from the crown of my

head to the soles of my feet. Right.

Faith is the receipt. It's the pink slip.

So the moment I got the word, I got the receipt.

Once I got the confirmation number, I don't.

I don't keep calling the hotel saying you sure you got a room

for me? No, once I sent you the

confirmation number, even if I show up, you got to find me a

room or you got to pay for me to stay at another hotel.

Faith is the confirmation. So once my faith is on it, I

don't keep asking. But some of us are asking

because we really don't believe God can do it.

So we're moving anxiously. We're trying to change people

anxiously, which is a sign you don't believe God about your

spouse. You don't believe God about your

finances. You don't believe God about your

career. Because you keep asking, watch

this. And because you keep anxiously

asking, you keep on moving yourself into the throne.

And God's like, oh, you want to be the king of your life, Go for

it. Somebody say be still.

Stillness is not calm or inactivity.

It is the moment we step out of unauthorized authority.

Stillness begins when we say the battle's yours.

It's not mines. Yes.

Watch this. Here's something that gets us

all in trouble. Watch this.

It sounds biblical but has quietly reshaped how many of us

live. Watch this.

Have you ever heard this? God helps those who helps

themselves. Wrong.

That ain't in the Bible. It is a cultural proverb.

God helps those who helps themselves.

So so oh wait a minute, wait a minute.

So I gave my life to a God that the only way He can help me is

if I help me first. So why do I need His help if my

help activates His help? But culture says God helps those

who help themselves watch it. It's not scripture but has

discipled probably your whole family.

It's a cultural proverb. It's not scripture.

And this proverb teaches us responsibility equals control.

Hey, watch this, watch this. I'm not going to look at none of

y'all. I'm going to actually say what

I'm about to say, turn this way so I'm not mistaken for nothing,

but there's a lot of y'all in here that got control issues.

There's a lot of y'all in here think that you can help God more

than he can help you all. Right.

This proverb teaches us that responsibility equals control.

This proverb teaches us that faith means staying in motion,

right? It feels like faith because I'm

busy. I'm like, I'm doing it, God.

I'm doing it. Raw shake, raw shake.

Get that Bye bye, bye, bye, bye. I'm moving, right?

And then you go to Instagram and it tells you, man, you ain't

doing nothing. Get up off your couch.

You ain't know about this morning.

You need to get hold up, man. I'm telling you also, yeah, you

ain't like me. I don't even watch TV.

No, I mean, I do like, what are you talking about?

Like, right, all these cultural proverbs and we're under this

immense pressure and culture that if we ain't moving, we

getting behind. Oh, so you a believer more than

a conqueror, but you competing with people who don't even

believe this proverb teaches us, watch this, that stopping means

to fall apart. I got to keep going.

This proverb teaches us saying no means left all alone,

especially in this young generation.

You get some attention. You're going to do whatever you

need to do. Well, I guess that's what's

going to give me attention. So I'm going to keep doing that.

No means left all alone. And here's the fruit of that

cultural proverb. It produces restless souls this

generation. Is so red.

Watch this. There comes There used to be a

day that you didn't know what other people was doing in the

world unless you picked up a newspaper or watch the news.

If the channel worked, you not only stressed out over what's

going on in your life, but you. Stressed out on what's going on

in everybody's life because you looking at everybody's life.

Restless souls. Somebody look like they got

their life together because they got really cool videos and they

showing you they working out. Some people work out for the

length of the clip and you just think they got their life

together. We have lost authenticity in our

culture. This thinking produces exhausted

efforts. Some of y'all work so hard, but

most of your efforts is exhausted.

You give your spouse exhausted romance, exhausted compliments.

You're like, oh I haven't said I love you today.

I love you babe. Oh I got that out of the way

right. You give your kids exhausted

time. You get you come to watch this.

Some of y'all can't even sit in church without giving an

exhausted Amen. I hear exhausted claps all

service from some people exhausted because worship time

is not a priority. We take this time watch this.

We take coming to church as a gas stop to get get pumped or

get, get get get get free from our exhaustion not realizing we

should come into this atmosphere.

Offering life so that those that don't know him there's an

overflow. But we give exhausted efforts

not because life is hard. Watch this guys.

But because we are helping ourselves in places God never

authorized us to govern. Let's keep it real guys.

Let's keep it real. OK, I remember, I remember the

first time I told my I remember I told my wife one time I said,

babe, we are not soul mates. You feel that in the room.

Oh, I'm going to debunk that myth as well later on in the in

the in the in the coming days soul mates.

Oh this thing that God put one person in the earth and I'm

spend my life trying to find them.

Well, let me help some of y'all if that's the truth.

Most of y'all ain't found your soul mate.

What I understood is the 2 become one.

So it is our covenant. We become soul mates.

We're not soul mate. I don't find this one person.

If I didn't marry, PJI could have married another woman and

as long as God had way in that marriage and we gave it to him,

that marriage would be successful.

This idea that there's one person in the world.

So watch this if we're honest because I came to help y'all.

Some of y'all got married or in relationships and even had kids

and now you have to govern a marriage God didn't really

bless. You didn't pray for that.

You prayed to get married. You desired kids.

Now watch this. Some of y'all listening to me

and you know I'm telling the truth because you're trying to

govern something that the Bible says the blessing of the Lord

makes rich. It adds no sorrow.

Watch this. So you're trying to fix

something now that you already thought was going to bring you

so much life. And So what happens is we move

before God. We move before we trust God.

Then we say, God, I'm married, bless it.

And then anybody that's trying to lead us in the right way,

which is waiting, they're controlling.

So then the church is as divorced as the world here it

is. And what's as popular as divorce

is we live in the same house, but we spiritually are

separated. So you're divorced spiritually.

You don't pray together. You don't read the word

together. Oh, but you talk about finances

together because we have to get out of here.

That's not the plan of God. Y'all business partners, y'all

partnered on some kids. Well, watch when them kids move

out. Oh, buddy, you better you yeah,

you better work on it now because the kid is actually

helping some stuff not fall apart when that kid move out

though. But not not in love Quest.

Love Quest has nothing but prosperous marriages in Jesus

name. Amen.

Shameless plug. That's why starting in February,

every first Sunday we are having a marriage encounter every

single first Sunday evening starting in February.

Amen, Hallelujah. Amen.

Psalm 46 says does not say right.

It says be still. It does not say pray harder.

It does not say fast more. Although we need to fast, we're

in the fast right now. It does not say sing louder or

strategize better. Be still is a command.

Be still and know that I am God. He is not a whispering or He is

not whispering a word of comfort.

When he say be still, be still, it's going to be OK.

Elder John like. Like just be still, it's going

to be OK. I got you.

No, this is God asserting his authority.

Yeah, Cease striving. This.

Be still means to cease striving.

Are you all with me? Be still means to drop your

weapons, your way of doing things, your way of getting

through, your way of getting by. Watch this.

I have a problem. I can do multiple things, and

I'm a visionary and I'm a pioneer.

I actually have to learn to say no to my vision.

I actually have to discern when God's like I put it in.

You. But this ain't the season for it

to come out of you. Watch this.

I put it in you so that you can be a disciple to those that I'm

calling to do it. I allowed you to accrue some

business savvy. Not to be a businessman,

although you might own a business.

Big difference. But I am going to put you in a

sphere where businessmen and women will come to you for my

name's sake and business is going to be the medium.

But their soul is what I'm after.

Some of you need to close some of your abilities, not shut them

off, but they need to move from purpose to hobby.

But for us watch this, we prostitute our gifts depending

on what we need in a season and we call it purpose.

OK watch this. Be careful giving your gifts to

things that will only make you money.

OK, OK, OK, OK. Be still means disengage.

Cease your attempts to control the outcome.

Cease your attempts to control the outcome.

Cease your attempts to control the outcomes.

Cease your attempts to control the outcomes.

Watch this. B still means to disengage.

Close the door, lock it, put a muzzle on it.

No, watch this. If I'm going to break up with

somebody, it ain't no in the future.

If it's God's will, No, it ain't God's will.

See, I I was a terrible breaker upper.

No, no, no, stop leaving the door open for the future.

No, God didn't say go kill your son Abraham.

But when you get there, I'm going to ask you not to.

God said go kill your son. What you mean go kill?

My God Cole watch this. We struggle to be still because

number one y'all ready for this? It's going to bless a few of

y'all. We struggle to be still because

trauma trained us to survive by controlling I think.

We should do no music during this.

Period of time God watch this. We struggle to be still because

trauma trained us to survive by taking control.

Some of us are doing what we are doing because we like, I'm never

going to be broke like my family was growing up.

You're you're doing so much to avoid your childhood.

Watch this. Some of us even stay in a

marriage and our only fight is I promise that I will never have

my kids split between two homes. Oh that's why you're staying

together. I think it's worse when 2 two

kids got parents. Same got 2 parents in the house

but they don't see love. So trauma trained us to survive

by controlling. Watch this.

Anxiety trains us. Trained us to stay alert.

Fear trained us to never stop moving.

I wish I had some time. To deal to deal with anxiety

trained us to stay alert. That's why we got so many

critical people in the church. They missed the word because

they too alert that that that the sound too loud like or or or

this person is that you so alert and it's so nerved up about

doctrine. You you not receiving the the

Rhema word. Because your anxiety, somebody

hurts you somewhere. So anywhere you go now you are

more alert by the, the, the, the, the, the, what do you call

it? By the the ability of people to

hurt you or the threat of hurt. So you go into a space.

Fear trained us to never stop moving.

Performance trained us to prove worth Oh, since the wind since

the wind been blowing, watch one thing coming to Canada has

taught me. Is all of these about me?

I preached about this trauma thing.

I preached about this anxiety staying alert.

This fear trained us how to keep it moving.

We talked about simplifying performance, trained us to prove

worth. And then the hustle trained us

to outrun trust. Oh, we got some hustlers in this

room right now. We got folks in here that know

how to hustle. I talked about that a few months

ago, but man, that's what I grew up in.

The environmental hustle. No dad in the house.

I watched my Mama hustle. We know we got people that know

how to make some. Watch this.

Y'all making money ain't hard. Stop, it ain't that hard.

But we got some people in here. You striving for something God

never graced you for. Watch this.

And that's your family's problem.

And in the world being a hustler.

I'm a hustler baby. I'm just saying what some of

y'all was thinking. I just want you to know.

Hey, man, don't judge me at all. I've been some places.

OK? All right, Listen this morning

to this morning's message where I describe what the soul is.

My appetite, desire. Will is my my my thinker, My

feeler is my chooser, my soul. We are spirit.

We possess a soul. We live in a body.

We are spirit. We are spirit.

Who you really are, you are spirit.

God is spirit. He deals with our spirit.

Jesus died on the cross to save our soul.

That's our thinker, our feeler, our emotions.

That's where all of that live. That's where jealousy lives.

That's where motivation lives. All in our soul.

OK. My soul is not merely sinful,

it's just untrained. An ungoverned soul never rests.

Psalm 23 says He makes me lie down in fresh, tender, green

pastures. He leaves me beside the steel in

restful waters. He refreshes and restores my

soul. He leads me in the.

Paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Watch this. He makes.

He leads. He restores.

He makes. He leads.

He restores. He makes.

He leads. He restores.

How many people in here want God to restore something?

Raise your hand. Watch this.

Watch this. But but, but you, you.

You want to know how He's going to do it first.

Can you let him make you watch this?

What He makes me what He makes me.

Watch that. He makes me lie down.

Can you just lie down right? I can't walk in on the day of

surgery and walk around the surgery room and be like go

ahead, give me an open heart surgery.

You're gonna have to catch me while I'm moving.

Catch me while I'm moving. Catch me while I'm moving.

Catch me while I'm moving. Come on, catch me while I'm

moving. Catch me while I'm moving.

Catch me while I'm moving. Catch me while I'm moving right.

You can't do that. It says he makes me watch.

This was adamant that Eve come out of a moving Adam.

He made that boy lay down. He said, Adam, if I'm here, you

lay down South multiplication came out of a man laying down.

Lie down. He makes me lie down.

Somebody said lie down. He he makes me, and if he can't

make me, he can't lead me. And if he can't lead me, he

can't restore me. Some of y'all, the restoration

is on hold now. It's because God's not working.

It's because he can't make you. You trying to make him bless you

outside of making you rest. Here's what I understand about

God. His promises never come before a

time of being still. I know you're busy.

Watch this. I know you got it.

I know you got it popping. I know.

But there's some things that God is saying.

I don't need you to do that no more what I actually have for

you can bring you more provision if you can stop being afraid of

if I let this go, how am I going to pay for that now this don't

mean walk away from your job and you don't have nothing at all.

Nothing. Don't please don't hear me

nothing in rent doing a week because oftentimes God will

sound the alarm and say prepare for landing.

No, you. Oh, I got a word.

God told me to leave my job. Let me tell you something.

Not today, unless you've been preparing for this word to come

and you got a a nice savings that can buy you some time.

No, no, no, no, God, no no no no.

You ain't living month to month and God gave you a word that you

need to leave your job and then you turn in a AA30 hour notice.

No, no, no, no. But God has given you a word

because everything from that word moving forward is about to

lead you to the manifestation of the freedom from where you are.

So he's going to bring relationships.

It might be education you need to get.

You might need to start saving or you might need to start

selling stuff. You might need to stop spending.

When He gives you that word, you are preparing for the day that

that is fully. The time has fully come, man.

It's some words God gave thousands of years ago and it

didn't show up till thousands of years later.

But leading up to the cross, what went into that day?

There's some people in here. You got some stuff in your

possession. God's like I'm not there no

more. Some of y'all he like I ain't

never been there. So rest is not something the

sheep decide. I like that.

I like that. Rest is not something you

decide. It's something the shepherd

initiates. Can I talk to you today?

It's something the shepherd initiates.

You don't decide what? Guess what?

You decide sleep. If some of y'all decide to sleep

and can't sleep. God comes in like a word today

and he says I'm coming to bring you rest.

But this started when I'm coming to bring you peace.

I'm coming to give you rest, but you got to let me make you.

And then after you let me make you, then you got to let me lead

you. Watch this.

The warfare that happens between make and restore can be intense.

But if I understand that my being still is leading to a

season of restoration and the enemy knows it, that's why all

hell is breaking loose. Watch this.

Still waters aren't resorts, spas and vacations and

destinations. Still waters means waters with

no threat. We live, we live in one of the

most beautiful global cities in the world and got some of the

most stressed out people in the world.

So I don't care, Vancouver, how close the city is to the water.

Oh, 60 minutes anyway. You can get to the slopes, you

can get to the mountains. There's great hikes, there is

boating, there's. Shut up.

How's your soul prospering? I know you can kayak, but how's

your soul prospering? I I I see your photos and you

got the the beautiful water in the mountains.

But how's your soul? What have you lived in Baghdad?

What have you lived in a war zone?

What have you lived somewhere where peace.

You can never find it externally?

Is that God's fault that you don't have peace?

No, it's he came make you be still.

And yet some folks don't have a choice but to be still.

The soul rests not because danger disappeared, but because

authority has arrived and it abides.

Stillness feels unsafe to a nervous system that learns

survival through motion, right? Listen, I grew up in nothing.

In certain cultures, it was nothing but hustle because we

was trying to survive to make it.

We trying to survive. We trying to make it.

We trying to feed our kids. We trying to.

And I'm telling you guys, all right, cool, if that's how you

grew up and that's how you've gotten to this.

Point. But whoever you are, God is

saying, be still for God alone. My soul wakes in silence.

From him comes my salvation. Silence here means inter

settling or the cessation of noise.

Cessation means voluntary stopping under authority.

When God comes in says enough is enough, it's got to stop.

It didn't. Matter if the seas watch this, I

love it. God made what was causing the

storm cease. So when God comes in and say be

still, he's responsible to deal with the root of what's making

you toss to and fro. That's why it says you aren't

in. Charge of the rest that he's

calling you to. You are in charge of your

response. You are hosting your response.

Cessation means an intentional end.

Not because it failed. Can I help a couple people in

here? You don't end it because it's

failing. You end it because it's no

longer required for you to be in it because God said so.

Need is not a sign I need to keep moving.

What if God is holding the very thing that you need in his

hands, but you just keep moving? Anybody got kids, especially the

little ones when you're trying to feed them, but they like you

said, we're going to put you That's why we're going to put

you in jail right now. We're going to put you in this

high seat, this high chair trying to feed or or have you

ever tried to change a diaper or the baby that don't realize you

helping them out right now. So they keep turning all over

the place and getting getting stuff all over the bed and yeah,

yeah, yeah, that's how we are. God's trying to get the stank

off of us and we just like, yeah, cessation, the soul coming

to rest. This is not inactivity.

This is alignment. Watch this how your soul

immediately, if God's dealing with you, some of you are

wrestling with thinking about what God is trying to make you

stop doing. That means your soul is

panicking. It does not want to be still.

Because you're going down this list versus understanding that

God's going to make you lie down.

So it's not you discovering what he wants you to put down.

It's not even about you putting anything down for some of you.

It's about making him first, not offloading.

It's re prioritizing for some people.

God's like you got to stop going to that place or you got to put

this relationship down or you got to recontextualize this

relationship or I don't need you there no more.

So I'm getting ready to transition.

You watch this and the longer you stay where I'm calling you

out of, the more trouble you will be in because the only way

that I can get you to know the season is over since you didn't

listen to me tell you it was over, is I got to let you live

in drought. Watch this.

What does that mean? The thing that once fed you,

you're about to experience, it doesn't anymore.

Watch this and I watch this and I'm not talking about because

sometimes you cannot be getting fed from something because

you're offended or it's not beneficial for you.

This is why we got to be very careful.

I get so many people oh God told me to do this.

OK, you are much better off saying I ain't even hear from.

The Lord. But this is what I want to do.

Can you pray for me? Can y'all do that with me more

often? Stop saying God said it because

you don't have a backbone to take responsibility for your

choice. Yeah, and I've, I've learned how

to take that. No, you know, I'm not clear on

what God is saying, but I can't do this anymore.

And I. Am walking away.

No, God told me no stop cessation, stopping self

initiated actions. Hey, can I I'm the I'm the first

one to admit there's things that God permits.

There's things that God blesses and I'm out here in this world

and I'm trying to hustle watch this.

How do you know if you didn't know me?

How do you know that I had this challenge?

Because God sent me to a country to where the only thing I could

do is pastor. Because let me tell you with on

the come up of planting this church, our family has

experienced lack, our family has experienced ups and downs and

God has been faithful. But because of how I grew up, I

would be in. Canada working, hustling because

I know how to make some money. But God said no, no, no, no.

What I've called you to do will require you to be still.

Watch this. Coming to Canada was God making

me lie down. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Coming to Canada was God making me lie down.

And the worst thing you can do is when God make you lie down.

You ever put your kids to sleep, you go to bed and then they wake

up and we're in the room. What you doing, Mama?

No, no, no. The worst thing you used to do

is when God lay you down, you get back up and run back to the

place he took you from. So there's been times for

multiple reasons to for our family to want to go back.

But when God make you lie down? Lie down.

But God has not only made me lie down, but God has been leading

me. And guess what he's also been

doing? Restoring my soul, restoring my

marriage, restoring my relationships.

Sensation is laying down labor because authority has taken

over. There's things I'm dealing with

in my life even in preparing this sermon like right now.

Y'all somebody say right now, all right, don't let it turn

red. I'll get I got it.

I got it. Don't let it turn red.

I like green. All right, look, look, y'all, I

am. I'm walking through things right

now, like right now and and the little nosy spirit you might

have. Don't worry about what it is.

It's and I'm not watch this for some of y'all.

It ain't even what you think it is.

But my wife and I are walking through some stuff right now and

so when I'm preaching be still, I am in real time having to

release control to God. Watch this and releasing control

in some ways. There are certain ways and

certain prayers I've had to stop praying.

Right. Watch this.

Nope. In this season, you're not even

going to call them. Watch this.

Here's the difference. He didn't say don't talk to him.

But I got to understand that I got to stay laid down.

And some phone calls make me get up.

Some relationships make me get up and walk out of green

pastures. So what I have to understand is

when God when and where he lays me down, I need to stay.

So when the soul does not learn stillness, it will seek relief

through control. And we love busy because we

think busy. It's productive.

Busy is not productivity, it's self production.

It's self protection. Watch this.

Some of y'all are busy because you can't sit still a long

enough with what you feel. So we got.

I got to go to work because work is a hiding place.

Watch this church is a hiding place.

Relationships is a hiding place. It's self protection.

So you stay busy. Because if I be still, I'm going

to have to deal with this trauma or I'm busy looking at other

people's faults. Because if I stop being busy

looking at what's wrong with you, then I might find out

what's wrong with me. And I really don't like looking

at me. So I'm going to be busy looking

at you. And Jesus says, take the plank

out of your own eyes. All right, I.

Promise that I will deal OK with one of the most misunderstood

stories Jesus ever told, the prodigal son.

He said a certain man had two sons, say two sons.

The younger of them inappropriately.

What's so inappropriate in how he asked his father?

Might it be the tone? I don't think so, but I also

don't know. I can't read this like I read

some text messages. Father, give me the share of the

property that falls to me, to me.

Lord, I want my share. Father, I want my share.

Watch this. What makes it inappropriate is

your entitlement. You, you really think what you

praying about God supposed to do it worse than that.

Oh well, he said it in his word. If he did it before, he'll do it

again. But you the problem is you think

he's supposed to do it when you want him to do it.

That's inappropriate. So he divided the estate between

them. I love it.

The father said, OK, you want it, go right ahead.

You know this is something that you ain't supposed to get.

Until I'm gone. But OK, go on ahead.

Watch this. Few days later, the younger son

gathered together everything control, control that he had,

and he travelled to a distant country.

Watch this, you guys. And there he wasted his fortune

in reckless and immoral living. You might be thinking sin like,

oh, he just, he went to the strip club.

He went. He smoked.

He, he, he. Snorted cocaine.

He was drinking, he was partying, he was abusing when he

was. No, no, no, watch this.

We all have spent energy in areas we weren't supposed to.

We all have tried to rule in ungoverned or in territory God's

never called us. We've all got into relationships

that God has not blessed or intended, or we've all done

something that he's told us not to do.

Reckless living. And we see covenant, we see

entitlement, we see control. Is he really being immoral?

I've come to discover he's really not being rebellious.

Or shall I say rebellion wasn't the issue.

Here's the issue. Before rebellion, his soul was

ungoverned. Do you know all the stuff that I

did back in the day? Because I don't do nothing wrong

no more. All the stuff I did back in the

day, before I went to jail, before I put that joint to my

mouth, before I did that party and before I was reckless, how I

got there is I didn't govern my soul.

And that was the fruit of an ungoverned soul.

James One tells us about that. And this goes back to allowing

the Lord to host our lives. So he had inheritance without

covering, He had resources without relationship, and he had

movement without permission. The father didn't resist his

restless desires. Watch this.

You think because God allowed it, it was His blessing.

You know how much good stuff we call blessing?

Watch this. I've had a lot of really good

stuff. Later to find out it was not the

blessing, it was just a good thing.

The promise was more important than the present to Him.

The adventure was more important than the advantage of waiting.

And he couldn't wait for the appointed time, so he went ahead

of God's timing. Because restlessness always

masquerades as freedom. Restlessness always masquerades

as freedom. It always masquerades.

Watch this. I can't be here any longer.

You didn't deal with your restless soul.

So when you got watch this. This is what I learned long time

ago. EJ, This is crazy.

We think God blessed it because I felt freedom when I left.

It so the sign that we we heard from God is that I don't have to

deal with that place anymore Elder John don't make me feel

that way because I left elder John versus dealing with

whatever elder John may have been put in my life to stir up

in me I. Left and so the peace from

leaving you, from leaving your presence, the anointing in you

that stirred up some demons in me.

Now I'm like, see, I don't got to deal with that no more.

So it must have been God. And there's people that have

made choices in their lives. And because you got a break from

a tension, you thought it was the blessing.

But what I know is the enemy is very crafty.

He can wait. And then two years from now,

five years from now, you end this thing.

And you like, wait a minute. I thought God told me to be

here. I thought God told me to get in

this marriage. I thought God told me it was my

time. It would be like me telling you

God sent me the candidate and then when he didn't go right,

I'm like, I heard from the Lord guys, God said it's time to go

back. And that's what God need more

people of that will stick through the course to get to the

other side, because what we selling the people is not how to

be led by God. We're we're showing people how

to be in control of our destiny. And that works in the world, but

not in the Kingdom. He did not leave angry the the

sun or broken. He left authorized by in his own

mind. Is there any honest people in

here that can be like, yeah, I, I, I thought it was the Lord,

but I really authorized it myself because that's what I

wanted to do, right? I wanted to go there and I did.

And I had fun. I authorized it myself, and fun

was the blessing to me. When authority is resisted, God

will sometimes remove the very things that made running

possible, not to punish us, but to make stillness unavoidable.

Some of you are in a season that that you have no choice but to

be still. You ever been in that season?

People walk out on you, you lose a job, whatever.

And God's like, yeah, I tried to prevent this day.

But because we don't want to take responsibility for our,

our, our, our control issues, we like, well, God not done with me

yet, but we'll say some, some, some cultural proverb that's

totally off because we don't want to say I miss God.

And let me tell you guys, sometimes in my life I have

missed God. Everybody who has ever followed

God hath missed God. God does not mind people missing

Him. So then he goes on and he says

that there was a severe famine. He began to do without and be in

need. That is the divine work of God,

because now He has to be still because He ran out of money.

Watch this. The little spark in your

relationship ain't sparking no more.

Need some new spark plugs, right?

That relationship that you left everything for you ain't in it

no more, right? That business deal you took for

that season? It's not there no more.

That business deal actually cost you more money.

So he went and forced himself on some citizens and he got a

little job and he eaten what the pigs is eating because watch

this. There comes a time where God

also will permit people to close.

They fit close their hand. Watch this.

That drought season was God leading you home.

I I I've learned to thank God for the seasons.

He cut the supply off because he led me back to him.

I remember, I remember I had went to jail and and, and my

grandma might have got me out of everything.

My Mama got me out of everything.

And I remember I had went to jail last week.

No, not last week, just a while ago.

Not last week, a while ago. Come on somebody I can't play

with y'all. Some people would think I'm

serious, but when I was younger, I remember.

I remember and I remember calling my grandma.

I didn't call my Mama. I called my grandma because I

knew she would be like, baby, come on, that'd just be a little

less of a woman. She said baby, come on.

And I thought she was going to bail me out.

Wasn't that much money, at least to me.

I didn't have none. So.

But she always bailed me out anytime I needed something.

They always was there. This time she said, all right,

let me know when your court date is.

You're going to have to stay in there, baby.

So either she didn't have it or the strength of God graced her

to say, son, you going to have to sit in there for a little bit

and we going to let God have his way in this one watch.

This ain't never now. If she would have bailed me out,

I probably would have did something else.

I needed to walk in that jail to realize that ain't where God

made me to be. That ain't how I was raised.

Why I'm in here for the reason I'm in here when I'm I'm I'm

bunking with people. Who parents was murdered but I

got a home that's warm and food on the table all the time and

they don't mind giving me finances to get what I need.

Why am I in here? So I had to be in jail for a

week and 1/2 to learn where my help comes from.

Never been back and never did the thing that got me in there.

Some of y'all going to go Google me whatever.

My pastor he went to jail He was just y'all.

So judgmental man Watch this. I don't ever want to be pastored

by somebody that ain't been through nothing.

Yeah, you just over here pre teaching me off knowledge.

You don't. You ain't encounter Jesus.

Absolutely. If you going to judge me, you

shouldn't read none of Paul. 'S.

Letters right Jesus was crucified in between don't don't

get me to preaching show me in the Bible where to yeah no, no,

no. Anyways, whatever y'all got me

feeling he saw me. Y'all looking at me like he's a.

Criminal. Nope, I'm not.

I am free indeed in Jesus. Name Watch this.

But he finally came to his senses.

He finally came to his senses. He finally can.

Can somebody can? Can I get 3 people today that

can come today senses before this fast is over like like like

like like this week starting Monday through Friday.

Guess what we're doing We have revival we we meeting here every

single day for five days to worship and encounter God and

leave any we not going to step out of January with anything

that God is saying he's done with anything he said he's

overcome or he conquered. So I'm going to see y'all

tomorrow. Hey man, you don't got to

announce that one later. I just did.

He came to a census. Here we go.

We got to land this. When he came to his self mean he

came into himself. Literally, that's what it means.

He came into himself. What does that mean?

What does that mean? What does that mean?

Stillness reassembled his identity.

Can y'all help me today? Stillness reassemble pads his

identity motion kept him fragmented.

And so you wonder why you 40 you, you 40 something still

still in pieces because you ain't stopped moving yet.

You wondering why you still ain't over that childhood thing

because trauma has been leading you.

Stillness reassembled his identity motion kept him

fragmented. See, people would know the cost.

For our family coming to Canada, it's been a cost.

I'm talking about I'm still paying to today and I'm not

talking money the cost, but but what I will I will not get up

from where he laid me down and I am watching the exchange of like

I wanted help, but I can't because that would then watch

this helping them would take. Me out of green pastures.

Because he did not ordain me to go there.

If they won't help, they got to come here.

And if they come where I'm at, guess where they going to be at?

Green pastures. And sometimes you are being

pulled out of green pastures versus waiting for them to join

you in green. Pastures he He didn't watch

this. He didn't repent while he was

running. He repented when he stopped some

folks repenting on the go. No, no, no.

You can't repent on the go. You got to be still.

Stillness is not the end of the story or the promise, but the

moment authority takes over. Yeah.

This is not a command to calm down or chill out.

It's a reminder that everything going to be all right.

Watch this. I want you to see this context.

Be still is smack in the middle of God is our refuge and

strength. Though the earth gives way,

nations rage, kingdoms teeter and they totter.

The Lord of hosts is with us, is in there twice.

Verse 10 is smacked in the middle of of of of of war, in

the middle of darkness, in the middle of chaos.

He says be still. So God is whispering in the

chaos. He's whispering in the valley.

He is whispering while you are. Your soul feels restless.

He is saying be still. This is for Psalm 46 is a war

song. Watch this.

I'm not waiting for you to be quiet.

God said I'm waiting for you to be still.

It's in the chaos, He is whispering.

There's no need to whisper when it's quiet.

Psalm 46 let be and be still. Somebody say let be and be

still. This simply means step out of

traffic. Take a long loving look at me,

your high God above politics, above everything.

Let be and be still means to stand out.

Be still literally means stand down, not stand up.

It means cease your interference.

It means release, release your grip.

It means step. Oh, I love this one step out of

jurisdiction. Sound like God's saying I don't

need your help on this one. And this is so vital.

Can I, can I save somebody today?

Not, not in the name of not in like lordship, but can I save

you by reading this to you? Because the wrong activity in a

war zone is more dangerous than no activity at all.

Oh, Natalia, I have learned that be still is not just God.

Be still is. Hold on.

Watch this. Be still.

Here we go. Can you give me our struggle?

Is not laziness, It's restlessness.

It's restlessness disguised in responsibility.

You think you being responsible because of all that you're

doing. But you're not being responsible

over your soul because you cannot be still watch this God

is relieving you of jurisdiction today.

Some of you still trying to drag your parents along for stuff.

Stop trying to convince them he's releasing you from it.

He's trying to you trying to get your spouse to be.

He's releasing you from that. God's saying the battle's mine

now. You said enough, you've nagged

enough. You've bugged enough.

You've you've. Prayed enough, let it go.

Stillness is not inactivity, but the moment we step out of

unauthorized. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Revelation. He said he came to himself once.

He was still. Revelation follows

relinquishment. Revelation stands up when we

stand down. You cannot know God as sovereign

while still competing for control after making

purification for sins. Watch this.

God sat down. You don't rest because the storm

stopped. You rest because the king is

seated. Am I helping somebody right now?

I don't rest because the storm stopped.

The greatest witness is if somebody see you in a storm and

they like why you not flipping. Out.

Yeah, watch this. Your spouse needs to stop seeing

you flip out so much. And then they'll be be willing

to listen to you. Hallelujah.

Amen. Peace be still.

We can inter rest because the throne has settled everything.

Stillness exposes who has been surviving instead of trusting.

Oh here you go, here you go, Here you go, here you, here you

go. Adam.

The famine that the prodigal son experienced was mercy.

It wasn't punishment. What if I told you the pig pen

was mercy? What if I told you that season

of lack you went through was mercy?

What if I told you then people walking out of your life was

mercy because you made those relationships an idol?

You thought those people was going to build the church.

You thought those people was going to be your way into your

successful business and God brought snatched him out of your

life and that was his mercy because you knew you was about

to build something that would not stand.

The times the famine stopped the running Troy stillness made

remembrance possible. The famine stopped the running.

The famine stopped the running You got to get that.

That is potent. The famine stopped the running.

Stillness forced revelation. Stillness leads to alignment.

How can 1 be aligned if he can't be still?

The Father's authority never left.

The Son just stepped outside. Of his authority.

Father didn't chase him, but authority waited.

This is what I'm learning. Authority.

It takes authority to wait. I used to tell some people, and

I'm going to tell you today, I didn't need faith to get out the

boat. I need faith to stay in the

boat. I've gotten in a lot of trouble

because I I don't mind leaping. I needed to learn how to be

still and God brought me to Canada to learn how to do so.

And when God commands stillness, guys, heaven does not become

passive. The Father didn't chase him.

Authority waiting. Now, what do I mean by this?

We'll close here. When God commands stillness,

Heaven does not become passive. Has there been anyone who has

been mad that the light turned red?

Yeah. Come on.

Or those who didn't raise their hand.

You just ran it, right? You just ran the red light.

OK. All right, Watch this.

Watch this while I have to stop. That gives others permission to

go. And all you concerned about in

your life is if your vehicle can keep moving.

But you don't realize while you're at that stoplight, it's

heaven's moment to go through the light.

You can't look at you having to be still as missing out.

You should look at being still as activating heaven, moving on

your behalf. Yeah, you can give God a hand

right there. I found out that God is doing

more with my stillness than my activity.

God is doing more with me, delegating things that I

actually have no. Ability to do or I do.

But it's not as good as that person.

So you might be at a moment where God is saying red light in

this area, but I promise you, when you be still, heaven is not

being passive. Heaven is moving.

But in order to keep a healthy flow of traffic, we need red

lights and we need Gray lights. We need stop signs, we need

speed bumps. We need God to give us warnings.

We need God to slow us down. So in this season, who are you?

Were you identified over this time?

You've identified over this time that I've been speaking, there's

some areas that I think I've been, I put my hand on the

steering wheel and God is saying take it off.

Sometime burnout, and a lot of times especially the burnout

ain't because you serve too much.

Sometimes as God is calling you actually to step into more.

But over here He's saying you got to let that go.

But because what God is calling you to step in is putting

pressure on this over here, you like, I can't do that over

there. God, no.

My family had to let everything go and everyone had to be

reorganized in my life so we can come to another country.

He's going on nine years and we thought we would be out of this

country after 2. We did not plan to live here.

We planned to serve, get an experience and go home.

Now I can't leave, but I can't leave because Oakland is not my

green pasture. He brought me to another country

and made me lie down in our family's legacy will forever be

changed. So I'm not speaking to you from

studying for 80 years about be still.

I'm speaking because I'm in the middle of a journey learning how

to be still when I was raised in a culture who knew nothing but

hustle. Some of you, God wants to heal,

but he can't even get you still. We're about to sing this worship

song. Worship team, come up.

And I dare you, whoever you are, if you got to go, then do what

you got to do. But we're going to respond with

our hearts and with our singing. We are going to respond to the

word of God. Now, I don't know about you, but

I have preached this twice and it's been preached to me all

week and I have been blessed. If you've been blessed, you're

offering back to the Lord. Should be your praise.

It should be your song. It should be you lifting him up

because there is going ahead. Clap.

Yeah. There's peace in this room.

I believe in this room there is enough power to break the chains

of anxiety over your life, depression, suicidal spirit

there. There's things that God wants to

do in his room, but can you be still?

And can you let Him? And can you make a commitment in

your heart, not with your mouth, but in your?

Heart like I I am not leaving this, no, this will not happen

another year. I will not give my parent, I

will not give my spouse, I will not give my kids.

I will not give the government. I am not giving anybody my

peace. And for some, unfortunately,

peace that transcends all understanding is by way of being

still. Calm came after still.

Lift your hands all over the room.

Lift your hands all over the room.

And I dare this entire place to lift his voice and give God this

song in Jesus name. Thank you so much for tuning

into this week's sermon. We pray you were challenged,

equipped and encouraged. Make sure to follow us on all

platforms. That's love quest Intl church.

We out here for real. We're really doing it.

That's Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

You can find us anywhere you need to find us.

But until next time, you know the drill.

You know the motto, get your love fixed man and we'll see

y'all real soon.