Sunday Message (2nd service) - Pastor Brad Neuschwander (February 22, 2026) | Life Bible Church

Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We

want to thank you for joining us today, and we

hope you find today's sermon impacting as you

listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk.

To find service times and watch messages online,

see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now,

enjoy this week's message. Let's pray. Father,

we thank you. Lord, even right now, Lord, you

are stirring in our midst. And I'm praying, Holy

Spirit, that you would help me follow what you

are wanting to do this morning. You're the one

that leads. You're the one that speaks. My job

as your servant is just simply to follow and

to speak and to herald that which you have already

declared and are declaring even now. Holy Spirit,

we trust you. Open the word of God today. Cause

our heart to be quickened. Cause us to want to

learn of you, grow of you, put a hunger and a

deepening thirst for the things of your word

and your kingdom inside of us. Lord, let today

be a day where we, come out of your presence,

like always, changed, transformed, inspired,

and renewed again. We love you. In Jesus' name,

amen. We've been talking about, well, last week

I dealt a little bit with where is the journey

since our conference? What has the Lord been

speaking to us as Life Bible Church? Now, obviously,

we're connected to the whole church, meaning

what is God doing around the world, but he also

in different countries, different regions, different

seasons, he's also speaking various things to

his church. I believe that not only in Life Bible

Church, but in our Western region and certainly

in America, God is dealing with some things of

bringing the church. out of their mindset of

a certain form of slavery and into a freedom

of understanding who we are supposed to be in

Christ. For Life Bible particularly, we've had

this last year has been a message on... digging

down, and we're still not done with that message,

but digging down into the scriptures on being

what we call the something more church. And we

can put that up there. I'll eventually get to

it if time allows. The something more church.

And in that process, we're talking about the

something more, meaning it's got more than just

one message. Now there is one message. Jesus

Christ is savior and he is king. He's the lamb

of God and he is the king. And it means that

we, if you're going to have a relationship with

a father, Jesus said of himself in John 14, he

said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No

man can come to the father, but by me. Well,

in that reality though, there's more than what

it just means to get saved. It means that there's

All the things that he paid for that he wants

us to walk in as mature sons and daughters. And

that's the theme of the Something More Church.

The theme is, yes, we want everyone to experience

what Jesus paid for. But the first experience

they have to have is meeting him, being introduced

to him, them surrendering their life to him and

him coming to live inside of him. But that's

not the end of the story. That's where the American

church seems to park everybody is they park everybody

right at the entrance of the gate. And I've said

this before, how stinking upset would your kids

be if all you did is say, I got a pass. I've

got all the hopper passes. I've paid for everything

for Disneyland. We got the quick lightning passes.

We got the VIP and you go inside the gate. And

you say, okay, kids, we made it. We're gonna

stay right here. They're some upset little critters.

Why? Because they know getting in the park had

to be done by you, but then also going around

the park has to be done by partnership with you.

Because you're not just gonna turn them loose

in an area. that they don't know. They're expecting

you to bring them into every type of land and

zone that Disney has. From the frontier land

to the space frontier to, oh, I don't even know.

Right? I don't go there enough and I don't want

them to have my money. Anyway, but the reality

is you get the point of the analogy. You actually

have to take them and move through the park.

No one would go just to pay 100, whatever it

is, 120 bucks plus that, probably 160, maybe

200. I'm getting hands going higher, higher.

Okay, whatever it is. And just stay at the gate

and say, oh, I'm so glad I'm in the happiest

place of the world. I'm at the gates at the turnstile.

They let me in and here I am. Fun, fun, fun,

fun, fun. There'd be people with little white

coats coming. If you kept your whole family at

the gates the whole day, they would actually

send employees to you and say, there's a whole

lot of stuff for you guys to do that it's already

been paid for. Just go experience it. And you

go, no, no, no. That's not my theology. My theology

is I'm happy just being in the gate. I rejoice

just being in the gate. My name is in the book

of life. I'm in the gate. That's good. I don't

need to see anymore. Well, if that's your Christianity,

okay, you're in the gate. But my Bible says there

is way more once you enter salvation than you

have yet to experience. And that he actually

sends the Holy Spirit. He sends messengers to

actually bring you into the fullness of what

he's paid for. And that's what the something

more church is supposed to be. The more church

is you. Because the word church is the word ecclesia.

And it means the assembly that now understands

that they have been sent with power and authority.

to bring the atmosphere of heaven to now the

place that they live. Now you need to understand

this. The whole theme this morning from the prayer

room to first service to today with water baptisms

was what? The word of the Lord that came to us

was the anointing oil. What is that about? It's

about partnership with the substance of heaven.

That's what the anointing is. The anointing is,

if you will, empowerment of the Holy Spirit that

comes in you and comes upon you to do something

that in your natural ability, you cannot do.

It takes the anointing to release the kingdom

of God. Now, this is the wonderful thing. If

you have your Bible, you can just look this scripture

up, but we're going to just quote it. And then

I'm going to move forward to Psalms 23 in a bit.

Isaiah 10, Verse 27 says this, and it will remove

Isaiah 10:27

the yoke from off of your neck by destroying

the yoke by the anointing oil. God says he breaks

yokes by the anointing. How does he do that?

A yoke is what? A yoke is something that you

have to put your neck through or comes around

your neck that is meant for you to carry a burden.

Yokes can represent iron stanchions because that's

what they load up prisoners with when they have

to move them is an iron bar and their hands are

over that bar like this and they're yoked around

their neck. It's what a yoke, you can put it

on a beast of burden, whether it be a donkey

or whether it be a mule or whether it be an oxen.

Yoke comes over them and then it's to tie and

to pull. Everything that represents a yoke represents

something that comes on them that removes liberty

but actually fastens them into a form of slavery.

And what the American church, and I'm not from

the... country that they're now living in. But

sometimes we who are supposed to be free in Christ

actually sometimes have the greatest yoke on

our lives because we don't understand what we've

been given. And those that come from communist

countries or closed countries, and I've been

to closed countries around the world and been

snuck into places, the freedom that... Christians

have there is way different than the freedom

we have here. Why? They understand the privilege

of what Jesus Christ paid for. And because it's

a closed country and they don't have freedoms

in the natural, their freedom is precious to

them to operate in the fullness of what God has

given them. And the key of what God is trying

to awake in all of us, especially here on the

West Coast, To awaken us as people that have

been in slumber. Why would he want to do that?

Well, because he wants to actually have a representation

of what it means to have a group of people that

actually live and function in the anointing.

You see, you can be saved and not operate in

the anointing. You'd be saved and not operate

in the anointing. The key, the gospel for the

most part in America is an anoint, has no anointing

for greater things than just the gospel. That's

what's shared in most Sunday churches. Why? Because

you have spiritual influencers. that all that

they want to do is speak to the lowest common

denominator in Christianity. Let me say that

again. I know this sounds like I'm pulling out

a weapon and shooting it, and I am. I'm shooting

the elephant in the room. Why? Because I'm not

preaching to the lowest common denominator. Yes,

you have to get saved. Through Jesus Christ,

he is the only way to get to heaven. But there

is so much more in that Bible than just you getting

saved. It's about you actually being a conduit

and a vessel filled with his presence, with his

power, with his word, and operating through faith

that you would now go do the works that Jesus

does and did. And that's... The full gospel.

The full gospel is, now I send you. Heal the

sick. Cast out devils. Come on. Open blind eyes.

Open deaf ears. That's the word of the Lord.

Anything less than that is not what Jesus fully

paid for. It means that somewhere, If I only

believe that salvation is it and that is all,

no wonder I would not want to come to church

regularly. If I heard the same message over and

over, now let me just say this to you. I'm gonna

pick on Colin here. If I heard the same thing

over and over that I have to get saved, I have

to get saved, I have to get saved. Yes, that

message needs to be preached. The gospel, there

needs to be a net. always thrown in. But if it

never told me that I could operate in faith,

grow in faith of the same works that Jesus did,

I could now do in my life because of my relationship

with Jesus, because the word formed in me, I

would now all of a sudden think, well, all I'm

doing is I'm getting saved so I can go to heaven.

I don't need the body of Christ. I don't need

the church. I can just have a relationship with

me and Jesus. And therefore I'm good. Why? Because

the gospel has come all about you. instead of

all about you actually serving others. And when

I get in a mandate that says, I don't need the

church, I don't need anybody else because my

relationship with Jesus is just like a quickie

mark. I go in, get what I need, and that's just

for me. It's never designed that way. In fact,

if you got the real, are you all right? I'm gonna

preach at you a little bit because we're just

in second gear. We haven't got to third and fourth

yet. Come on. The issue is when you come to church,

you're coming to church to what? Engage with

the presence of God to get filled, to worship

and to be inspired to do what? Go and let Jesus

live through you. That's the whole point. The

whole point is, yeah, you came and you got salvation,

but now you actually better reach deeper into

the refrigerator of his word and begin to pull

out some stuff that will feed you because you're

tired of milk. You want some meat. How many meat

eaters do I have here in the house of God? All

right, the rest of you vegetarians, I'm sorry.

But the reality is, come on, the reality is God

loves meat. And he said, meat belongs to the

mature. Oh, shut up. What? Yes, meat belongs

to the mature. Those that want to dive into the

word of God. Those that actually want to actually

move themselves and begin to feed themselves

with more. I want to know more than. then I guess

I want to be around the atmosphere of Jesus constantly

saving people, but I want to grow in him. I want

to grow in him. I need meat to grow. And that's

the principle of the something more church. Now,

when we're talking about the anointing oil and

we're talking about what oil actually is, oil

always represents the presence of the spirit.

If I go through, I could spend all morning, this

morning, the next 30 minutes, I could spend giving

you verse after verse of why the Holy Spirit

is pictured as oil. It had to be in everything

that was dedicated. As you move through the scriptures,

everything that was dedicated unto the Lord had

to be, if you will, anointed with oil. The anointing

oil itself. Psalms 133. Jesus said, how good

and how pleasant. This is in Psalms. David write

it as the spirit of God was writing through him.

How good and how pleasant it is when brothers

dwell together in unity. It is like the oil,

the precious oil running down on the high priest,

on the beard, on the beard, on the collar, down

on the robes. What was that significant of? It

was significant. because I'll use Adam here again.

Last time I first serviced, he was so faithful,

he didn't mind getting messed around here a little

bit. It meant that what does the Bible say for

us in Hebrews? The Bible says in Hebrews chapter

three that Jesus Christ is both the high priest

and the apostle of our faith. Does he not say

that? Okay, some of you aren't sure, but we're

looking that up. And I'm telling you it does

because I got it memorized and I'm seeing it

right there on the page. Jesus is the high priest

and the apostle of our faith. What did they do

in every Old Testament scripture? Because Hebrews

is the book that compares the old covenant with

the new covenant. Hebrews, the theme of Hebrews

is you're living now in a better covenant than

what they had because of Jesus. And what did

they do in? in the old covenant, they would take

a full horn of oil and they would anoint the

high priest and a full horn of oil while a full,

I'm not talking about just, okay, now Adam, it's

okay. I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna put a full

horn, but this is, this is what we do. Just kind

of little perfume, little, we'll just anoint,

you know, well, we'll just anoint Adam. You know,

if I could just take the, now there's a little

scop gap there. I would show what that is, but

I'm not gonna do that today. Let's just picture

it, okay? The point is, they didn't do this little

dainty, oh, there you go. Go and sin no more.

They didn't do that. They poured a whole horn

of oil when they anointed somebody. Why? Because

the feeling. of being completely drenched of

the tangibility of oil running down the hair,

the beard, the neck, into the shirt, down on

the garments, down to the feet, was to represent

what it meant. to be completely submerged in

the presence and the supernatural substance of

when you ministered in the presence of the Lord.

They wanted a connection of what you would know

what it would feel like in the natural that when

the supernatural came over you, it would be felt

at every level. It was also a picture that when

they anointed the high priest, what does the

high priest represent? It represents the head

of our faith. If Jesus is the apostle and the

high priest of our faith, he's the only mediator

between God and man. It says what in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12? He says, you now are the body of

Christ and members of the body of Christ individually.

It means that whatever is on Jesus and was on

Jesus now gets on you, the body. That's why when

Jesus quoted, are you doing all right? Because

I'm slinging some scriptures here. It says in

Luke 4, 16, as he's quoting Isaiah 61, verses

one through three, he says this, the spirit of

the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to preach

the gospel, to open blind eyes, to bind up the

brokenhearted, to open prison doors, to set at

loose captives and to bring liberty to those

who are oppressed and to proclaim. the favorable

year of the Lord. That was what the anointing

oil did. That's why it says, and when it comes

down on the high priest in Psalms 133, coming

down upon the head, upon the beard, upon the

beard, upon the robes, down to the garments,

it is like the dew of Hermon. What was the dew?

It covered everything. It was like the dew of

Hermit. It was there that the Lord commands a

blessing. There where? There under the anointing

oil. Why? Because he said it's what? When it

comes down on the high priest and it gets down

on the garment, it's like the dew of the mountain

that when the dew comes down on the mountain,

it doesn't just stay on the top part of the white

peak of the mountain. Doesn't just stay on the

snow caps. You're looking at me saying, well,

at least I got some snow, brother. All right,

all right. And then just stay up there on the

snow cap. It comes down to the atmosphere of

everywhere that mountain possesses in the region

around it. And he says, it's like the dew, but

it isn't dew. It's the anointing because the

substance, when you allow it to come on the headship

and live under his headship and live in the fullness

of it, it is to operate around you in every aspect

of your life. Are you doing okay? So when David

starts writing in Psalms 23, now if you have

your Bible, I want you to turn there. Psalms

23. If you didn't bring your Bible, just let

the preacher admonish you for a bit. You should

have. Isn't that nice? We're living in such a

society where people get honored. for not doing

anything, that doesn't work here. This ain't

your woke church. You get honored when you bring

the tools that you know how to use. Come on.

Because you've actually been in it. You know

how to find Psalms 23. You actually turn some

pages. You actually have actually spent some

time in it. I wanna honor the word of God because

it's precious. It's not something that sits in

my cabinet and I haven't opened it up for three

years. Come on, preacher. Come on, I'm getting

in the paint with somebody. I'm blocking somebody.

I'm blocking somebody out in Jesus' name and

I'm fighting for that ball this morning in the

name of Christ. Come on, we're gonna rebound

some truth this morning. Amen? All right, the

reality is Come on. I'm in a, I'm in a, I'm in

a Holy ghost fighting mood this morning, bro.

Okay. So what are we saying? We're turning pages

in Psalms 23 and we're going to find out that

David is speaking to our journey when he writes

and you have it and we can put it up on the screen.

Psalms 23 reading from the ESV. If you would

please. Psalms 23. The Lord is my. shepherd.

They'll get it up there on the sky Bible. The

Lord is my shepherd. You see the first thing

that David does when you want to begin to operate

in the anointing, the first thing that God begins

to try to take you through is he has to make

himself personal to you. The Lord's my shepherd.

Yes, I know he's. He's Colin's shepherd. He's

Angelita's shepherd. He's Marissa's shepherd

and Crystal's shepherd. And yes, he's Adam's

shepherd. But I have to make him personal. The

Lord is my shepherd. I've got to begin to turn

the corner and see that he desires a personal.

He didn't just save me because of my sin. He

saved me from my sin because he loved me. And

because of his love for me, it has to define

his relationship with me. And I now take him

into my heart. He's my shepherd. The Lord's my

shepherd. Jesus said of himself, I am the good

shepherd. John 10, I am the good shepherd. The

good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. He

loves me. He loves you, but I gotta make it personal.

See, I grew up in a wonderful family. I love

my family. I love my heritage. But my heritage

never would say, they would never keep me from

having a relationship with Jesus. They encouraged

that. But it never was about deepening that relationship

with Jesus. It would just left me at the place,

as long as you know him, that's what you now

have to understand. went deeper with the Lord

in what I was raised with, with Christianity.

Why? Because externally, as long as I was saved

and as long now as I looked as though I was saved,

no one ever pushed me to actually grow in God

internally. There were outward matrixes, but

not inward matrixes. Now that may have been some

of your experience, maybe some of you not. But

for me, that was the matrix. Why? Because the

family that I was raised with, and I love my

family, but we're not too deep on sharing deep

things of the heart. The deep things of the heart,

it wasn't like, Again, this is not me playing

a fiddle saying, poor me. I am grateful for everything,

but I just need you to understand the culture.

No one in my life asked me, son, how are you

doing on the inside? Everything that I grew up

in was an outward measure. Now, I know my father.

My father never heard his father say he loved

me because that would have been an expression

of something inwardly. Never heard it. I at least

heard it about five or six times growing up by

the time I was 16. I think I heard it five or

six times. Son, I love you. That was the most

awkward, difficult conversation. Now, if you'd

have said, you did a great job stacking wood

yesterday, we would have like, yeah, all right,

dad loves me. When I tried to plow the garden

while they were on vacation in February, he was

upset when he got back because I got the tractor

stuck. Okay. I was trying to do a good thing,

but it was an outward thing. It was never an

inward talk. So I was baffled when I would meet

people going, man, father just spoke to me how

much he loves me. I'm like, I guess you need

it, poor soul. Why? I don't need that because

I know I'm loved by the things I do. And that

became the expression of how love operated. Is

your room clean? Is your, I can monitor it by

your language. I can monitor it by. In my case,

you're driving. I can monitor it by, did you

get the work done? Did you get the things done

that I told you to do? Is your life in order

from every outside means? Didn't mean they didn't

care about my inside. They absolutely did. They

only wanted to make sure that the inside stayed

inside the gates and there was expression of

that salvation. But to take me deeper and to

say, Christ wants to actually pour into you where

you can now do the things that he did. he told

you so. Greater works will you do in my name

because I now go to the father. I had no clue

of what that meant, but David did. David understood

he was ostracized. He was out with the father's

sheep. The father didn't even want him around,

but David found something in God that identified

God, not just as his savior, but as his shepherd.

And there was a personal connection to the shepherd.

And it says, notice in Psalms 23, it says, the

Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. This is

the biggest thing that had to begin. If I'm going

to actually move into the anointing, I've got

to allow Jesus to deal with the wants. He has

to deal with my identity. Before I can ever move

into the anointing and actually walk in power

and in the grace of God everywhere I go, I've

got to deal with who am I in God and is his love

enough for me? And if I'm still struggling with

my identity, if I'm still struggling with the

idea that I don't know if I'm loved and sometimes

he loves me and sometimes he doesn't and I bounce

back and forth on a religious mindset, I'm not

going to move in a constant place of anointing

and flow. I actually have to believe that he

is not even my father, but he is the good shepherd

and he is always with me and he is not leaving

me or forsaking me. David deals with that. Then

the next he says, and he makes me lie down in

green pastures. Why does he do that? Because

he knows that I need to get fed something beside

just receiving his righteousness through salvation.

I need to actually be fed. That's why it's a

shepherd. A shepherd's main job is feeding. That's

why when you see in the church, when the church

first started in Acts chapter two, what did they

do? They met corporately and listened to the

apostles' doctrine. That is feeding. Feeding

in what? The doctrine. Why doctrine? Because

doctrine takes every verse that connects a thought

and a theme and makes you understand the character

and the nature of who God is in that doctrine.

So if I want to know that God is love, I have

to look at every verse where God is love and

put them all together. And it makes the doctrine,

no matter where I stand in it, I can look and

this go, this is who God is without equivocation.

He is all of what he says he is. Same if I wanna

deal with the blood of Christ or if I wanna deal

with the doctrine of heaven or if I wanna deal

with the doctrine of hell, I wanna deal with

the doctrine of sin. I have to look at all of

the scriptures to understand the totality of

what God has written for me so that I don't make

my own interpretations and I get fed. And the

more I feed on him, the more I understand doctrine,

the more I understand how incredible he is, his

power, his authority, his unchanging power. ways

and that he is who he says he is. And that truth

cannot ever be altered. And they fed, they met

house to house relationship and they fed from

the apostles doctrine. It's so important. The

shepherd will always lead you to green pastures.

If you're not getting fed, then you have to ask

the Lord, is it me or is it the place that I'm

going to, to get fed? Now, a lot of times it's

us. Because we got attitudes. How many have ever

experienced, you don't have to raise your hand,

you can just lift your spouse's hand. How many

times when you were a kid, did somebody say to

you, that's enough, you're going to bed without

dinner? There are times, sometimes food gets

taken away because of an attitude. Isn't that

right, Jesse? Yeah. Is that right? See, there

it is. Attitude right there. I know I'm just

messing with it. The reality is we bypass the

feeding sometimes because we don't like the,

we don't like what's being served. So your first

response is that, well, it must be the place

that must be the feeder. First response is we

always look on the inside of the heart and say.

What is this message and food triggering inside

of me? Why would I dislike, hear me, anything

that's of God? What in my soul and what in my

tastes have I reordered not to like what God

says is his truth and what he actually made?

See, if we won't do that first, We will always

put our stuff on outside stuff. The first thing

of preparing for the anointing is to actually

allow God to start dealing with what's on the

inside. Are you there? So he leads me into green

pastures. He leads me beside still waters. Why

does he lead me beside still waters? Well, still

waters is the place that he can begin to introduce

you to the life of the spirit. Isn't that what

he says? What does it say in the book of Revelation?

I believe it's Revelation 22. And I saw from

the throne and from the lamb, the waters of life

teeming from the throne and everywhere they went,

it was connected to Ezekiel, I believe 40. six

or seven. It says everywhere the waters go are

teeming with life. Notice what God doesn't do.

God with David, once he's dealing with identity,

and once he begins to deal with the appetites

inside of you that need to be removed so that

you begin to embrace all that God wants, he begins

to launch you into the water in still places

so that you can what? Enjoy it. He doesn't just

put you right in the rapids. Notice Psalms 23

doesn't say, He leads me to green pastures. He

puts me in class five rapids. Right? Why wouldn't

he put us in class five rapids? Well, number

one, any river guide knows I don't go and take

you your first time river rafting and put you

in class five rapids where you could die. I'd

like you to come back rafting again. I'm building

my business. Right? In the spirit. God doesn't

take you to the powerful roaring rapids of the

kingdom of God and the roar of it. He starts

by getting you inside to feel that oil that's

coming down from headship and identity that begins

to come upon your life where you can begin to

say, man, there is more than just salvation,

that the spirit of God is good and I'm enjoying

the peace, the serenity, and the life that is

in him. And then as he does that, where does

he lead us? He leads us, then it says, in paths

of righteousness for his name's sake. Now this

is where it begins to change, Chris. He becomes

your shepherd, you get saved. He becomes your

savior and shepherd. He leads you to begin to

start feeding on the word of God. He introduces

you to still water so you can begin to drink

and you can begin to experience the life that's

of the throne and of the lamb. And then it says,

he leads you in paths of righteousness. This

is the part that Jesus talked about in the gospels.

Wide is the way. that leads to destruction. But

narrow is the way that leads to life. The paths

of righteousness are never highways. Notice it

says paths. You'll never find in the Hebrew the

word path meaning four lane highway. Or somehow

huge bypass overpass. Why? Because righteousness

has a form of difficulty to it. That's why it's

called the narrow way. Remember when they asked

Jesus, Lord, how many will make it to heaven?

And Jesus answered. He didn't say how many. He

just says, listen, wide is the way that leads

to destruction and narrow is the path that leads

to life. And those that are finding it are pressing

into it. So why would he say that? Well, because

narrowness. When you start asking the Holy Spirit

to do more for you than just what? Just putting

and getting your hell insurance paid up and getting

a stamp that you're saved, okay? If you want

more than that, then guess what he's gonna do?

He's gonna start developing you in the atmosphere

of heaven. Because he taught you how to pray

that. Pray, my kingdom come. Pray, my will be

done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this

day our daily bread and forgive us of our trespasses

and we forgive those that trespass against us.

Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from

the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, the power,

the glory forever. Now notice, did you notice

that he starts with heaven and ends with heaven?

He starts with the father who is the good father.

Hallowed be his name. And he ends with what?

The power and the kingdom and the authority operating

in your life in every. area, not only provision,

but also now operating in freedom from offense,

freedom from grudges, freedom from sin and things

of judgment so that you can what? Allow the kingdom

of God to have dominion and authority in every

area where you go. And so he has to do what?

He has to lead you in righteousness. Meaning

what? Well, isn't he righteousness? Yes, he is.

That means that I have five minutes to land this

plane. Yes, he is. He is your righteousness,

but he wants to keep sanctifying you. And so

guess what he's going to do? He's now going to,

he's going to work with you. He's going to work

with you and he's actually going to lead you.

Now you didn't know the Holy Spirit was kind

of short and pudgy, but the reality is that That

the Lord leads you in a path. Why? Because he

wants you to begin to walk with him in the counsel

of his word. If he just wanted to get, now hear

me, I'm being a little facetious, but if he just

wanted you saved and that was it, then we wouldn't

need any of the five full gifts of apostle, prophet,

evangelist, teacher. All we would need is the

evangelist and an assassin. You accept Jesus

Christ, your Lord and Savior? Yes. Bang. Send

you to heaven. Why? Because that's what it was

all about. Just getting you there. No. No. It

is more, Jesus said, it is more needful that

I go so that I can send the promise of the Father.

And that when he comes, he will teach you and

lead you and guide you into all things. And that's

what God does to break you into the anointing.

As he feeds you and then drops you into the still

water of his presence, the peace and the serenity,

he begins to walk with you now in places that

are narrow and have some difficulty. How many

have found yourself, just stay right there, how

many have found yourself walking into some places

with some difficulty where you've had to keep

Jesus and... your salvation intact as you're

walking. Anybody? Okay, all right, good. We're

in a good place. Then what does he do? Stay with

me. As he learns and you learn to trust the Holy

Spirit and the word, he now says, even though

I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

You see, he knows that he's going to take you

through some, of your life where you're gonna

be surrounded by things that have shadow. Notice

he says, I don't have time to go into all of

it. He says the shadow of death. What does that

mean? It means, he didn't say I'm gonna take

you into the jaws of death. He says, because

I've been walking in paths of righteousness and

he is with me and I've learned to lean on him.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow

of death, meaning I will walk in things that

will be contrary to what I know his promises

are. And I'll recognize that there will be shadows

of darkness and evil that will try to be cast

on me. Now listen, death was never part of God's

plan. Death is an enemy of life. And in everything,

there is a shadow of death that you're going

to have to go through. Maybe it's an issue of

you have to, you're feeling the shadow of death

to a vision or death to maybe a calling or death

to something that you didn't want to see go.

He's walking with you when the shadow of that

thing, even though it may not have affected you

personally as. just death physically, when something

took something and that shadow of darkness and

evil got on you. God is walking with you. Your

rod and your staff comfort me. See, now there's

a progression. Why is he saying that? Because

the rod always represents authority. The staff

always represents the ability to bring you back

to a place of the pen. and the fold. God doesn't

give a shepherd a rod only because a rod can

be used for defense and a rod can be used as

displays of power and of counting. But the shepherd's

staff is a place for rescue and to bring you

back into realignment. That's what the shepherd

says. Your rod, the authority of your word. The

fact that you are unalterable in truth and the

fact that you carry a shepherd's staff has the

ability that when I go astray, it will bring

me back to a place, not just pulling you and

saying, what is wrong with you? No, bringing

you back out of the place you were and bringing

you back into the place of what? The community

of his people and where the shepherd reigns.

And then it says, I know I'm just about two minutes

over time, so stay with me. He says, then I prepare

a table before you in the presence of your enemies.

And this is really important because God never

removes your enemies. He puts a table before

you to feed on him so that he can now at the

table anoint you to deal. With your enemies.

With him and you. That's why it says. My cup

runneth over. That cup was the anointing oil.

A cup of joy. He anoints my head with oil. My

cup overflows. You understand what he's saying?

He's saying, when you understand that you can

be in the midst of your enemies and still be

seated in the fellowship with Christ and with

fellowship with Christ means I'm now able to

eat and talk and hear and listen to Jesus at

his table of communion and fellowship one -to

-one. But yet with all of my brothers and sisters.

While there are enemies of my flesh. It doesn't

say God's enemies. It says my enemies. What are

the enemies against my soul? What are the things,

just like they talked about, is there a sickness?

Is there a disease? Is there something that's

popping up? What does he do? He says, in the

midst of that, you can feed on me and I'll now

what? I'll anoint you like he does with a sheep

to remove the what? The flies. And all of the

stuff that comes, they anointed a sheep's head

with fresh oil. What does the oil do? The oil

is supposed to get inside your cup. Who's the

cup? Your spirit man. The cup is you. The cup

is the vessel. I'll anoint you with what? Holy

substance of my spirit and power. To do the very

thing that Jesus did. I'll operate in you. And

I'm not just going to give you a little dab.

I'm going to pour and fill at my table. Even

in the presence of your enemies. So that you

can actually receive power and authority. And

have fullness of joy. Knowing that the last part

of goodness and mercy is now on your life. And

you can step right past those enemies. Even though

they're destructive lions. And say, you. Can't

touch this. Right? Can't touch this. You can

do MC Hammer in Jesus' name. Why? I got one amen.

Hallelujah. Why? Because he anointed you and

that anointing substance does for you beyond

what you could fight in the natural. The power

of the word and the spirit. breaks your enemies

that have come upon you so that you can walk

in every season in whatever part you're in as

an ambassador of the kingdom of heaven, knowing

that you carry his will, his word, and his anointing.

To do what? Teach the gospel in Laos. Bind up

the brokenhearted in Harrisburg. Open blind eyes.

Through revelation, insight, and understanding

in a Bible study, open prison doors and set the

captives free by praying for people to be loosed

from oppression and vexation and proclaim. Proclaim

means what? Validated through signs that are

more powerful than any human could ever do in

his own strength and in his own might. The power

of proclamation has the kingdom behind it. Would

you bow your heads with me? Father, in Jesus'

name. Lord, I thank you this morning. I thank

you for your anointing and I thank you for your

word. And I thank you, Lord, for the patience

of this people that puts up with this preacher.

And I'm asking you to speak with them in this

final moment. Lord, that there would be a desire

in their heart for all that you paid for. Not

just content with something in their life saying,

okay, you're saved. You got your hell insurance

paid up. But something that says, I must be transformed.

I must become an ambassador. I must live under

the anointing. I must understand what it means

to have that oil flowing in and through my life.

I want to do what Jesus paid to say I could do

for his name, his glory, and his honor. Father,

I ask that now. I ask it to come upon your people

here in this room. And I ask this church would

receive that. And if you're here this morning

and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ in

this moment, before we move on, You say, I want

to know this man in whom you're taught. I've

never known Jesus like that, but I understand

that he came to die in my place. And if I would

accept him, he would introduce me to the father,

to the son and to the Holy Spirit. And they would

come and make their home inside of me. They would

fill me and they would. They would cause me to

have fellowship with them. I want to be forgiven

of sin and I want to know what goodness and love

is really about. If that's you this morning and

you want to know him, would you be so bold just

to lift your hand just above your head so I can

have someone come? Thank you, sir. Someone coming

right now. Another one right here. Right here.

Thank you, Laura. Another one. Is there anyone

else? Say, that's me. I need another one over

here. Will, thank you. I'm coming right to you,

sir. I pray with you. Thank you for being bold.

Thank you. You see him, Will? Yeah. I'm sending

some people to pray with you, to invite Jesus

into your heart. They're gonna lead you through

a prayer. They're gonna walk you through what

it means. Jesus said he was the door. If any

man come through me, he will be saved. He will

find the Father. Lord, I'm praying right now

that every person that is communicating, Lord,

you would touch. You promised that whoever calls

on the name of the Lord would be saved. I'm asking

you to redeem them, to save them, and bring them

inside, Lord, the gate that they would learn

to grow in the kingdom of God. Lord, I thank

you for what you're doing. And I thank you that

you're here in this room. Help us to become what

you paid for, the Something More Church, in Jesus'

name. Thank you for taking the time to listen

to this week's message. We are so grateful for

those who tune in each week and have given generously

to this ministry. If you are in need of prayer,

send us a text message at 541 -625 -1365. We

would love to pray with you.