Crystals, Sage, Somatic Release… Is Jesus Enough? - Stephanie Ike Okafor

hey everyone it's Stephanie Iko kafer and we are on part six on the modernization of Witchcraft series now last week we talked about the truth behind African spirituality and it was actually interesting to know that in my research just hearing from listening to interviews from people who practice African spirituality where it was not just that there were people that left Christianity to African spirituality but there are people who are practicing that while still going to church right and so today we're going to be speaking about this whole idea of Crystal Sage somatic release is Jesus enough right and the goal of today is not really to go into like this nitty-gritty about crystals or say somatic release or tarot card readings or Ayahuasca um in the actually in the description I'm gonna share there are some videos I've done in the past and some videos from trusted people that I want to share about you know individual topics as it relates to new age but there's so many things every moment you turn there's something new right you know right now their somatic releases trending like a few years ago I have never heard about this right but all of a sudden you know and it it mimics this idea of Deliverance with Christianity not many of you might be familiar with it but there's just so many new things popping up every single day under this whole umbrella of New Age religion or new age beliefs um this idea that there is access to Supernatural healing or Deliverance through means that have become you know um really just like popular culture right and so we there's a lot of willful blindness to not recognize that what is a spirit Behind these things what is driving these things but because it has also become corporate right you have people that have businesses you know there are psychic shops everywhere down the street there are psychic shops um people have made this a business and so it just seems like a transaction right um let me go to this healer let me go to this um whatever person and make a transaction to get what I need but the goal rather is to really discuss what everything has taught that the root of everything right and it's really demonic intelligence that's what it all boils down to whether it's tarot card reading whether it's saging crystals all of this boils down to demonic intelligence knowing how to almost again last week we talked about how Satan masquerades himself as an angel of Light right knowing how to masquerade what serves his kingdom and presents it in a way that seems fashionable right and so you see Christians saging and it looks cool right so they they're not just doing it like in privacy they're they're putting it on social media like you know you know cleansing my space right like if it looks trendy and the funny part of it is even like sagin for example when you actually study you know the indigenous tribes that the practice or the culture the religious practice of saging comes from um if you ever hear them in an interview talk about what they see in pop culture they are actually disgusted because they're like this is this is not how it's done you know so even I remember there was someone that was speaking was so offended that people would take the SAGE and put it on a Kindle Fire and Sage their homes um and what stood out to me about that is the fact that people are doing things that they're not even fully versed in they're not fully knowledgeable knowledgeable about they're doing it because it's trendy and they just have made it to be that yes I'm cleansing my space so I have my crystals or I need to do Ayahuasca whatever and there's this willful blindness that wait do I actually take a moment to ask myself where is this coming from what is empowering the the the power like the really what what what is given power to the ability for these things to happen how how is a plant how does a plant have any power to you know cleanse my home from evil spirits a plant right I mean why can't I use aloe vera you know or like um what's that other asparagus why don't I just put some asparagus and just swivel it around and stuff like that but all of it boils down again to demonic intelligence the enemy is very crafty um very wise you know you're you're dealing with beings that existed even before we came on the Earth right um they've studied Humanity uh in such a great degree and so I just want to speak to you again the the the essence of this whole series is to bring you to this place of curiosity knowledge and understanding uh the heart of this series one of the one of the key things that when the Lord encountered me and told me to do a series on this topic was for people to really understand that there is no in between I will keep saying this in almost every episode every part of this series is that there is no in between right there's a kingdom of light there's a kingdom of darkness and unfortunately because of ignorance because of hunger um on checked hunger we are applying ourselves to things that are actually dangerous for us right but I want to take you into this scripture Exodus 7 eight to twelve now um this was when prior to this God has encountered a man named Moses and God is instructing him to go to Egypt and set the Israelites who had been in slavery for about 400 years and it's like you know what it's time to deliver them like to set them free the Israelites had been crying out to the Lord um to bring deliverance and the word of God says and God heard their cry and so he raises up you know he encounters Moses and sends him as the answer that God will partner with him and bring Deliverance to the people and so you know there's so much history there with Moses and the people of Egypt you gotta if you haven't studied it you have to study it in your own time but Moses you know going to see the Pharaoh um you know who's such a hard man you know and Moses is familiar with him and this is a man who has no intention of releasing the Israelites you know he's had them in slavery for all these years um he's benefiting from them um just evil right he has no intention of releasing them and so the Lord is like instructing Moses about certain signs that he should perform before pharaoh and it's really to you know distinguish who the Lord is versus you know what Pharaoh believes to be powerful and there's many more things there were plagues that happened and all kinds of things that led to the people that's why the book is called Exodus right that led to the people being set free but check out this scripture though so it says the Lord said to Moses and Aaron when Pharaoh says to you perform a miracle right because Pharaoh is going to try to downsize them like who are you to talk to me in this way you know and who is your God because Pharaoh is surrounded by his perception of power right he has Sorceress in his court he has magicians in his court he has people that can do all kinds of magic and all kinds of evil and could drum things up because they were being empowered by a demonic spirit and so if you're going to step up to Pharaoh then you need to show him that hey look this is not that you know the God I serve is bigger and Superior to whatever you have committed yourself to right and so the Bible says the Lord says to Moses and Aaron when Pharaoh says to you perform a miracle then say to Aaron take your staff and throw it down before pharaoh and it will become a snake right this is a regular stuff and he's like tell Aaron you know take you like say to Aaron to take your staff and throw it down before pharaoh and it will become a snake I mean can you just imagine it's not it's not like there was a special way you know throwing a wood that it turns to a snake right this was because you see when God gives an instruction and we carry out the instruction you know the Bible talks about the words that I give you they're a spirit and they are life so when God gives a word and we follow it the word also inhabits his power and so when we follow out the instructions of God we his Spirit empowers Us in that thing and so it was not that the staff you know Moses had was something special this was the staff he was using these things as a Shepherd you know it was there was nothing special about it but when you take even the thing that is not is ordinary the thing that has no special ability but you partner it with the with you know the spirit of God then God can do the supernatural through it so when the Lord releases the instruction the instruction is the instruction comes with authority and power and the backing of the Holy Spirit who executes the word of God and so he says take your staff and throw it down before pharaoh and it will become a snake and so Moses and Aaron went to pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded you see that just as the Lord commanded because you follow the word of God and maybe someone needs to take that as a personal a personal message when you follow God's instructions there is a power that backs you up right when you follow you might feel like man God I don't know if I'm cut out for this X Y and Z but when the Lord gives you an assignment when the Lord gives you a word he would back it up right so anyway let's get back to the focus here so it says Aaron threw his staff down in front of pharaoh and his officials and it became a snake now check out what Pharaoh does Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret Arts so they look you know uh Aaron comes with Moses Aaron throws down you know Moses's staff according to the Lord's instruction the staff turns into a snake and Pharaoh is not really that move he said well I could you know if this is what this is about let me get my people let me get my Sorcerers my magicians because they get this is spiritual intelligence right he's trying to look for people that can tap into the spiritual realm and try to discover the intelligence to recreate what it looks like on the surface and so he gets his his men he gets his Sorcerers and all that stuff and they did the same things by their secret Arts each one threw down his staff and it became a snake but then check out what happens in the end but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs because in the end what what there's their little you know tricks had to bow down to God and Aaron's staff swallowed up their staff you see in God there is Victory in God the end result has Victory written all over it and Satan he gives you the appearance of Victory but it's just the illusion to distract it what do I mean by this so for example you know when we think about culture right when we think about this whole thing with saging um why Sage you know why in particular do people feel like the incense they're burning what what what is it about incense that gives them this idea that something is being cleansed he's just so interesting that man but biblically we see that there is also a use of insects right um we see that incense in the Book of Revelation it talks about how how the incense you know can be mixed with a prayer of the saints that goes before the Lord right there is this use of incense but the use of incense has has a has an outcome that is for you it's mixed up with your prayers that go before the Lord now the enemy comes and tries to recreate this idea that you know the use of incense can also bring results when it's just the appearance of something so you're just looking at it you're you know using your sage in your home and you have this feeling like oh my house feels lighter and X Y and Z but you are still under his thumb you're still in bondage to him nothing really changed you see just like for example this whole thing with somatic release that I I just discovered this and it mimics Deliverance right when you see Deliverance happening you know within Christianity you see a person like shaking and um you know there's all kinds of movement in their body maybe they might talk or things like that because there is I love what my pastor how my pastor says this the reorientation that is happening in a person's body right because that demonic Spirit has been such a part of your you know your your physical like it has it controlled how you were thinking how you were living what you were doing and so when the demon is coming now there is this like shaking but it doesn't end with a shaking after the shaking it comes out right and so that's why we see that you know somebody could be shaking even in my experiences with Deliverance there are times where a person might have multiple Spirits in them and if you just see a person shaking and you think that's it the shaking is that the demon is manifesting right it's coming to the surface something is causing it to come to the surface and when it comes to the surface it's the authority of Jesus that casted out but now in this whole thing about somatic release all it does is cause manifestation so the demon is manifesting and that is believed to be Deliverance but it is the power of God that causes it to come out so you have people just shaking I've seen people shake I mean child they could do the Harlem shake and all of that but there were still spirits that were hiding inside them they were still there were multiple spirits that were still hiding and so then as you begin to call it out and that's when it leaves the person and then transformation is the result right you see how they look different they look lighter they look bright and you know you you start to experience the gift of God that has been hiding in this person because of a torment in spirit but now you have these you know um demonic uh counterfeit options that give people the appearance of what looks like God but it's actually still keeping them in bondage right same thing with crystals all these things I remember there was a time um this was happening in a in a church service and I had been I was preaching about um crystals Sage um so many things that people were this was years ago before New Age even became like as big as it is right now um all like you know dream catchers and all this stuff and I was just bringing truth to what these things are all about and I could never forget during the altar call so an altar call experience is when you know you call forth what people might be experiencing in the room so for example in the altar call I was calling out people who have been practicing these things and want to renounce it want to repent want to turn away from living this lifestyle want to you know throw away their crystals their sage and all of that because then they're recognizing that these symbols are actually um Tethered to demonic spirits it's given access to the man experience in a person's life and there was this lady who was coming to the Altar and just started screaming and so not like screams in the church is normal because that person my beginning set free of something but it was a different kind of scream and then I noticed and then I also found out more details after she had a crystal you know on her neck that was connected to her necklace and when she was you know taking the step forth that hey I don't I'm I'm gonna take this off of me as she tried to take it off the crystal I I mean this was something special literally went all the way up to her neck by itself and started choking her she this is something she puts on she takes off she puts on she takes off she just thought okay it's a regular object it's just you know I'm just using it for whatever you know to attract whatever she was trying to attract in her life right but the crystal the moment she's like I want to walk away from this I want to renounce this the crystal came alive and started choking her so there were people that came and then ripped it off her neck right and so how is this thing that seems harmless like oh no I just have my questions and and some people are very particular about their crystals don't touch it don't you know charge it in the Moonlight and all these things ciao but how is it that an object you have put so much power in what an object can do there is something else there is a spiritual component that is feeding that thing there is something spiritual that has now become Tethered to that thing because just like with Aaron and the you know the Egyptian magicians the staff was just the staff it it was just the staff but because of what they are submitted to when Aaron released the staff the power of God showed up with it when The Magicians released the staff demonic spirits showed up with it and they turned the you know the essence of the staff into a living thing it turned into a snake this these are stories in the Bible your sister did the Bible I mean it is the Bible is so Supernatural it blows my mind because the Bible is also teaching us how these things happen that power you don't you're not just attracted to something because it gives you this illusion of power you have to know what is what spirit is behind this because is this the spirit of God or is this the spirit of Satan and just like I said last week nothing about Satan is for your good Satan is wired for Destruction he is wired to see an end to you so he can you know tease you with things that appear to be good he can try to come off in in such a beautiful way I remember um there was this a lady who had dabbled into some new age practices because she was looking for love you know very simple she was looking for love and you know there was a spirit that came to her literally you know Spirit comes to her and presents itself to be something like beautiful like something that she you know that was for her and and all these things right and she was thinking like oh my gosh like oh this is nice you know but the routes she was taking was a new age route was a demonic route and so this Spirit comes and is approaching her and and even as I'm telling you the story you might feel like wait what but these things are happening literally it could be happening to your neighbor happening to your friend who's not telling you maybe you're watching right now and finally you feel safe the spirit comes to her and it's acting all nice it's acting all cool and dandy you know she's going to bed it's cuddling her and all this stuff she thought that oh this is great and one day the spirit asked her so she told me the story after you know we went through like her Deliverance process and all of that um the spirit asked her if it could get permission to enter her and I've never that was the first I've heard of like a spirit asking a person like hey you know can I get permission to enter you apart from the only time I've heard something like that was like in the Bible when the spirits asked Jesus for permission to enter the pigs um but it did and when she agreed then its real agenda started it became torture literal torture it would try to have her it would try to cause her to have car accidents um it tried so many times to see how her life could be ended right and thank God you know the mercy of God that and the power of God set her free you know but these stories I share them and and I might be joking and laughing here and there but it really breaks my heart because that could be anyone that could have been me that could have been a family member that could be a loved one that it could be anyone because you know I'll just even be honest with you growing up my mom was a single mom right my father was murdered when I was eight months um at that age there was no help that came from like my father's family matter of fact my father was murdered by his cousin okay his cousin planned the the assassination and as my mom being you know young single mother she was desperate for answers and not answers like what happened to my husband no like God answers like God I need you to help me raise these children I need your help right and I remember I thank God he encountered me at nine years old but even in that desperation you know we would go to like different churches and unfortunately some of these churches were who were witches masqueraded as bastards you know that's a whole different story for another time but I saw how easy it could be to fall into the deception of the enemy because you're driven by your need right you're driven by a need that can only be answered by the supernatural you know you're driven by a need that is like God I need you I'm looking for you and we begin to make comment or we begin to you know make it okay even when we have red flags about a thing right and so it was the mercy of God that you know he would the Lord would first like revealed things to me and show me like hey this church you guys are going to that I have no parts in it this person does not belong to me even the Bible talks about this many will come to Jesus and say Lord Lord we did this in your name with it that in your name X Y and Z and he will say depart from me I never knew you but this just hit me so hard right now it could be anybody that falls in ignorance to the enemy's ways because right now especially in culture there is such a magnified you know desire for the supernatural whether it's the supernatural in healing whether it's a supernatural in Deliverance because people are going through stuff especially in the climate that we're living in you turn your T I mean to watch the news I don't know what is worse watching the news or a horror movie it because it gives you the same feeling so people are going through stuff and people are desperate for help but in that desperation for help they're run into some of the wrong sources they run into tarot cards to find out about their future and their Destiny they're going to psychics they're trying to do Ayahuasca to be set free from you know from things that they're afraid of they're used they're running they're looking in search but they're running to all the wrong sources and where you think you're getting help from is actually trying to keep you in a deeper level of bondage you see let me read another story to you in the Bible right acts 8 first verse 9 to 11. this was about a man named Simon he was known as a sorcerer and so the Bible literally the scripture says now for some time for some time right check that out a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria he boasted that he was someone great he said first of all this is one of the signs of false prophets this is one of the signs of demonic works and activities the glory goes to self not God he boasted because here's the thing right and I'll even share this with you another series that will be coming up after this because there's so much I'm touching about and there's something God put so heavy on my heart just recently honestly was to really break down the how to discern between true and false prophets how to discern between the true power of God and for the false powers that come from Satan right because look at this he boasted that he was someone great why is it that anything connected to Satanism and demonic worship and all of this it it re it has to reveal its nature no matter how Satan wants to pretend the fruit always revealed the nature of the seed when you see an apple tree and that thing has apples you will not be confused that someone sold an orange seed you would know that it was an apple seed that was planted in order to produce apples right and here is the reason as Christians the Bible says that we were bought with a price as a Christian I don't belong to myself I belong to God right I I didn't his his blood paid for me I was bought with a price there is always a transaction and the one who makes the transaction has ownership so Jesus paid with his blood for us we were bought with a prize that's why we call him Lord right Lord means owner you own me right this this life is not mine I lay it down for you now in the Demonic you pay so in Christianity everything I do is to glorify Jesus everything about my life you it's not even just in what I say it's it's in the essence it's it's what you get when you're in my presence if you're in my presence and all you see is me that's a problem if if by if when you're really listening to teachings and you're listening to messages and it doesn't cause you to desire God more that's a problem if you feel that the Breakthrough you would receive only comes you know if I pray for you if I do this for you that is a problem because who we are as you know Ministers of the Gospel is to point you to Jesus can Jesus use us in powerful ways absolutely I mean the shadow of Peter healed people so it's yes there is there is a glory that people can you know try to attribute to a person but ultimately it's driving you to Jesus you you look at Peter's Shadow because you recognize that Peter it's is a man who serves the Lord right but in the Demonic realm that you're the one paying and the cost is your soul you're saying hey satan and first of all you know there's this whole lie that you know how people sell their souls to the devil it's another deception of the enemy because you can't even sell what is not yours technically but on Earth he can manipulate and he can use your vessel for his full agenda and you know then you talk about heaven hell and that's a whole different topic but you're the one paying the cost you're the one paying with your blood you're the one paying with your life for that power for that influence for the fame and so even if you even without recognizing you draw the attention to yourself because the blood that is being shed is yours because you're the one in bondage you're the one who's you see the Bible says life is in the blood it's your life that is draining it's your life that is slowly passing away you never get to discover who you really are because it's that person who has negotiated with the Enemy for power for fame for influence they have given themselves to be a vessel for demonic spirits and evil spirits and so by Nature the glory goes to them look at this man he boasted that he was someone great even Jesus will try to silence people from talking about his greatness but this witch doctor boasted that heedi was someone great this is why you have psychics that will charge you to talk to you about your destiny this is another sign of false prophets they will charge you for prayer for healing for deliverance for things that are freely given you see Simon I mean there's so much in this and and God is just having me Go in different directions because I believe you need to hear this Simon boasted that he was someone great because the cost is him and so it says and all the people both high and low gave him their attention and exclaimed this man is rightly called the great power of God look at this because the people saw power because the people saw you know um excitement and all these things they believed that his power came from God and they followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery now check this out when the it says that and they gave him their attention and exclaimed this man is rightly called the great power of God Solomon did not deny he was not honest to say hey uh I do sorcery this is witchcraft but because the people are looking at him this is the great power of God he has their attention look at what the Bible says that that all the people both high and low gave him their attention he he had their focus and they said this man is rightly called the great power of God there are many people today that are doing all kinds of practices and they have believed that God is in it they're the ones saying God is in this thing they're the ones proclaiming that God is in this and why are they saying that because it has their attention it has their focus you're hearing many people talk about the benefits of of Crystal or Ayahuasca and terracott readers and all these things and it has your attention not recognizing what it really is at its source at its roots that this is literally demonic practice it says and they followed him because he had amazed them for such a long time with his sorcery now when you continue reading about his story the end of Simon the Sorcerer literally is known as Simon the Sorcerer the end of his life was was nothing to to be glad about because when the true power of God showed up and Simon was like oh I can't they're doing something I I know I can't do because they're laying hands on people and people are receiving the Holy Spirit and Simon you see Satan always Reveals His nature no matter how much he tries to hide it you know there people are receiving the Holy Spirit the true prophets of God show up and Simon is trying to have a private conversation with one of them he says look can I pay you so you can give me this power do you see what I'm saying the person who pays Simon is he he is familiar with transaction he doesn't belong to the Lord because when you belong to the Lord you know that you were paid for but Simon and you have to read the book that's Acts chapter eight right Simon goes to the true man of God right and he says can I pay you to receive this power and they said to him may your wealth perish with you may your money perish with you because these are men these are people that recognize you cannot buy the things of God because we were bought to freely give so when you see that there has to be a transaction you have to pay for that Crystal you have to pay for you know that experience you have to pay that false prophet so that you can have freedom or Deliverance so you can walk in a deeper intimacy with God this is witchcraft because the one who pays reveals a lot how can I pay God when he bought me how can I pay the one who paid for me it it's almost like someone is giving you a gift have you on your birthday right have you ever got a gift and you said oh my gosh thank you so much how much do I owe you the person went to the mall matter of fact they'll give you a gift receipt you know just in case you want to exchange it for something else but you will never see where someone took their time to buy you something and you said oh my gosh how much do I owe you no it that's the whole essence of a gift right but when people start trying to make a transactional it reveals so much without saying anything at all When someone tells me oh yeah you know you you want this breakthrough this pastor this Prophet is charging this for it or this psychic if you pay this psychic this amount of money they can tell you your future this is witchcraft this is purely witchcraft because the enemy does not give you anything for free the enemy what does the bible say that he has come to steal to kill and to destroy he has not come to give right who gives is Jesus he says I have come to give you life and life more abundantly do you see the difference one comes to give the other comes to steal nothing in the enemy is free nothing nothing is free and so when you're making all these transactions because you're you're hungry for healing or Deliverance I feel you but I want you to know that man your answer is not there no matter whatever new trendy thing comes up no matter how attractive can you listen to this about Simon the Sorcerer this this I can shake this off it says they followed him they followed him because he had amazed them for another short time a long time a long time with his sorcery right now what has amazed you for a long time and it's witchcraft what has captivated your attention for such a long time because it looks like the great power of God but it's not you have to study the fruits of a thing as long as it has amazed you has it set you free there was a reason why the very same people that had followed Simon could easily walk away when the true people showed up you would not see Peter there was a moment when Peter you know I mean yes Peter denied Christ but it was you know during them some times of turbulence you know and he came right back but someone like Peter there was a time that Peter literally said you know where am I gonna go in your words are are the way of life right when you have encountered what is true you're not so easy to jump shift but you don't know that yet because you have not encountered what is true so even when they were walking with Pete when Peter and the disciples were walking with Jesus even after Jesus had died on the cross resurrected and all this beautiful things I mean they moved with a boldness you could shake those people off rather than you trying to come against them they showed you who the great power is right and so look at this this people had followed Simon for a long time but then when the true power of God show up they shift why did they shift because they were never free it was always the illusion they knew that what they had been looking for they never found it the freedom they needed the Deliverance they needed the peace of mind that they needed right they never found it but they were so distracted by performance they were so distracted look look at this it says Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed them this was entertainment it was not transformation it was not true healing it was entertainment he had amazed them and they're like wow this man is the great power of God no he was a witch but he led them astray for a very long time well not very but a long time with his sorcery right and I just want you to really like men you know sometimes you have to just come before the Lord in humility and say God if there's any area in my life that I have been deceived open my eyes don't leave anything off the table God if there's any area in my life if there's any area that I have been deceived because of what I was longing after if there's any area that I've been deceived open my eyes if you're not ready to get to that point then that thing is an idol in your heart if you're not ready to say God show me if there's an area that I've been deceived then it is a stronghold in your life but you have to be open you know something I love about the disciples before you know Jesus the whole was you know arrested and all that stuff when he was having you know lunch with his disciples and Judas was there before the Betrayal truly said one of you will betray me right Jesus says that and I mean first of all Jesus is is such the an embodiment of love that even though he knew it was Judas you could tell that he never treated Judas any different because the disciples had no clue who he was talking about and and not only did they not have a clue who he was talking about the Bible talks about how they began to almost like search themselves like they they literally said look like people are like wondering like Lord like is it I what I love about that is the humility in that moment some of these people I mean they like Judas was the one who literally had the mindset to betray Christ he had he he already had you know had it going on in his head right the rest of them had no they were not even thinking anything close to that but they had the humility to examine themselves like wait could it be me is there something in my heart that I don't know about that was that is one of such a powerful moment to me and so as Believers we have to say wait God is there anything in my life that is betraying your call on my life is there anything I have opened up myself to that I have become distracted because of its excitement I have become distracted because it has amazed me right I'm Amazed by this thing but it's actually keeping me from you because when we do this it's almost like we're saying Jesus is not enough that Jesus I need more and I get it man there sometimes you you might be in a city or a place where you feel like you know it's hard to encounter the true power of God and so you're just looking you're in your desperation you're searching but could it be that that desperation could actually cause you to become The Vessel for the theme you have been searching for that maybe it's not just for searching for a person or for a thing or for a medium but using all that energy to search for God and to search for Christ that let him speak right you see in your walk with God it is such a a because he paid the price right so it's such a death to self for his glory to be made known I remember when you know I just I was in a place where I truly wanted more of God right I I just I wasn't comfortable with how things were or what was happening and I just I wanted to go deeper in God I wanted more of God and I remember seeking the Lord about this and the Lord literally says to me meet me every day at 5am and I was like okay okay you know first few weeks it was very boring I will not lie to you and and it just felt like you know when you hear an instruction the like you want to meet the Lord and he says meet me every day at 5am in prayer and I would wake up with excitement you know and I start opening the Bible and I'm bored okay and you know you want to feel Goosebumps like who the presence of God is here nothing it I felt nothing and I'm just like who child day after day week after week I was waking up I'll be in prayer I was reading my word and I'm like God where are you this is so boring but I kept doing it because what I didn't realize is that in the process of that it was actually purifying my intention right that because you don't know your heart you have no clue what's in your heart you have no clue why you asked the things you asked for but God sees the heart and he weighs it in a balance and so sometimes you're thinking that your answer is taking a while but God is trying to get the request from a place of purity and that Pride not not to boast not any of that and so I didn't realize that all those weeks of boredom that God was purified my intention because if I'm eager for more of God I should be eager to study his word I should be eager to learn more about him I should be eager to worship but in the beginning I was doing it as you know what okay God I'm doing what you said where are you at I'm doing what you said where are you at I want more I want more I want more but did I really want more because if I really wanted more it would have shown through my actions but I was just waking up and all that was in my mind was the end goal but you see when you study about the Lord he is about process not just the end goal he's about who you become in the process of what you're searching for and so all of a sudden it turned it goes from me being bored I'm telling you out it would be that when I'm praying I'm thinking about my to-do list for the day and then I'm like oh okay well you know while I'm worshiping I'll bring out a notepad and start writing my top five things to do for the day start thinking about what's for what what do I want to cook today you know because I was I was just doing it as a like task oriented you know okay Lord I'm here you know worship is playing so let me multitask while this is going on because I am bored but all of a sudden it evolved and I'm like actually I just want to study I want to study the book of Romans right I'm going to study the book of Acts I want to study you know Ecclesiastes I just want to study God I just want to worship you I said that meditating on the goodness of God I started meditating on the ways of God and even before he answered me my heart had more capacity to love Jesus in a deeper way and it was in the process of that this was months after never forget it one day I woke up and I fell to my face because the presence of God in the room was so strong that the best way I could describe it and this is the only way that it makes sense to me it felt like the throne room of God was in my room because it was not I have experienced moments where you feel the love of God and you're overwhelmed by the love of God but it was the fear of the Lord that came upon me there was a reverence for God that I could not describe That Came Upon me that I just fell to the floor and laid down and I was like God you came and then he showed me I've oh I was always there every single morning I was always there and so why am I sharing this with you because God is concerned about how you get to the thing you desire he's concerned about the person you become in receiving it he's concerned about your experience you cannot there's no you know the route to Freedom is not bondage so what you're looking for to set you free cannot put you in bondage at the same time and many of us are so distracted by what we want that we silence the discernment of the spirit that is signaling red flags red flags red flags I remember I literally met this lady who told me she's like I do tarot card but I know it's bad I said okay you know what you do because you're so distracted by the idea of the results is giving you that you continue even though you know and so what what we we have to be so honest with ourselves to come to the recognition that many times the pursuit of our heart for the thing that we're at the pursuit for the things that we're after is connected to a heart that is not pure that that it's not connected to a place of purity right there's some things that you just have to be patient you cannot try to use the back door to get to the front of your life right you cannot try to find shortcuts to get to the place that God has purposed and set before you and so maybe that very thing that feels like a thorn in your flesh that very Affliction that very thing that you're just like God I need you what if it is the thing that draws you to the true feet of Jesus and there is an encounter that you have that not only do you receive your healing your breakthrough your deliverance but you become a vessel a trusted vessel that God can use to share his good news I want you to check your life all the things you have done all the practices you have done all the new ageism the the places you have gone that have deceived you to pay for things that you should not be paying for what has been the true outcome in your life do you have peace when you go to bed what types of dreams are you having are you are you going to bed and you're waking up and you're always trying to rebuke something right but what is the outcome what what is going on with with your family with your loved ones you have to search am I am I actually getting free or am I in bondage and outside of all of that I want you to ask the Lord is there anything that I've exposed myself to is there anything that I am following is there anything that has captured my amazement that is actually betraying the call of God on my life I'm not just here to tell you I'm I'm here to also lead you to Jesus I want you to ask the Lord for yourself that at the end of this that you spend time in prayer and ask the Lord those very questions God open my eyes if there's anything don't leave anything on the table even including me that's how serious I am about this don't leave anything off the table God is there anything that I'm exposing myself to that is putting me in bondage when you do that with a sincere heart when you do that with a genuine heart and you're seeking after God and you start studying your word I've learned that there is there is a great deal of spiritual deception that is connected to the lack of people studying the word of God for themselves right study the word find out what it's speaking to you what it's showing you about who God is so that you do not fall into deception and call it God these people saw Simon the Sorcerer and they literally said wow what a great power of God it was not right and so I'm excited for you man I'm excited for what is on the other side of your journey I'm excited for what God is going to do in and through your life and I'm confident that just as God told me to do this series and I've been obedient to do it I know that the spirit of God will back this up right and you're going to see some really amazing things but I want you to share this if this blessed you if this touched you in any way I want you to share this with a loved one share this with a friend if you're not subscribed to the channel subscribe um so that way you can get notified as we are getting to close out the series and for more things to come but love you all

Channel: Stephanie Ike

Views: 118,187

Keywords: Stephanie Ike, Stephanie Ike Okafor, Stephanie Okafor, Crystals, Sage, Somatic Release, Is Jesus Enough?, Toure Roberts, Sarah Jakes Roberts, Woman Evolve, The Called, ONE Church, Faith, Jesus, Spiritual Insight, Spiritual Understanding, Perspective

Id: 4vN966t14Jo

Length: 58min 24sec (3504 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 02 2023