Embracing God's Opportunities Through Opposition

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey, turning your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 16. I do want to say, I want to say that uh in this series that we've been in called An Open Door, I I listened to uh Pastor Dan's message last last Sunday, and uh I man, I got saved all over again. I I uh it was a powerful message, powerful. And um I uh I I I appreciate the way that um everything has tied in uh from the first two messages and then what Dan shared last week, and and obviously if you if you haven't been here, I know this is spring break, and I know people are in and out and and everything's changed in our world. I we only got one week when I was growing up. I was born about 30 years too soon uh to enjoy all the stuff our kids enjoy today, all the time off from school. Because I I I had to make my own time off and just skip, and you guys get it off. And uh so anyway, but um I I in the first message uh we talked about repentance and and about the the the most important thing I think probably that was was given in that message and that we kind of carried a little bit through these other messages is the fact that um two things that are concerning to me, and I I mentioned this to you, is the the people who are going to hell and think that they're okay and they're going to live eternity eternally with Christ. And they're sitting in churches just like this today. They're involved, they're even serving, they even give. I mean, they they think they're okay and when they're really not. Remember, the Bible says that that there is a way that seems right to a man, Proverbs says, and but the end thereof is destruction. So it seems right in the man's mind, in the natural mind, but in God's heart, in God's mind, it's it's not. So that tells us why we need to know God's heart. That that's why we know that tell why we need to pursue Him and to have Him at first in our life. If if you let me just say this. If you do not read this, now I'm gonna I'm gonna be very frank here with you, okay? If this offends you, it's not me. I'm just giving to you. Uh well, just get mad at God. You don't get mad at me, okay? If you are not reading the Bible, if you are not in the Word, if you're not allowing the Word, the sword of the Spirit, to be the very thing like the Bible says, that that pierces to the very core and and divides between soul and spirit and knows the thoughts and intents of the heart. If you are not in the I'm not saying, okay, you read, Jesus wept, and you're good. Or or even even reading through the Bible in a year. Now, I'm I'm just gonna go for it. People that read through the Bible in a year, okay, hold on. So you read through and you read it like a book. And so you start at the beginning and you're checking it off your list so that at the end you can say, I read the Bible in a year. Hallelujah. I'm not saying you didn't get something out of it, but the fact is, is we kind of hold those things up as trophies sometimes, and they really mean nothing if there hasn't been some revelatory work, eternal work downloaded within you. It has just been words off of pages, and it is information, but it's not revelation. But you cannot call yourself a Christian. I don't care how often you come to church, how often you serve, how often you give, what where where and what you do, if you are not in this book and this book is not transforming your mind, you are not a believer. I'm just telling you that there is no way that we could we could grab a hold and accomplish eternity with Christ without the word of God. Because the word is him, it's his heart, it's his will. Do you understand? So that isn't to bash you over the head. That is, I hopefully that's something to wake you up. There's far too many people who have no idea what this book declares, what it says. All they're catching is what they get off of social media or what they get off of a 35, 40-minute message on a Sunday, and 95% of that you don't even remember by Tuesday morning at nine o'clock. But I can go back and look at it. Oh, but you don't. Oh, I meant to. I fully intended to. Man, it was really good. So what did I say? I don't know. See, the thing is, is is there there man, there's life. This is not, this is not just some dead book. I don't it's not about the translation, it's about the source that breathed these words into being through the hearts of men that is still changing lives today. So if it's not changing yours, okay, now I don't I don't need any claps. I'm just telling you, that is so important. But the other the other thing that was concerning to me were the people that have truly had an experience with Christ and have been born again, but they're not sure that they are still. So they're questioning all the time, every little thing that comes up. Oh, I was bad, I didn't do that, or I thought a bad thought. And again, and and they keep thinking they fall out of they fall out of grace with every other minute and every other thought. See, the reason for that again is because of the rhetoric of the voice of the culture today and what is continually being breathed into people's lives through technology, through whatever. And so what happens is that becomes our gospel instead of the word of God becoming our gospel. So uh we we talked in the second week, uh we talked about holiness, and uh holiness is being set apart unto God. It's um it's not uh uh spiritual Mr. Clean, because none of you and none of us can be clean like that. We it's not that you have to walk around, you gotta dress a certain way, you gotta cut your hair and can't wear stuff down. You know, it that's that's what legality, that's what religion does. But but holiness truly is a heart, is a heart matter. Everything about God is a heart matter. And so holiness is being set apart unto Him. Not just what you know, but holiness is the actual fruit that is bore out of your life. Peter said, Be holy in your conduct and in your behavior. So this is not just, okay, I set my heart unto God. Oh no, no, this is now bearing it out. This is living it in your conversation, in your actions, in your reactions. This is something more. And then Pastor Dan beautifully uh laid it out to us last week about the empowerment of grace. I mean, grace, grace, God's grace, the spirit of grace, the Holy Spirit, is what gives you the power to overcome sin, to to step out of the the rut that that life can you know build for you, and you get caught in there and you're just going down the same road and going around the same mountain. And it's the empowerment of grace that gives you the power to say no, even though you engaged in it years ago or before Christ. No, no longer because. No, no longer because I'm his. No, no longer because I'm set apart unto him. It actually is something that's bore out in your life. That's what grace does, it gives you the power to overcome. Now, let me let me let me go to talk to you about doors for a minute before we look at that. Doors are descriptive of God moments and opportunities. Um, the thing about doors is that they don't show up all the time looking like a door. That's why we have to be expectant, that's why we have to be aware, uh, that's why we we have to be uh prudent to what is taking place around us. It's important because a lot of times we miss a door because we didn't see it as a door. Now, let me let me just share something with you for those of you that may not know. Um, books like Corinthians that we'll read out of in a moment here, also books like Galatians and Ephesians and you know, Philippians and Colossians and Thessalonians, those are all books that were written to different churches. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, known as the four gospels, all of those chronicle the life and primarily the ministry of Jesus. Now, in those four Gospels, we see that Jesus calls and brings twelve disciples unto himself and develops them. Then when Jesus died, rose again, ascended into heaven, then the book of Acts opens up. It's known as the Acts of the Apostles. Now, the apostles are the disciples of Jesus who are now taking on the role of an apostle. They're no longer a student, but they are now charged with taking the message and the gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth. So after Acts finishes and they've stepped into their apostleship, that's when we see then these letters to the church. The letters were written to grow the people in relationship and to cultivate faith in Christ. So this is one of those letters. Corinthians. This is the apostle Paul who wrote this to the church at Corinth. And here's what he said. You've already seen it up there. Here's what he said in 1 Corinthians 16, verse 9. He said, For a great and effective door is opened to me. Now stop right there. A great, the definition of great means something that is far above just average or normal. It far exceeds mediocrity. Great can be even depicted as something powerful, something large. A great and effective. Effective means a productive, fruitful, a completed end. Effective is impactful. It makes a difference. If you are effective, that means you succeeded in a specific task that you set out to accomplish. So a great and effective door is opened to me, Paul said. And there are many adversaries. We don't like that part. We love the first part. So he says, there is a great door open. You can't have a great opportunity and have a little battle. See, little doors have little resistance. Great doors have great resistance. You understand? You don't put cheap locks in front of a great treasure. If you have a great treasure, you put it behind a vault. So if God opens a great door before you, and there are blessings and opportunities on the other side, let me tell you something. That means that there is likely going to be great resistance to it. Why? Because God puts you in positions to where He expands you while you are taking enemy territory. I mean, do you understand that if God opens a great door to you and you are to walk through it? Understand the enemy just doesn't back up and clap for you and pat your righteous behind and urge you down the road. That's not what the enemy does. There is a great and effective door open to me, and there are many adversaries. So, doors and adversity go hand in hand. Now, let me challenge your perspective on battles and adversity. If doors and adversity go together, then that means your new battle, your new adversity, is the announcement of a new opportunity. Why? What would it be like if we were people that every time we we move into a new battle or new adversity, that we just got in the habit of just sending out invitations, cranking up the grill, and having a party. I mean, I mean, why not? I mean, it's like, hey, come one, come all. We're about to kick the devils behind again. I mean, it just it's it's it's always a mindset. But instead, what happens is we get looking at the issue, the problem, the adversity, and we take our eyes off of the answer. The problem's in front of you, but the answer is in you. And so if you don't realize that, if you haven't been in this enough to get a knowledge and a revelation of that, then all of a sudden you begin going through life swatting, swinging, fighting the same battles, but never gaining any ground. I mean, it's time to just go ahead and say that God has squeezed everything he can get out of this last season, and there is a new season about to dawn in my life. Because what happens in the middle of two seasons usually is a mountain or a giant that you have to take down. But you have to, you have to agree with yourself to engage the enemy and to know that if God did it before, he will do it again. He will. How many of you that I'm talking to today? How many of you are in a battle that you're fighting right now? Raise your hand. Come on. Be honest. We're there. There's things that are sitting before us. Let me submit to you that that battle or that adversity is the announcement of a new door. So we're talking about doors and adversaries or enemies. An enemy is necessary because an enemy creates movement. It's easy to get in a religious rut of doing good, and many times it not be God, but doing good and feeling okay. What happens is we all desire that life could just be peaceful. I mean, come on. We're humans, right? Our desire isn't to get up and always be facing a battle every single day. We we want some peace in there. You know, I need a relief. I gotta so that that's our desire in the human aspect. But do you know that if you never had a battle, if you never had adversity, if you never had a need, you would never need faith. And the Bible says that without faith, it's impossible to please God. So why would you be wanting or believing for something that would put you in a position to not even be pleasing to God? And what happens to us is that we we can get going where we're comfortable and we're doing what we feel is okay, and it is not until it's not until an adversity comes. It's not until you get the diagnosis from the doctor, it's not till you get the phone call from the police department, your kids there, and they're about to be arrested. It's not till you are in this middle of a frustrating battle in your marriage and it's on the brink of destruction. It's there that all of a sudden you get aware and you start taking, it wakes you up. Oh, everything can be good and we can get real complacent, but an enemy is necessary because an enemy creates movement. Otherwise, a lot of us would just die. We would become stagnant and worthless. So the thing is that we have to be sure, though, of how we define what an enemy is because Jesus said we're supposed to love them. Boy, the gospel. Sometimes it's it's it's so backwards from what our flesh wants to do, is it not? You know, Jesus said to love your enemies. He said to, you know, bless those who curse you, you know, do good to those that hate you, pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you. I mean, that's what we're supposed to do with our enemies. And I mean, I thought that's what we're supposed to do with our with the people that we love and that are neighbors, you know, but we're supposed to do the same. So there's there's never any variation of biblical correctness and generosity and living Christ-like. It's to all people. Because we're to be a living reflection to all people. So the fact is, is that if you're facing resistance, it is most likely not coming from a thing. It is coming through people. Because people, people are the greatest, uh, are the greatest, I guess. What am I trying to say? People are the greatest access that provide the greatest resistance to your moving forward. And don't look at your spouse right now. You see, so right here. Because our our our idea of what I need to get done generally is their fault. It's their fault. He's hindering me, she's not letting me do this. And and we have a good, a good, quick response of always putting, you know, putting it in somebody else's lap when the fact is it really still should remain in yours. So the thing that we have to be aware of is that if God has given us something and he set a door open for us, if we are obedient, there isn't anything that can stop you, but it always goes back to your obedience in this matter. Let me just take a few minutes here to tell you the reason for that. It's foundational, um, and it goes without saying, that we live in the earth, we live in a physical realm. Um, earth was created to be a physical replica of heaven. Adam was created to be a physical replica of God. Adam was created in his image and after his likeness, in other words, after his reflection. As a matter of fact, the Hebrew translation of that particular passage, it gives us the idea that God was looking at his reflection the way you would, like in a mirror, while he was making and creating Adam. So Adam was meant to function like God. Adam was never meant to dominantly function with his hands, he was always meant to function with his mouth. Why? Because that's the way his creator functioned. You see, everything that God wants, he speaks in it, it is. Just go back to Genesis 1. And God said, and God said, and God said, and God said, and whatever he said, that's what it would be. And the same thing was true with Adam, who came out of God. So when God put Adam in the garden, he said, Adam, whatever you call it, that's what it'll be. You name the animals, whatever you, whatever name hippopotamus, whatever you came up with that one, I don't know. But that's what it will be. It's it's up to you. In other words, you say it, and it will be locked in. So that that, do you know that that is actually the perfect picture of on earth as in heaven? That's the perfect picture of it right there. So we live in a physical realm or a physical um domain. But there is a spirit domain where two different realms of influence operate. One is God and his angelic host, which we would call light. The other is Satan and his demonic host, which we'll call darkness. Both of them are spiritual, and both of them are trying to access the earth. Now, what we need to remember, and some of this you learned in Activate 1, those of you who have been through Activate, spirits cannot access the earth without a body. That's the way it was all. Do you know why? It's because in Genesis 1, after God created man, he said, Let man have dominion over the earth. He didn't say let spirits. See, and a man is a spirit with a body. That's actually that's actually the translation of what of what uh of what Adam is, the man in Genesis 2, when it said, and God formed from the dust a man and breathed life into him. The actual Hebrew definition or the translation of that, it calls man a living, breathing, speaking spirit. That's what man is. So a spirit in a body is the only thing that has a right in the earth. In other words, you have to have flesh on to operate in the earth. Why do you think Jesus had to become flesh? Why do you think he had to become a man? Jesus couldn't save us from heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father. No, Jesus had to come among us, be like us, identify with us, so that he could save us. And that's exactly what he did. See, a spirit cannot have dominion in the earth. So Jesus could not sit in heaven and say, Okay, you're saved. He couldn't. That's why he came, that's why John 1 says, and the word, which is Spirit became flesh, which is physical, and he dwelt among us. You follow me? Are you bored? Okay, I just make sure. Alright. So God, God accessed earth, and he had to put flesh on to do it. The seed of heaven, which is spirit, came through the womb of a woman, which is flesh. So now we have the God, man, Jesus. The Bible talks about the windows of heaven. In other words, heaven has to have access points into the earth. The Bible also talks about the gates of hell. Meaning that hell has to have access points into the earth. I'm gonna say something, I want you to hear me very clearly. Windows of heaven and the gates of hell are people. You thought it was out there somewhere. You thought there was some window way out in space that opens up. You thought that the gate of hell was down in the center of the earth and it comes up like a volcano and the lava spewing. Oh no. The windows of heaven and the gates of hell are people. Everybody listening to me right now, whether you're in-house or you're you're you know following us on one of our social media platforms, every one of you has the choice to either be a window of heaven or to be a gate of hell. And and the determination of that is what you choose to yield to. Now get this, I'm gonna take this slow enough so that you don't miss it. How much heaven gets into your home is dependent on how big of a window you are. You control it. See, so I can I can get mad and I can get upset and I can become bitter and I can hold an offense, and that window closes, and very little of God gets in. And by the way, let me tell you, if that's happening, that gate is getting bigger. The gate of hell. Let me let me show you a passage of scripture that'll kind of bring a little bit of clarity for that. In Matthew 16, starting at verse 13, it says this. It said, When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that I, the son of man, am? Notice his wording here. Okay? The fact is, is Jesus really doesn't care what people think about him. You understand? And and notice that, you know, he's son of man and he's son of God, but he's wanting to get what their version is from the man standpoint, the flesh standpoint. So he said, Who do men, what are you hearing out there amongst the people? Who do they say that I, the son of man, am? And here's what the disciples started, you know, stepping up and they had all these uh these ideas. They say, well, you know, some say that you're John the Baptist, some say you're Elijah, and others say you're Jeremiah or you're one of the prophets. But then Jesus said, Okay, now let me ask you, who do you say that I am? That's really what he wanted to catch. He wasn't concerned about all of them, he was concerned about his followers. Who do you say that I am? And it was in that moment that Peter, Peter, the guy that, you know, we know he sticks his foot in his mouth, but sometimes he comes up with some pretty, stinking, good answers and comments. And this was one of them in this instant. And Peter said, he said, answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter. That was the shifting there, maybe in the he was Simon Barjona by virtue of his culture and his heritage, but Jesus put uh another title on him. He is the giver of names, and he is the he is the name above all names. And he said, now you are Peter. And he said, Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades or gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now he's not saying, Upon Peter, I'm gonna build my church. No, he's saying upon the revelation that Peter got, which was, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. It's on that revelation, that rock, that I will build my church. And then he goes on to say, and um, where's it at? And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven. And then he commanded his disciples that they should not tell anyone that he was Jesus the Christ. Some of those times we don't we don't understand all the reasoning of that. Uh, nevertheless, but Jesus had a reason, he had a purpose for that. Now I want you to hear this. Uh, Peter, Peter was a good Hebrew, and and all of the Hebrew people knew that the Messiah was going to pay a great price in order to pay for the sins of the world. They all knew that. And that is basically what Peter said that Jesus was. He said, You are that guy. You're the one. And that was revelation because the rest of them hadn't gotten that. They've been hearing words, they heard Jesus' words, but he just hadn't taken. But somehow in that moment, Peter just like, it was like, whoa, it was a light bulb moment, and boom, he delivered. And that was revelation. Now, verse 21 says this from that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and the scribes and be killed and be raised the third day. Now, look at what verse 22, look at Peter's reaction to this. Then Peter took him aside and to begin and began to rebuke him. What an idiot. I mean, come on. Who rebukes Jesus, especially to his face? I mean, he he's rebuking him, and look what he says. He said, Far be it from you, Lord, that this that this shall not happen. It won't happen. Now, the Messiah, understand, who is Jesus? He was born to die. I just said it earlier today. He he was born. He came as a baby in a manger, not to live life. He came to die for the sins of mankind. The Messiah came to die on a cross and pay the penalty of the sins of the world, be raised from the dead, and so that we could be raised to newness of life, be reconciled to the Father, and live eternally with him. That is his assignment. That's why he came. Assignment. Say assignment. Okay, if you have an assignment, that is something you have been purposed to accomplish and to get done. That was his assignment. And so here, Peter, who just earlier had this wonderful revelation from heaven, and he's declaring who Christ is. And Jesus is saying, Man, you know, man didn't reveal this to you. This is a God thing. And he says, This is who you are. Now, Peter is coming and he's saying, Listen, Lord, I am going to stand in between you and your assignment and not allow it to happen. That's dumb. What happened, Peter, from a few minutes earlier with the revelation. But it's crazy when Peter says that. Look at Jesus' response in verse 23. I got I love I love Jesus, his responses, man. He says, He Jesus turns to Peter in verse 23. He says, Get thee behind me, Satan. You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. Now look at this, okay? Look at this. He's speaking to Peter, but who is he addressing? Yeah, no, don't miss this. Peter has just had his moment in the sun. He was front and center. Jesus praised him, gave him kudos. Oh, Peter, this is from heaven. You didn't get this from man. Blessed are you. And Peter's probably busting out of his robe. Okay, they don't have buttons back then, I don't think so. Anyway, he's feeling good about himself. And then Jesus, right after that, he goes into this little teaching about the keys to the kingdom. You know, that whatever you bind and loose on earth will be bound and loose in heaven. And then on the heels of Peter's ignorant statement, look at what Jesus says. He basically says, get away from me, you devil. Remember, your resistance, I mentioned this, is not the people, it's the spirit manipulating the people. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they're mighty through God. That word carnal means fleshly. That means you're not my battle. See, your opposition may come in the form of Joe or Sarah or, you know, or Dave or Lisa. And if that's your name, that was purely hypothetical, by the way. I'm not I'm not calling you a devil here, okay? So just go with me on this. They're not your battle. In fact, God says that we're to love them. But what we are to do as believers or as sons and daughters of God is we are to come and exercise our authority in prayer, and we address that spirit through the authority that is ours. Remember, Jesus said in Luke that you can trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the powers of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means harm you. That's the authority you have as a believer. What? We should all be clapping at that every single day. I mean, that that's man, that's how could how could we how could we desire to live apart from him when we have so much with him? See? So Jesus, while looking at Peter, addresses what Peter is yielding to. Now, this is very important because in our human state that we live in every day, I'm talking about a state geographic, I'm talking about the state of being as humans. We are very good at addressing and opposing one another. And we lose sight of the fact that there is always a greater spiritual realm that is functioning behind the scenes that brings and works through people. So it's the mature individual, and the only way you really gain maturity is to allow the word of God to come alive onto you and renew your mind through the washing and water of the word. That's why if you're not getting word, and all you're getting is just church. You know what I'm saying? So Jesus addresses who Peter is yielded to. And in a matter of minutes, Peter went from being a window of heaven to a gate of hell. Crazy. And he's still uh it's all determined by what and who you yield to. Because there are two worlds that are trying to get into the earth right now. Two. They are seeking to come alive onto you. That's why God wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Whatever spirit we're yielding to is going to be the spirit that's dominating in our life. And whatever's dominating is the spirit that we're yielding to. So it creates this beautiful cycle. So there's two worlds that are trying to get into the earth. They're trying, both of them are trying to get into your head. The one that you agree with is what will determine the access point that you become. That's it in a nutshell. See, and and Revelation 3, verse 8 says, I set before you, this is Jesus' words, I set before you an open door, and no one can shut it. Meaning that there is no, there is nothing that once God opens a door, that anybody can shut it or mess with it. So he does it, it's done. It's either up to you to be obedient or to be disobedient. He says, I set before you an open door, no one can shut it. And then Paul tells us in this scripture that we just read at the beginning today, in 1 Corinthians, it says that doors and adversaries' enemies go together. I mean they function together. Do you want to know something very interesting back in the Old Testament? Pharaoh was an announcement to the children of Israel that they they were about to step out of slavery and head towards their promised land. Think about it. Moses is out in the wilderness. God meets him at a burning bush, and he calls Moses to go and to lead his people out of slavery, out of bondage. So, in other words, what happened in that moment is that God set before Moses an open door. And it was up to Moses to be obedient and to step through the door. And once he stepped through the door, guess what? There were adversaries. It was Pharaoh. It was a culture that he grew up in years earlier that had actually now it was his opponent and it was opposing his heart. For he was a Hebrew, he was a child of God, he was an Israelite. So now Moses walks through the door, and the first thing is there is Pharaoh. But wait a second, God. You said you were taking us into a promised land. That land flowing with milk and honey, and you know, grapes as big as, you know, basketballs. And I mean, come on. That's what I was thinking about. And so I was obedient, but the first thing that happens, just like Paul said, there are many adversaries. So that woke Moses up. Remember, an enemy always creates movement. So now the shifting changes. And now, if Moses had not been obedient, then God couldn't shown himself strong and faithful through a weak humanity. But he did. And with the help of Aaron, his brother, and you know, they had a little bit of bolstering and encouragement. They made it through all the different plagues and the accusations and Pharaoh coming against them. And in it wasn't, it wasn't, I don't know how long it was exactly, but in time the Israelites walked out free from after 400 and some years of slavery. And that's where they went out into the wilderness to connect and to meet with God. See, this is a beautiful thing. When we are obedient, you think you think your battle is the end. How about if it was just another opportunity of God to raise up something in you and around you that you never thought possible? What is it that you are battling right now? What has been your mindset? Have you examined yourself? Like Paul said, What how do you think about it? Is it bringing you fear? Is it continually keeping you in frustration and anger? Because all of those things are things that you can change in a moment, because it's a shifting of your mindset. Well, it's always been like this, Pastor. We're always going around the same mountain again and again. I just when I think I'm getting five steps ahead, I take six steps back. And so you get bummed out in looking at this, and you have absolutely lost sight of a door that is set right before because it didn't look like a door. It looked like a problem. Do you realize that David at the age of I don't know, he was the age anywhere from 12 to 17 years old. He was a teenager. One morning, he is taking bread and cheese to his brothers who were serving in the Israeli army, and they're engaged in a battle or a war against the Philistine nation. So David, at this teenage in his teenage years, he brings, he's bringing food to his brothers, you know, and and his dad, Jesse, wanted him to find out how they're doing so he could bring the news back. But the crazy thing is, is that night, now follow me. That night, he is being rowed into the streets of the capital city of Jerusalem on the shoulders of the soldiers. The Bible says that the maidens were leaning over the balconies singing songs about him. What happened between the bread and the cheese and the triumphal entry into the capital city of Jerusalem in his name and honor? I'll tell you, Goliath. Everybody else looked at Goliath as a problem. David, in his young, man, his young life of spending time with the Lord out in the open and and God showing him things over and over. And so much of this book that we read, and we read the Psalms, so much of the Psalms is prophetic, and it was coming through young David. So here he is, he sees things differently. He walks onto the scene and he hears an enemy, an adversary, actually degrading the very God of the armies of Israel. And he says, How dare that thing, I don't care how big he is if he's 10 foot tall and I'm only five feet, I don't care. He will not defy my God. He had something in him that could not be eliminated. It didn't shake him, it didn't mess him up, but here's this young teenager. He says, that's not gonna be. And what happened? He saw a door. He stepped through the door, the adversary was waiting. Nobody else could figure out how to take him out. Everybody was fearful. Everybody that tried was wiped out in a minute. But here comes a young teenage boy under the unction of the Holy Spirit, not in him, but on him, because the Spirit was an in man in the Old Testament. But it empowers him from without and he steps into that. He encounters the adversary, and with everything that he knew, because of what he had experienced in his alone time with God, he does something that nobody thought could ever be done. He takes a swing and a stone, and he had five just to make sure he only needed one. He swung at the thing and it was God. It hit Goliath at the only place that it could land in order to make an impact. Because he was full of armor and a shield and everything, so it would bounce off. But it hit right where it needed to. Do you want to know who threw the stone? David. You want to know who guided it? God. It was an open door. And that day, a young boy bringing cheese and bread to his brothers ends up that night as the victor for the nation of Israel. Whoa. Isn't that cool? What stands before you? How have you handled it? Do you have a door? Do you see it that way, or do you just see a problem? Well, the doctor said this, okay? That's what the doctor said. That's what flesh said. That's what human intellect says. But what do you say? Who that's what that's what Jesus was doing. Who do you say that I am? I know what everybody else says. Who do you say? I am. Am I the door? Am I your power? Am I your authority? Am I your shield? Am I your refuge? Am I your strong tower that you run into for safety? Am I the secret dwelling place of the Most High that you abide under? Am I your refuge? Am I am I am I where you go first, or am I second or third on the list? Because that determines how you handle the door and even more how you handle the adversary through the door. So here it is. We always have a decision to make. That's what repentance is. And if we're living a lifestyle of repentance, then that means that every single day, especially, especially, if we're allowing the word to wash our mind. If you're not, then you're gonna leave this place the same way you came. You may feel goosebumps for a moment. You may say, Oh, that was a good message. Oh yeah, I need to do that, but you've got no power. You have a form of guidelines, but you deny the power. It's because the power, you don't have a knowledge of the power, you don't have a revelation of the power. I want you to walk in power. I want to walk in power. I don't want you to be weak. I don't want you to be trodden and beaten down. I don't want you to get up every day already living from a defeated state and trying to work your way up. And I want you to get up every day that you're already on top because the victory's already yours and it's already been won. So it doesn't matter what comes your way, it doesn't matter what challenges, it doesn't matter what relational things, doesn't matter what business thing, doesn't matter what physical thing, it does just doesn't matter. Come on, he is above all and in all. He covers everything. The only thing you need is him. Well, I need my wife. Well, you do need your wife on earth. But let me tell you, what's greater than your wife or your husband is him. You need to you need to go there first. I want you to bow your heads. For those of you who are believers in here, and you've been struggling, and you've been fighting, you've been fighting the battles and not seeing them as opportunities or doors, and you've been swatting and swinging, and man, you're you're getting tired, you feel like you're getting beat up. I want to tell you something. The one thing that could shift everything, even in your life right now, is a change of mind. A change in your mind. It's how you see it. You got to see it how God sees it. You've got to see this situation, this issue, this challenge. You've got to see it the way he sees it. To him, it's nothing. To you, it's huge. But he wants you to take on his mind and his heart. That's what you glean when you get into his word. To get the mind of Christ. Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus, the Bible says. We are to have the mind of Christ, and we want to hold the thoughts and the feelings and the purposes of his heart. That's that's biblical. So the Bible says in John, as he is, so are we in this world. But we are only as he is in this world if we know and have his heart and his will. So in Jesus' name, I am declaring over those of you here who are believers, who are struggling and you're fighting, and you're growing and you're trying to gain ground, and you know you want it, but you're battling and you're fighting through. I pray right now that there will be a shift in your thinking, there will be a shift in your attention, in your focus, that there will be an altering right now, and a tweaking and a recalibrating in how you view life, how you view God, how you view yourself, how you view those around you. Everything must go through the lens of God, and that means going through the lens of His word. I'm saying today is a day that significant change can be implemented and begin to see things done differently by simply a change of mind. So I'm calling you to do it right now. You don't need to get saved, you just need to get a revelation, a realization, a revelation of who God is and who you are in Him, and the authority that is yours by virtue of the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead that dwells in you.