Turn North

I'm going to invite you, if you can join me in

the word of God today, Deuteronomy chapter 2

Deuteronomy 2 · chapter mention

and verse 1. This is the word that God has laid

on my heart and that I have been meditating on,

praying over for a couple of weeks now. God's

been dealing with me on this. Just going to read

two verses. It says, Then we turned and journeyed

into the wilderness. Turn northward. Somebody

say, turn north. Turn north. I want to preach

on that thought here for a few moments and share

some things that I pray and I hope will be a

blessing, will edify, will change your life.

Would you pray with me right now, right there

where you are, and pray not only for yourself,

pray for your neighbor, amen. Pray that God would

speak to them and pray for me that God would

just flow, his anointing would flow through my

life today. Father, we love you today. We thank

you, God, for your... powerful, precious word,

your presence, God, that just permeates this

place of worship today. God, you have met us

here for such a time as this. We understand,

God, that your coming is near, that the day is

at hand, the night is far spent, God, and so

it is high time for us to incline our ear to

what thus saith the Lord in this hour. God, I

pray for... Everyone, God, gathered here today,

those that will watch this recording, God, that

all those that would hear this word, their lives

would be transformed. God, put your word in my

mouth, amen, Lord, and anoint my lips of clay.

I ask this right now in the powerful and in the

mighty name of Jesus. Someone say amen. Would

you clap your hands and give God one more praise.

You may be seated in God's presence. Some years

ago, I bought a treadmill when I decided to get

serious about my health. And I did it because,

you know, it seemed like the right thing to do.

After some time, however, I stopped using my

treadmill because I didn't like the feeling of

running nowhere. I didn't like that feeling of

seeing the same things and not moving forward.

And nothing against treadmills. If you've got

one and it works for you, you know, more power

to you. Keep running on that thing. And if it's

good for your health, right? But for me, it didn't

work because I... I like to see progress. You

know, as I'm running, as I'm working out, as

I'm doing these things, I like to see a change

of scenery. It just does something to my psyche.

It does something to my mind. It gives me a sense

of fulfillment, if you will. But I realized something

thinking about that moment in my life, in my

health journey, that you can run hard. In fact,

you can run very hard and still go nowhere. Someone

say amen. True spiritually as well. You can get

stuck in cycles and mistake erroneously motion

for progress. You could mistake the fact that

things are moving or that there is some shifting

or some changes, but yet not actually be making

progress. And this is exactly where the children

of Israel found themselves in our text today.

They were moving, but they were not advancing.

They were not going anywhere. Circling in the

desert for a long time, they got used to the

same scenery. walking the same paths and repeating

the same cycle. And they were in a precarious

place because on the one hand, they were no longer

slaves in Egypt, right? Because God had delivered

them out of Egyptian oppression and bondage.

So on the one hand, they were no longer brickmakers

and under the slavery of Egyptian rule. But on

the other hand, they were still not living in

their promised land. And again, this is a dilemma.

This is a difficult place to be in, to be fully

out but not fully in. To be in that kind of a

middle place. And I believe that as God was speaking

to me that there are many believers who find

themselves in that exact place spiritually speaking.

They are delivered but not yet developed. They

are saved. Perhaps their sins have been washed

away through the water, just like the children

of Israel came through the Red Sea, which typifies

baptism. So they have been delivered from their

sins, and that past has been wiped away, but

they're still not yet settled into the land of

milk and honey. They have not yet tasted of the

goodness of the land that God has. promised to

them, just like he did to Abraham and his seed.

But this is where God had looked upon the plight

of his people and intervened. And he interrupted

their cycle that they were in with one very simple

command. First, he locates them, number one.

He diagnoses the issue. He says, you have...

this mountain long enough. So first, before God

tells you where he wants you to go, how many

of you know he'll tell you where you are? Somebody

say amen. That's why God, when he wanted to change

Adam's life, he said, Adam, where are you? God

will always locate you first. The Holy Ghost

will always pinpoint, it'll pin drop exactly

what your situation is, where you are in the

kingdom or in the spirit or the season of your

life. And so he tells them, you have skirted

this mountain long enough. In other words, you

have been circling the same mountain experienced

the same mountain long enough. I've seen what

you've been doing and I've kind of noticed that

you have a pattern now. You've got this pattern

and I don't even, I think you don't even, I know

you don't even realize that you're in a pattern,

that you're in a cycle because you're moving.

But you have mistaken your motion for progress.

You have mistaken your routine for obedience.

You've mistaken your pattern. for spiritual growth

and for development. So God says, you've skirted

this mountain long enough, and then he says,

turn northward. Someone say, turn north. Come

on, say that again with me. Turn north. And then

those two words, or in the text, the original

text I read, turn northward. If you like that

word northward better, you can use that too.

But it means the same, turn north. And as I read

that, I felt the Holy Ghost speak to me, and

I hear the Holy Ghost here today saying the same

thing to each and every one of us this afternoon,

saying the same thing to me, saying the same

thing to my family, to this church, and that

is turn north. It is not the will of God that

we... skirt the mountain, so to speak. It's not

the will of God that we recycle our religious

experiences, that we go through the motions,

or that we do church because we know how to do

church. You know, some of us, we just know how

to do church. We can do church with the best

of them because it is so ingrained in who we

are. It comes as like second nature to us. But

we've got to be careful today, church, and I

hope you hear what I've got to say. say today,

that we don't stay in the rut of just doing church

or that we just don't repeat the same experiences,

the same lessons that we've learned already,

the same elementary principles of doctrine, which

are good. But even the Apostle Paul said, leaving

behind the principal elements of doctrine, let

us go on to perfection. Not that we don't need

our doctrine. Always will. But let us not keep

circling around the same things and not advancing.

Because at the end of the day, amen, we've got

a promise in God that must be possessed. Somebody

give God some praise today. Hallelujah. How many

of you got a promise from the Lord? Amen. I said,

how many of you got a promise from the Lord?

Hallelujah. You must possess your promise. And

that's why when you flip a few chapters later

in Deuteronomy. and verse 23, Moses says to the

people, the Lord brought us out so that he could

bring us in. So God didn't just bring us out

of Egypt so that we can be desert dwellers. God

didn't bring us out of Egypt just so that we

could celebrate our freedom for the rest of our

life, but never possess the fruit of the land,

no. God Brought us out of all of that. Brought

us out of the world. Brought us out of sin. Brought

us out of dead men's tradition. Why? So that

he could bring us in. It is God's will that we

step into the fullness of his spirit. Hallelujah.

It is God's will that we step into the fullness

of his power. The fullness of his power. How

many of you want to step into the fullness of

God? Amen. I want to step into the fullness of

my revelation. I want to step into the fullness.

of my conviction. I want to step into the fullness

of my relationship and my intimacy with the Lord

Jesus Christ. I don't want to ever get in a cycle

where all I am doing is talking about what God

did and where I've been and not advance further

into his kingdom. So the question before us here

today, church, is if we're going to turn north,

Where is north? Where is north in the spirit?

And how do we get there? And if we ask these

questions, we need to look no further than the

example before us here in Deuteronomy chapter

Deuteronomy 2 · chapter mention

2 with the people of Israel. And we first must

begin. There are several stages that I'd like

to dissect for us today as we look at the children

of Israel, the people of God. And the first thing

we must begin to deal with is this mountain that

they were circling in the desert. They were circling

a mountain. and the mountain was known as Mount

Seir. Now, this particular mountain is noteworthy

because it was home to the descendants of Esau.

Scripture tells us, Bible says that this is where

the people or the lineages, the descendants of

Esau lived. Now, if you know a little bit about

Esau in Bible history, Esau was not a spiritual

man. Amen. He was not a spiritual man. In fact,

he was a carnal man. A carnal man who sold his

inheritance or his birthright for a bowl of soup.

I don't know how good that soup smelled, but

whatever it was, he became entrapped by that.

He became bedazzled. He ensnared by the attraction,

by the scent of that soup. His hunger and the

flesh got the best of him. And so he sold an

eternal birthright for a temporary fix that he

got in his flesh. And so the Israelites were

circling Esau's mountain. This was his mountain.

This was where his people lived. And so if I

could put it to you this way, in a spiritual

sense, the people of God were not just circling

any mountain. They were circling a carnal mountain.

Amen. They were circling a fleshly mountain.

They were circling Esau's mountain. I mean, I

don't think the Bible makes any mistakes. There

is a, there is a lesson here. There is a point

to this. And this mountain of flesh, this carnal

mountain, a mountain who gets its identity from

a man who was living in the carnal mind. A man

who was not a true man of the spirit. And they

were circling. says something about the first

thing that we must do if we are to move north

and get beyond this mountain of flesh that causes

nothing but cycles of regret and cycles of sin

and comfort and empty religion in our lives.

So the first thing we need to do if we're going

to move spiritually north is that we need to

know that north, someone say north. Amen. Come

on, say north. North is beyond the flesh. North

is beyond the flesh. And the scripture reads

for us in verses 4 and 5, it says, and command

the people. Command the people saying that you

are about to pass through the territory of your

brethren, the descendants of Esau, the carnal

man, who live in Sir, and they will be afraid

of you. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully.

In other words, be vigilant about where you're

about to go into the territory that you're about

to enter. You've got to be sober -minded and

vigilant about this mountain. And then verse

5, he adds, do not meddle with them. So God tells

Israel, you are to pass through, if you're going

to move north to the promised land, this mountain

beyond the flesh. And he says, you got to pass

through this mountain. You got to go through

this carnal mountain of Esau, this place that

represents flesh and carnality. But not only

pass through them, but I like the added admonition,

which is, do not meddle. Someone say, don't meddle.

He said, don't meddle with these people. Mind

your own business and just walk right through

them. That word there, meddle, is important for

us today. It is important to add to your mind,

your understanding, your spiritual vocabulary.

Why? Because to meddle is to contend or to provoke.

God was telling his people, do not meddle. provoke

the flesh. Do not meddle with it. Do not bargain

with Esau. Don't get entangled with these people.

They have nothing to offer you. Don't negotiate

with them and certainly don't fight with them

on their turf because you'll be fighting on their

terms and it's a battle that you're not going

to win. You're going to lose it every single

time. And as I read these words, I cannot overlook

the fact that in order for us as the people of

God in this generation to move north in the Spirit

into the blessed promises of God for our lives,

we have got to apply this same principle to our

lives and do everything we can to not get in

the A meddling situation with our flesh. Because

our flesh is something that is constantly trying

to contend with us. The Bible says these words

in Romans 8 -7. Can I preach my heart out today?

Somebody say go ahead. Hallelujah. The Bible

says in Romans 8 -7 that the carnal mind is enmity

against God. Amen. Carnality, I want you to know,

is not just the love. Can I tell you like it

is today? Carnality is not simply doing dirty

things or having a dirty mind, so to speak. But

carnality is... moving and operating in any other

spirit except for the spirit of God. It could

be the spirit of humanity. It could be the spirit

of the world. It could be the spirit of somebody

else except for the spirit of God. It not only

includes the lust of the flesh, but it includes

the lust of the eye and the pride of life. And

for somebody here today, your biggest problem

may not be the lust of the flesh and controlling

impulses. of your fleshly desires. But your biggest

problem might be the pride of your life. It might

be the lust of the eyes. It might be greed. It

might be jealousy and covetousness. It might

be envy. Hallelujah. Or it might be the pride

of life. What the Bible calls a howty look or

an arrogant look or a proud heart. And what you

must understand about all of these facets Facets

of a carnal mind. All of these facets of a carnal

mind are not neutral elements in your life. They

are at enmity with God. You see, I need to alert

the believer here today. Oh, I feel him, the

Holy Ghost. That contrary thinking to the spirit

of God is not simply a neutral mindset. It's

not simply, well, God stays on his side or the

preacher is on his side and I'm on mine. side.

No, it is enmity against God. Oh, enmity is not

passive. Enmity is open hostility. It is not

a cold war like we experienced as a nation way

back in the 80s where nuclear bombs were pointed

from country to country, from Russia to the U

.S., and from the U .S. to Russia, and there

was no nukes that were fired. Thank God for that.

It was a cold war. But I am not talking, that's

not what this is. This is not a cold war. This

is open warfare. A carnal mind is actively working

against the spirit and the will of God in your

life. I need to preach this like I feel here

today. Hallelujah. It is open warfare. Why? Because

it opposes and it resists with everything it

has, the spirit and the word. and the direction

of God, and the direction that God puts through

his overseers. And this is why the Bible teaches

us that we ought to make no provision for the

flesh. The Bible is constantly telling us not

to meddle with the carnal mind. Don't give it

any place in your life. Don't allow yourself

to be governed, to be directed, to be influenced,

to be under the spell of. Whatever the flesh

and the carnal mind wants to do. Because it is

enmity with God. It wants something entirely

separate than what God wants. I'm not talking

to anybody here today. It wants what it wants.

But this is why we've got to get into the spirit.

This is why, hallelujah, we cannot negotiate

with the flesh. And certainly we cannot fight.

the flesh, because if you try to fight flesh

with flesh, you're going to lose that battle

every single time. If you want to overcome your

flesh, you don't have to fight your flesh. You

simply have to wake up every morning and make

a conscious decision that you're going to walk

in the Spirit. Somebody give God some praise

here this afternoon. Hallelujah! I'm preaching

under the anointing of the Holy Ghost. Let me

give you you some Bible today. Let me give you

more Bible as I got to move through this. In

Romans it says, for if you live according to

the flesh, you will die. But if you live by the

Spirit, you Put to death the deeds of the body,

you will live. Galatians tells us, walk in the

spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of

the flesh. It tells us, and those who are Christ

have crucified the flesh with all of his passions

and all of his desires. Oh, in 1 Peter he tells

us to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against

the soul. But the one thing you will not see

the Bible tell you to do is to war or do battle

with your flesh. Nowhere in Scripture are you

commanded to fight your flesh. You're not supposed

to fight your flesh. You're supposed to mortify

your flesh. You're supposed to crucify your flesh

on an altar and surrender it. Somebody clap your

hands and give God some praise here today. Supposed

to walk above it. And I can preach this whole

message and dedicate it to that. Because many

times, oh, if we're not careful, we think we're

walking in the spirit. We're thinking we're making

spirit guided. If it doesn't line up with this

word, if it contradicts this word and the precepts

of it, then we've got to go back to our prayer

closet. Then we've got to check our hearts and

our spirit and say, God, is this an area where

my flesh is trying to climb off the altar? Is

this a situation, God, that I've meddled with

my flesh? I've entertained it. I've discussed

with it. I'm negotiating with it. Oh, the devil

is a liar. I don't know about you, but I want

to move forward. It's with the promises of God.

And I've got to move past my flesh. Oh, too many

times. Can I keep preaching this just for a few

more moments? Too many times we blame the devil

and we blame Satan and we blame the kingdom of

darkness. And yes. That realm is real, but so

often it is not the devil that is depriving us

of our promises. It's our own carnal thinking

that gets in the way. It's our own pride. It's

our own attitude. It's our own fleshly desires,

our own fleshly ambition. But if we will simply

crucify it and say, not my will, but thine be

done. then something is going to happen in the

spirit. Come on, why don't we just worship the

Lord for a few moments today. I feel the Holy

Ghost in this place. The devil doesn't have the

power to stop revival. The devil doesn't have

the power to stop a miracle. In your life, it's

only a question of whether you're going to pass

through the flesh. Secondly, if we're going to

move north, we need to move beyond the past.

Someone say the past. Oh, hallelujah. The word

of God says, and the time we took to come to

Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the valley

of the Zered was 38 years. Until all the generation

of the men of war was consumed from the midst

of the camp. just as the Lord has sworn to them.

Pastor, what is going on in this text? I'm glad

you asked. How does this relate to the past?

Well, here's what's happening. God was preparing

his people to step into the land of Canaan, the

promised land. And now that they are going through

Esau, now that they are moving beyond the flesh,

they are realizing there is another step that

must be taken. be taken and and this one is just

as critical as the last because now God is fulfilling

his word that those who had not believed him

the prior generation would have to die off and

this meant waiting another 38 in order for that

to happen. They had already been circling in

the desert for now two years. They had already,

and lots of things had already, events had happened

during those two years. But God said, if you're

going to step into the promises, you've got to

get beyond the past. And the past for his people

was the generation who had doubted God, who had

doubted his word, a generation of murmur. and

complainers and disobedient and resisted God

and spiritual authority. And it was a painful

thing that they had to experience. You could

read about it for yourself, the heartbreak and

the pain and the suffering experience even in

that short two -year period. Because despite

all the miracles that God had done for his people,

there was still a generation that could not accept

what God had done. God was doing and was struggling

to let go of certain things. And so for that

reason, God said, you will not be allowed. Access

denied for you to enter into the promised land.

And so this whole new generation was coming up.

It was Joshua's generation. His generation coming

up. And they had to wait. Think about it. years

that's a long time to have to wait in order to

bury the last can you imagine with every burial

how bittersweet it must have been because on

the one hand they were mourning the loss of an

uncle an aunt a loved one a cousin a mother or

a father and they had to bury them and that must

have been sad but on the other hand him also

must have been a field with some glimmer of hope

because that with every burial of a loved one

from the old unbelieving generation that meant

they were one step closer from marching into

their promised land. This is the dichotomy that

many believers fail to understand and often miss

in their life. They think that in order for there

to be a clean break into where God is calling

me everything must make complete sense in what's

going on in my life right now. is going to make

the journey with them. Well, the Bible gives

us another pattern and another model and another

template. And in the Spirit, we find that oftentimes

we've got to bury some things and even some relationship

and even some stuff that we've been holding on

to that is resisting the will of God in our life.

Oh, I may not get many amens right now. But just

hang out with me here for just a few more moments.

And it baffles us why. But with every burial.

They cried on one day. And then they rejoiced

on the next day. Not because they were celebrating

the death of a loved one. The passing away of

something old. No. But the fact that it meant

they were one step closer. One inch closer to

getting a hold. of the promise of God and it

will be a time of mourning and rejoicing. You'll

be sad one day because maybe God didn't give

you what you wanted but the next day your heart

will be filled with joy because you realize that

all things work together for the good to them

that love God and to them that are called according

to his purpose. You realize that serving God

is sometimes bittersweet. It's not always going

to be the way you want it but If you'll submit

to the process and you'll say, God, if it's got

to be buried, then it's got to be buried so that

I can get to it. you are calling me to go. And

so I feel something in the Holy Ghost. Just give

me a few more moments. I'll be done here. But

this is a point in the Holy Ghost that when God

calls you north, brother or sister, some things

and some people, you've got to leave south. And

you say, Pastor, this is cutting too close to

the line. You tell that to Jesus, who while he

was entering his promise of ministry, even his

own brothers and sisters tried to come and rescue

him from hell. himself because they thought that

Jesus had lost his mind. Oh, but they were carnally

thinking and not spiritually thinking. And so

Jesus had to put even his own family in check

and tell them that my brothers and my sisters

are them that do the will of the father. You

say, pastor, what are you telling me? It's the

Holy Ghost that's telling us today that if, Elijah,

you want to get your promise, you want that double

portion, then you're going to have to kiss mom

and dad goodbye and burn that 12 yoke of oxen

and burn the plow. I'm telling you, if you want

to go back to Bethlehem, Naomi, then you're going

to have to kiss Orpah goodbye. And if she goes,

oh, but thank God there's a Ruth that God will

leave in your life. Oh, come on. I told you that

it's not all bad news. I told you that it's not

all sour. Some of it is sweet. Somebody say it's

sweet too. Hallelujah. Because even though I

had to say goodbye to somebody I really love,

named Orpah, but God left me with Naomi. So I've

lost some things and I've gained some things.

because I can't stay here in this purgatory anymore.

I can't stay stuck in limbo anymore. Peter, if

you want to follow Jesus and be a preacher of

the gospel, you've got to leave your nets behind.

Something's got to be left south so that I can

turn north. Someone say, turn north. Come on,

say it again. Say, turn north. Throughout Scripture,

we see this principle laid out for us. And this

message is so powerful, I think I'm going to

have to go back and listen to it myself again.

Hallelujah. Speak to me, Lord. I just felt something

in the spirit that we're at a pivotal moment,

church. We're at a pivotal time. Some of you

individually and us as a church, we're folks

and you got to make up in your mind, am I moving

forward or am I going backwards or am I just

going to keep circling the same mountain? I got

to get beyond my flesh and I got to get beyond

the past. Paul said forgetting those things,

oh, hallelujah, that are behind and reaching

forward to those things which are ahead. Pastor,

are you saying that we are not to honor or that

we are not to respect? No, I'm not saying that

the past is always bad. Hallelujah. What the

Bible is teaching us is that we cannot be prisoners

of it. I can remember what God did without becoming

a prisoner of it. I can remember how God brought

me out without enshrining it in my life to think

that that's the only way God could. The keyboard

gets ready to come. It goes a step further than

that. Because hallelujah. You've got to assess

what areas of my flesh, my carnal mind. My carnal

mind. The person you look at in the mirror when

you're fixing your hair and brushing your teeth.

That person. What areas in you are threatening

to rob you of your ultimate purpose. The reason

God puts you on this earth. What is it? And what

areas of your past. and people and things that

you are holding on to, at some point you're going

to have to make up in your mind, at some point

it's going to be I either please God or I please

man, but I can't do both. Can't do both. You

know, you make up in your mind that you're going

to make somebody unhappy. I'm either going to

make God unhappy or I'm going to make my BFF

unhappy. I'm going to make my coworker unhappy.

I want to make my neighbor unhappy. But you understand

that God's calling me somewhere. And it's not

that I don't love. And it's not that I don't

care. But you've got to be like those men that

were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in Nehemiah's

time that were hearing voices and distractions

and trying to talk them off the wall. He said,

no, I've got to stay off this wall. I've got

to keep fighting. many of you want to move north

today? Amen. Amen. I'm going to ask you again.

I said, how many of you want to move north today?

Can I just go one step further? Can I go one

step further? You also got to move. Someone say

the battle. You see, after they got through the

flesh, after they got through the past, the word

of the Lord says, arise. He says, rise. Take

your journey and cross the river of Arnon. Look,

I have given into your hands Sihon, the Amorite,

the king of Heshbon and his land. Watch this.

Begin to possess it and engage him in battle.

Let me tell you one of the secrets to success

in the spirit is learning how to pick your battles.

Ooh, my Lord. That was worth the cost of coming

to church today. Hallelujah. Is picking your

battles. Knowing when it's the right fight and

when it's the good fight of faith. Amen. Help

me out. And so after telling his people, don't

fight them. No, no, leave them alone. Don't fight

the children, the descendants of Esau, because

they're just a bunch of carnal folks, man. They're

trying to drag you into the dirt is what they're

trying to do. Just leave that. Don't fight. Don't

fight the past. Don't fight that. No, no, no.

You just got to give it time. Give it time. And

when it's time to bury it, you got to move on.

Don't fight this. Don't fight that. But now it's

time to fight. Now you're thinking, well, great.

Let's go to the war chest. Let's get out our

spear. or swords. Let's get the battle act. Let's

get the shield. Let's get all. Let's get the

chariots and the horses. The only problem was

is that these people were not a people of war.

The prior generation was trained that way. They

were trained that way. But this generation has

spent years circling the desert. They knew how

to collect manna from heaven. They didn't know

anything about swinging a sword. do certain things,

but they didn't know how to fight in the battle.

But God says, now it's time to fight. Someone

say, it's time to fight. And they had never fought

before. They had never fought before. Some of

you are entering right now in the season of having

a fight, a battle you never had to fight before.

You say, but is this the one? Well, What's God

saying to you right now? If it's that battle,

let me tell you today, you cannot possess what

you're not willing to fight for. God said, I

brought you all the way here. I brought you to

this point. But now you're going to have to fight.

Now fathers and mothers, husbands and wives and

young people, everybody's going to have to learn.

how to swing a sword. Now you're going to have

to engage because if you're going to move north,

guess what's going to happen? You're going to

face confrontation. You know why? Because the

enemy is not just going to surrender territory

just because you're walking in his direction.

No, he's not going down without a fight. But

I got news for the devil here today. If a fight

is what he wants, a fight is what he's going

to get. Oh, I wish I had some fighters here this

afternoon. If the devil wants to fight, that's

what I'm going to do. I'm going to fight with

everything I have in my spirit. Would you stand

with me at this hour? Come on. Hallelujah. God,

I'm ready, Lord. I want to fight for it. I want

to fight for this thing, Lord. Someone needs

to say, I'm not turning south. Would you close

your eyes there? I feel the spirit of God in

this place. Fight. But what am I fighting for?

Who am I fighting? Well, you're not fighting

flesh and blood. That's for one. Your fight is

not with your brother or your sister. Your fight

is not with your flesh and blood. Your fight

is not with man. Your fight is not with woman.

Your fight is not with the minister or with the

pastor or with the evangelist. Your fight is

with the enemy. The weapons of our warfare are

not carnal, but are mighty in God to the pulling

down of strongholds, casting down arguments.

Every vain imagination. Everything that exalts

itself against the knowledge of God. We wrestle

not against flesh and blood. Oh, but against

principalities. Oh, rulers of darkness of this

age. Oh, with the God of this age. The God, the

prince of the air. My fight is in the spirit.

My fight is in the spirit. Oh, I've got to fight

this thing on my knees. I've got to fight this

thing in prayer. I've got to fight this thing

in worship. I've got to fight this thing in praise.

Oh, I hear, I hear a warrior rising up in this

place today. I hear, I wonder, is there a man

today that, how many men are in this place that

agree with me right now? Is there any men, are

there any fathers here today? Come on, are there

any fathers, are there any men, young men? that

are willing to stand up in this hour and fight

the good fight of faith. I'm gonna fight for

my family. I'm gonna fight for my children. I'm

gonna fight for my marriage. I rebuke the spirit

of divorce. I rebuke the spirit of this and that.

I rebuke rebellion in my children. I'm gonna

fight. I'm gonna fight with everything. I'm going

to fight for my child who's been going astray.

Come on, keep your eyes closed. The spirit of

the Lord is moving in this time. I'm going to

start operating right now. Oh, hallelujah, brother.

What's going to come out of you is a prophetic

worship. Just begin to play something. There's

something. Can I tell somebody that you're on

the verge? Can I tell you that you're at the

threshold? You say, why is the devil, why is

the fight so strong right now? Why do I feel

it? It's like hovering over me. It's everywhere

I go. Why is the fight so fierce? I'll tell you

why the devil is fighting you tooth and nail.

I'll tell you why the devil is throwing everything

he's got. God at you, trying to throw your mind

off, throw your spirit off, throw your heart

off, while he's trying to confuse you, while

he's trying to influence you, while he's trying

to meddle with you. I'll tell you why the devil

is fighting you with everything he's got. He's

playing dirty. He's slinging mud. He's punching

below the belt. He's doing everything he can

to mess with you and to take your eye off the

prize. and to keep you circling and skirting

the mountain for another year and another month,

another day when God has called you to greater

things. I'll tell you why all hell might be breaking

loose in your spirit, in your mind, in your flesh,

why you find temptation is at an all -time high,

why you find yourself battling in every thought

and every destructive emotion and every idea,

every vain philosophy and every bubbling of a...

fleshly idea I'll tell you why it's because you

are closer now than you have ever been before

to stepping into the promises of God I'm going

to tell you like this that the fight is great

because your fruit is great oh Hallelujah. Oh,

the greatest fight of your life is because you're

at the threshold of the greatest fruit of your

life. But if you will win this battle in the

spirit, sister, come on now, put on the mind

of Christ. Let this mind be in you, which was

also in Christ Jesus. Let this mind be in you.

that was also in Christ Jesus, who came in the

form of man, did not consider it robbery to be

equal with God, but humbled himself. Oh, hallelujah.

If we'll do that today, I believe somebody's

going to get the victory. Right all over this

building, I want you, if you can, I want you

to lift these hands to heaven. God gave you those

hands right now. I want you to lift them to heaven.

And I'm going to pray. I'm going to prophesy

right now. I've already been prophesying, but

I'm going to speak. And I'm going to speak with

a declaration right now over somebody. And then,

hallelujah, as the Holy Ghost begins to move

upon you, I want you to come to this altar, and

I want you to lay your flesh. I want you to just

crucify that flesh. Come on. Right now, come

on, with your hands and lift this. Come on, come

on, come on, come on, come on, come on. Lift

up those hands unto God. God is with you. the

authority of the Word of God and the power that's

in the name of Jesus. I speak over every person

under the sound of my voice this afternoon. God,

you know your people. You know every hair on

their head, God. You know their rising and their

setting, God. You know every aspect of their

life, God. You know what this fight is all about.

You know how close they are, God, to their breakthrough.

How close they are to the promise but right now

in the powerful in the mighty name of Jesus I

speak victory over them because the battle has

already been won 2 ,000 years ago at Calvary's

hill you went to the cross Jesus and you crucified

the sin in the flesh so that we today could stand

in victory over our flesh, over our past, and

over the devil. So right now, in the name of

Jesus. This message is for the spiritually mature.

This is for the mature. If you can handle a message

like this, this is for the mature. And if you

want to grow and use it, then right now is your

time to respond to the Holy Ghost. I need to

turn north. Oh, in peace. I need to turn north

in unity. I need to turn north right now. Come

on. Oh, come on. Come on. Is there anybody else?

I need to turn north right now. I need to move

north. I've got to move north. Come on. You need

to crucify that flesh, brother. You need to.

our flesh sister don't let your flesh rob you

of your blessing don't let it cheat you out of

your promises don't let the past rob you don't

let it stop you don't let