Priscilla Shirer: A Place of Separation

I am so glad to be here to have an opportunity to share God's word with you I flew over with my friend Nicole who works in ministry with us and my husband Jerry and our three I was about to say our three boys our three giant boys that we have we're here all weekend long and we're glad to be here as a family to just serve you and to contribute in any way we can I'm so grateful that the Lord allows me to be a part of your evening and to do what I love to do and medics talk about the Word of God anybody love the Word of God I love the Word of God the Kajal it is spirit and in his life my opinion as great as I think it is it will not change your life my ideas is great as they may I may think that they are they will not change your life but the Word of God it's what what really gets embedded deeply into our souls and changes us from the inside out so I am sitting on the edge of my seat tonight because I love a word from God that's what I came for I mean I'm glad y'all here I came to see y'all too but I didn't really come to see y'all I came to see me some Jesus anybody know what I'm talking about I was thinking about you as I am one of my boys was at church recently one Sunday we were all there together and my boys when they go to church their godmother also goes to church with us she has been a friend of mine she's 10 years older than me so she was like a mentor of mine when I was younger really about 15 years older than me meant when we were younger but now we're just like really close friends she's my boy's godmother and so at church on Sundays she has this habit stopping by the donut store on the way in to church and she will buy you know it doesn't glazed donuts or kolaches or a little donut hole something and so whenever we say on Sunday morning boys it's time to go to church they say all right let's see so I have to retrain them I'm trying to train them to get them understand to actually church isn't a restaurant that's designed for something else but the other day my boys and I were at church 12 year old Jackson 10 year old Jerry jr. and then our little surprise one he's six now but we still don't know how he got here and we named him Jude I named him Jude on purpose because that's as close as I could get to revelation because it is all done so I have Jackson Jerry jr. and little dude and we're at church in Jude runs over to his godmother she opens up that little white box you know that those those donuts come in and he grabs two of those little Donuts and he takes those Donuts in his hands and he's looking at the juicy wonderful Donuts that he cannot wait to dive into now his brothers have already run upstairs in the office in the church building in the office they were running ran upstairs and they kind of were we're not in the same vicinity as the box of donuts and with Jude and his godmother and so here's godmother picking him Jude I want you to take the box of doughnuts ten Donuts I want you to take the box of doughnuts so you and your brothers can enjoy all of these Donuts so Judith looking at these two Donuts in his hand and he's realizing that in order to grab this box he's got to let go of one of these Donuts and little six-year-old dude ain't having it because it just doesn't compute to him that it will benefit him in any way to release his grasp on these two Donuts that he has in his hands so we're just sitting there trying to explain to him why it really is to his benefit to go ahead and grab this whole box to let go of the two so they could have the more that was waiting for him but but but it took him a while to be willing to let it go so I thought what I do is come and talk to you a little bit about releasing your grasp on some things help us Jesus because I'm thinking that some of the reason why we may not ever get to the more I may not ever experience the more than go hard for me it's not because it's not there it's simply because I won't release my grasp and my hands are so full of what I want that there is no room left for what God has for me and so the message for us tonight you have a challenging one but because it is the Word of God it is also at the same time going to be encouraging and it is going to stir us to want to follow him more fully to release what is necessary to be where we need to be and to become who God has called us to become let's pray Lord Jesus I thank you that you give us the privilege of hearing your voice through the scripture Lord I cannot believe that you know me and you still call me your friend I cannot believe it you would still choose to speak to me and to speak to us and allow us to hear your voice but tonight I ask I asked for that Lord I ask that there would not be one of us that would leave this room tonight without knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have been in the very presence of God and so speak Lord because we are your daughters and we want to hear your voice Jesus name everybody agreed and said Amen my sister crystal and I have this habit we go on a little we participate in a run that takes place in the dallas-fort Worth area every Thanksgiving it's called the turkey trot and there are about twenty to thirty thousand people in the dallas-fort Worth area that sign up for the turkey trot this year and so we sign up ourselves and our mom and the three of us will go out there's an eight mile run some people will take the eight mile run we take the three mile run except we don't run we walk and we just kind of waltz along and talk and you know say hi to people that are walking by and we just kind of enjoying the moment that's why we're there on that Thanksgiving morning before all of the busyness of the day starts and we've been doing that for several years now I'm not exactly sure why this past year we missed the registration process for the Thanksgiving run but it are the turkey trot but it kind of just came and went and before we knew it was Thanksgiving Day and we had not signed up and so my sister got real busy after Thanksgiving looking up some alternative options for us because it's kind of a treat for us to get to do that together so he ended up searching around in Dallas Fort Worth and she came across a run that we did not know existed it's called the Jingle Bell Run takes place around Christmastime and it's in the evening it's at night we love it because it's dark outside and and they serve hot chocolate and they've got a outdoor ice skating rink if you want to bring your kids for them to be a part of it they give everybody jingle bells that you can just kind of tie to your shoelaces on one of your tennis shoes and folks come out there and they've got a string of lights around their neck or they've got you know antlers on top of their head reindeer antlers and everybody's just festive with the Christmas season end and we normally do this a 5k run/walk and enjoy ourselves and this particular run it starts in a part of Dallas that is near downtown it's called the Design District in the Design District there is a huge hotel called Anatole the Hilton Anatole Hotel the run starts there and it weaves in and out of the streets of the Design District now you need to know I have lived in the dallas-fort Worth area my entire life and anybody who lives in or around that area you take highway 35 at some point or another because 35 is the freeway that goes from the south of Dallas north all the way through downtown Dallas and then welcome to the north of Dallas toward Oklahoma and so anybody who lives in that area travel 35 I have many many days many many years and I have always seen near downtown this huge billboard that says the Design District you cannot miss it it is in big huge bold letters I have known about the Design District I've been told about it I've been told that this is the place that if you're going to be redesigning your home or if you're going to be meeting some specific artwork for a business of yours that this is the place you go because the artists are there and the designers they are there in the photographer they are there I have heard so much about it and I have seen it as I have driven by sped by time and time and time again but it was not until the Jingle Bell Run when I was actually running through and winding through the streets of the Design District that I actually was taken back by the beauty of those stores in there I mean I met my sister and I surprised we weren't arrested because we kept stopping and plastering ourselves against the windows of all of these different stores we were marveling at the the artwork and the photography and the beautiful designs we saw in furniture we just kept stopping and marveling at everything we saw and I was amazed at all of these incredible details that I had never known about something that I had driven by so many times because it's amazing how you will only know the details of something when you go through it not when you just quickly pass by it and you're many of us have spent our Christian lives popping into church on Sunday and popping into the teachers meeting of once a year or quarterly and popping into Bible study every now and then and we've driven by and we've seen the Billboard g.o.d we have heard about this God and we've seen from afar what God might be capable of doing but he is calling you and I cannot be people that see him from afar but that know the details of this character that has experienced him in our lives that has heard his voice with our own ears that that know what it's like not to just applaud the testimonies of other people but to look in the mirror and see a woman who have the testimony of her and I'm going to tell you that the only way you and I are going to know the details is if we go through something it means he's gonna stop you from that fast-paced Christian experience at some point and he will allow you he will allow me to go through so that we can see him clearly as if never before when we look at some of the heroes of the Scriptures some of the people excuse me that we most admire we look at Moses and we want the experience of loads of standing at the brink of the Red Sea and stroking out that rod over that body of water and seeing the miracle of a lifetime as that water part and we want that we want like Joshua to march triumphantly into the Promised Land and to see the walls of Jericho come tumbling down we want like Jonah to have the kind of power that you can walk into a city and speak a simple five word message and cause people to turn their hearts to the one true God we want to have these unbelievably amazing experiences where like Gideon we can go in with just three hundred as the underdog but still walk out victoriously we walk for trials without having gone through what is necessary to bring you to that place we want like Elijah to stand on Mount Carmel and to be able to call down fire from heaven but y'all in order to get to Mount Carmel you must have gone through something that gives you the credibility with God to be able to have a prayer that's go work like that and it's Elijah that I want to look at because Elijah most of the time when we think of this particular Old Testament prophet we do think of him in that particular setting on Mount Carmel with 450 prophets of Vail staring at him bearing him to be able to call down fire from heaven you know this story don't you his own countrymen thousands of them probably looking to see not Elijah was going to have a prayer that that would work that would call God to rain down fire from heaven proving that he was indeed the one true God and we think of that story more than anything else but y'all Elijah story did not start there this brother went through something before he ever got to Mount Carmel if you have your Bibles with you if you actually still use a Bible with paper pages like I do if not you can use your iPhone your iPad any manner of i-ness just flip on over to first Kings chapter 17 as you turn to first Kings chapter 17 excuse me let me just tell you what's happening in this book of the Bible in fact in 1st and 2nd kings really is these two books are full of tragedies they record one failure after another of kings of the children of Israel who refuse to honor Yahweh it's about a people who were increasingly antagonistic toward the things of God it reveals a church basically God's people the children of Israel that were divided they had turned their backs against one another instead of standing united against the enemy it is basically an ancient mirror reflecting the church in America in the Year 2015 that's what it is and into this chaos God Commission's an individual to stand on his behalf and to carry his mantle thank you and to call people out of that chaotic scenario back to himself and in the first few months that Elijah appears on the scene I would expect that God would call him straight to Mount Carmel I mean that's what people need they need the whole fire from heaven experience they need a huge miracle elijah should have been called right to this position in the midst of all the actions wrong people back to god but that is not the first assignment that elijah had elijah goes to king ahab and he pronounces the judgment against god's people according to the will of god he says listen there's going to be a drought because you all have not followed god because you turned your back on God because no matter how much he's called you back himself you have continued to turn away from him there is going to be a drought the sky is going to be shut up for three long years this was a devastating a devastating of declaration on the people of Israel it was an agrarian society which means if it did not rain they didn't have food to eat and not only did they not have food but your food was oftentimes there their currency they would barter their food barter their harvests in order to obtain the things they needed to survive so without rain not only were they not going to eat but they wouldn't be able to have a sense of livelihood they needed because they would not have the currency for exchange this was a devastating assignment but Elijah goes in and obedience to God he pronounces this declaration of doom really over the children of Israel because of their disobedience and he is successful in doing that because it comes to past three years they're going to pass before there is one drop of rain from the sky and in this day and age when a prophet word came to fruition that person was revered and honored that prophet was of course sought to speak the Word of God and be the presence of God and represent the power of God amongst the people so we're meeting Elijah in first Kings chapter 17 having had a successful moment in ministry because of prophet prophecy is going to come to fruition and so he is leave where he is in an environment where he is revered by people he is respected in his position he is comfortable he is cozy he is settled amongst his people in the chill in the India Israel let's see what happens in his life starting in birth to first Kings chapter 17 and the word of the Lord came to Elijah saying go away from here somebody say go away from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith its east of the Jordan and it shall be that you shall drink of the brook and I have commanded the Ravens to provide for you there so Elijah went verse five he did according to the word of the Lord for he went he lived by the brook Cherith which is east of Jordan verse six says the Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening and he would drink from the brook and it came about after a while that the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land here is Elijah's first assignment the very first thing that God is going to call him to do the very first thing that God is going to ask of Elijah in order to make sure that Elijah has the character the endurance the stability built up so that when he is positioned on Mount Carmel later on he will be able to stand in the midst of all of that and be able to have a prayer that was effective and fervent and was able to tap into the miracle-working working power of his God he said to Elijah God says to him go away from here he says let go of your sense of security safety comfort the applause you may be receiving from the people because you've done such a good job he said I want you to break ties with where you want to be and color I'm asking you to go he said what what I'm asking you to do is I'm asking you to separate yourself from your comfort zone to pull away that's the first assignment we say but God wait a minute this is where all the action is don't I need to stay here but God this is what I feel that my gifts and my talents will be best used don't you want to use me here but God uncomfortable here with these people in this circle in this environment on this job in this particular part of town these are my habits Lord this is where I go this is what I do I'm settled in this place and sometimes the Holy Spirit will whisper to you in order to prepare you for Mount Carmel he will say to you come away from here and one of the most difficult things for the women of God is to hear that whisper and say okay sometimes sometimes it's as simple as sitting in a movie theater and hearing the whisper and making a decision in that moment will you be one of the only few in the row of girlfriends that came to see that movie that will make the determination that this movie is not for you I got to get out of here sometimes the Holy Spirit is going to whisper to you while you're alone in your home watching that program get away from here and the choice is whether or not you and I will separate ourselves unto the purposes of God when he pulls up the way when he separates us to a place of solitude when he calls us more personally and intimately and individually away from something or someone unto himself won't you know that it's because he's trying to prepare you for Mount Carmel my friend the endurance and the character and the faith that you're going to need for there it starts here when you hear the whisper from God come away separate yourself from that comfort zone that habit that lifestyle choice that ambition that dream that you've always had and now reality is something different and he's asking you to stop fighting for what you always had planned and release it and come with me where I'm asking you to go he wants to separate you and in Elijah's case he called them to a specific place he called them to a book called Charis the original language of that word actually means cutting or separation it is a noun it is the place of separation some amazing things are going to happen in this man's life if he is willing and only if he is willing to go to the place of separation to cut himself off from the places the people the circumstances that on a free he was most comfortable in that felt best to him he had to be willing to yield to the separation Jairus a place a noun my boys are home-schooled a friend of mine and I and my sister as well my sister and I are neighbors she has five children but her youngest three are the exact same ages as my three you would have thought we planned it and they're all boys so we have six boys that just run back and forth from one house to the next so we homeschool of would cuz we all travel a lot so we homeschool the boys and you know they do lunch and recess at my house it's all I can handle so my little one he just started first grade stuff now but kindergarten what I would do is I would write on three by five cards these words I would write words I'd write nouns person place thing just random things like man rat ham mud and I would write nouns down on a bunch of three by five cards then on other three by five cards I would write down verbs I would write run or jump or walk words he could understand or cut I would write those words down eat and I would mix all of three by five cards up trying to teach him that in order for there to be a complete sentence you have to have it I didn't call it a noun and a verb at that point I just said you have to have a whoo and you have to have a what in order for it to be a complete sentence you've got to have both a who and what both of those things matter in order for the sentence to be the complete so we put all of those cards in a dip lock bag shake him up he dumped some outfits on the kitchen for his job is to create me a sentence it's got to have a who and it's got to have a what I'll come back after a few minutes and sometimes my sweet little one he will be so proud because he's got all of these cards strung together it looks like the longest most impressive incredible sentence that could possibly be constructed in the course of humanity and he gets to reading every single word for me and I come alongside him and I'm reading every single word and it sounds so great except it's all who's and know what the dog Hat man mud cat baby what are any of these who is doing they have to do something in order for the thought to be complete there has to be a who and a what of us what's the blessings that come in the place of separation without having gone through the process required to get to that particular place we want the who without having gone through the what we don't want to do the difficult work of responding in obedience when God calls us to separate ourselves but we want all the blessings that come in the place of separation without having separated from anything in our lives do you know that in the original language this word Charis has a root word it is derived from a root word hang with me because this is gonna matter to us in a minute this root word is collapse somebody say correct correct so this this body of water this little stream called Charis that word that means separation it is derived from carafe that's where the word comes from carafe is our verb carafe means listen to this it means to cut off to eliminate to kill to cut off a part of the body I want you to think about how aggressive and almost violent those terms sound and then I want you to think about how in your life sometimes the things that God is asking you to separate yourself from it's not that big a deal because you know that particular friendship you've only had for the past year and yeah y'all y'all get along great but you know he's not asking you to separate yourself from a lifelong friend so it's going to be hard but you can handle that one the problem is when it's that girlfriend that you really have had for a long long time and you sense that God is saying that he's taking you somewhere and that person's really not going to come along for the ride and he's asking will you be willing to cut off to eliminate and to you to do that it is literally going to feel like cutting off part of your sometimes the separations are easy but sometimes my friend it feels like two strips of velcro pulling one from the other sometimes sometimes God says he's not the one and you know sometimes you can take him a leave them but sometimes your three or four six months or a year of three years into this thing and you hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit saying go away [Applause] sometimes God says you know this is not the television program for you and honestly you can take that program or you can leave it because this is the first season and you know you only two episodes in so we don't matter sometimes you know it's the fourth season and you've been following this particular character for a long time and you like what she wears every single time she's on the screen you want to see the next outfit you want to you want to know what to wear the white hat how they're going to wear the white hat [Applause] you have had a dream of what your life was going to look like you've had a picture it has looked a certain way in your mind and when you signed up to be a follower of Jesus Christ you thought it was going to take you in this particular direction it was going to be behind a white picket fence in this kind of neighborhood participating in these kinds of activities your family was going to look like this and yet the Lord has allowed a series of circumstances in your life that are very clearly very obviously causing you to to release your idea your expectation of what life was going to be like and follow him [Applause] there is a very harsh reality to the separation process it begins at crass and it ends at the place of separation but it is in that place that you will experience so much of God like you never have before but only those willing to go through will get to see God is more than a billboard on a highway of life will get to see his character will get to know that the God of the Bible is actually the same God and that the miracles that he had the power to pull off the meek in the scriptures y'all those aren't exceptions to the rule those were illustrations for us to let us know what an extraordinary God can do with its ordinary women like us so our original word our verb correct one of the first times we see that in the scriptures is in Genesis 15 y'all ready for a little Bible study y'all with me y'all okay tonight hey listen Genesis 15 God has said to Abraham go away from here he has called him out of her remember his name was Abram he called him out of her he says I'm gonna change your name to Abraham i'ma change the GPS coordinates on your destiny i'ma send you to a land I'm not even gonna tell you what the land is you just trust me look up in the sky see all those stars I'm going to create a vast group of descendants out of you that number the same as those stars Abraham said you got to be kidding me he said God how will I know that all of this is going to come to pass God does something incredible he speaks to Abraham in a language that he knows Abraham is going to understand and debt so that he'll know God is for real back in Old Testament times every agreement is sealed with a covenant they had to make a covenant one party with another or one nation with another nation this is the way that they sealed a covenant the shedding of blood without the shedding of blood a covenant was not sealed signed and delivered and this is gruesome but y'all hang with me they would cut they would sacrifice an animal then they would dismember the animal correct severing they would set the pieces of the dismembered animal strategically on the ground and both parties one after the other would walk among the severed pieces of the dismembered animal as a part of the ceremony of the sealing the agreement the reason why they would do that is because as they walk they were making a statement they were saying may my life be as the life of this animal may the lives of those I love be as the life of this animal if I don't hold up my part of the bargain God knew that Abraham would understand the Covenant understand its seriousness so he says in Genesis 15 you go get an animal he says you sacrificed that animals Abraham does exactly that he lays the pieces out and normally both parties would walk among the pieces but it says in Genesis 15 y'all this is so good listen Abraham falls into a deep sleep while he is asleep in one of the greatest theophanies of all time a theophany is a God appearance in the Old Testament and one of the greatest theophanies of the all of the Old Testament God comes down and we see him the god of the universe who doesn't need to make a deal with anybody he comes down and he moves within the pieces listen while Abraham is asleep this already points to Ephesians when Paul would say while we were dead in our trespasses and it since Christ died for us four five grace we have been saved through faith not as of our work we were asleep y'all while the god of the universe bore the full responsibility of the Covenant that he made with us okay Abraham did the cutting God did the moving Abraham made the margin and when he did he made God gaps in his life so that God could come down and move among the pieces let me tell you are y'all listening listen let me tell you what will happen in our lives if we'll do the cutting if you'll create the margin I'm saying if God is saying to you tonight go away from that man that boyfriend of yours go away from that pack of girlfriends they're just not the click for you go away from that job that other job yep the one that makes less money but that's the one that I'm calling you to you go away from where you are listen your husband is saying sweetie I feel like God is calling us in the ministry I know I said I was gonna be a doctor but God is calling me to pass to this church come with me let's go we're God is calling us listen to what I'm saying to you the Lord has set us up tonight the reason why we're in this room are you listening what's your name no melody listen the reason why we're in this room tonight and the Lord would allow all of us to be in this setting is because he wants you to know upfront if you will really if you will cut if you will eliminate if you will sever yourself from whatever God is ask you to sever yourself from he's telling you right now you will have created the margin in your life required for God Himself to come down and move within the pieces in your life he's telling you and me that we're going to get to see God listen I don't know about y'all I want I want to see God I want a love hearing about God I love reading about god I love experiencing God through the testimonies of other people but there has to come a time in all of our lives where we're a little bit stirred up on the inside where it's like a divine antagonist is stirring up in our soul where we can still celebrate others but at the same time we're thinking wait a minute I want to see that God in my own life I want to hear his voice with my ears I want to experience the God for Bible Repub also patient so this is not just ink on a page anymore I want God to be alive to me listen if you pray that prayer like I do god I want to see you this is the way he answers it he says to you okay well separate yourself from what I'm asking you to and in that margin I will descend and I will reveal myself to you in a way you have never ever experienced before listen I want to tell you just quickly that y'all it was active charis at this brook at this brook the passage we read said that Elisha was sustained by this brook Joel there's a drought in the land everybody else is trying to find water people are losing their lives folks are thirsty and they they can't find water they are scavenging for water and food and while everybody else is trying to figure out how to quest air first and is doing everything they can to try to find illegitimate ways to quench their thirst because the heavens are shut up Elijah because he yielded to the separation is settled down by a brook of water while God Himself sustains him you know what's going to happen in the place of separation you're going to be able to stop fighting and thriving and trying desperately to sustain yourself and you're going to know what it's like to do what Psalm 46:10 says be still be striving chill out relax and see what it's like to have God be the book that quenches your thirst amen and and so important was the principle of sustaining that work so the thing that God wanted Elijah to get it was so important that God set him down at a Wadi a Wadi is a brook of water that is in between two precipices of a mountain it's almost like a mountain that has a sliver cut out right through the middle and there's a small stream of water that runs right through this little crevice in the rocks so it is totally rocky ground there is no soft soil there is no up fertilizing opportunity for there to be any harvest if someone were to plant seeds there would be no way for it to grow there do you know what God was saying by setting him down at this Wadi he was saying to him listen just in case you brought some seeds with you from Israel I'm going to make sure you were in a position where even if you try to sustain yourself you're not going to be able to do it and I'll do that on purpose because if you can keep planting your seeds and reaping your own harvest you will never know what it's like to eat from my hand and drink from my cup so listen some of you are in settings right now and you keep planting seeds you keep planting seeds you keep trying to reap your own harvest you're trying to figure out why none of the resumes you're sending out or getting a response while none of the minutes for your business you're trying to build is getting a response it's because he's got you in a Wadi rocky ground no matter what seed you plant it is not going to flourish why because if we can get our own harvest we never know what it's like to be sustained by our God and so if you're feeling a bit lonely right now if you're feeling a bit separated and set apart you're wondering why God has you here in this quiet still place listen he has separated you to show you what it's like when God is a friend to the lonely when he is a father to the fatherless when he shows you how you can be hungry but be filled by God when he shows you how you can have a peace that passes all understanding even yo understanding you can't figure out how you're distinct filled in the midst of the storm that's happening in your life that's the kind of testimony you and I have to have if one day he calls us to Mount Carmel we better have some character built and up at Charis y'all but that's not it listen chapter 18 of first Kings we don't have time to go into all this stuff y'all alright listen I'm almost done I get excited about this teeny tale listen first Kings chapter 18 we find out that a hab has been King Ahab has been searching to and fro nation to nation he wants Elijah's head on a platter Elijah does not know this he's sitting down at the brook chilling out having a drink of water enjoying himself all the while there is a price on his head so at the place of separation not only is he sustained by God but he shielded by God and listen he sealed it by God from something that he doesn't even know he needs shielding from the reason why you and I need to surrender to charities because there are some things you don't even know you need to be shielded from there are some relationships you can't see right now that pet year from now there are going to be the worst decisions that you could ever make and so god separates you to save you from disaster you do not even know are coming amen there is a financial debacle you don't even know about that he's saving you from there is AIT's a relational strain you can't see now that he is saving you from there is something from your vantage point and my vantage point at this stage in this season at this age we cannot detect but God in His sovereignty and His grace and His mercy he will allow us to be in a position where we are shielded and don't even know it y'all can I just tell y'all there are some things I look back on listen I am so grateful for unanswered prayers that I don't know what to do y'all know what I'm talking about if God had given me half the stuff I was begging him for when I was 20 whereas a 20 year old 20 year olds where are you 19 20 let's listen to your mama just do what your mama says guys I'm so grateful now when I look back at some of the things that I begged my God for he said no to because in doing that in causing me commanding me making me separate myself and stuff I really wanted he was an essence shielding me protecting me in ways I could never imagine so if you choose not to yield to the separation if you choose to stay connected to the people the places the habits of choices the dreams the ambitions you've always had you need to know you are putting yourself right smack dab in the face of danger the reason why he separates us is because he's guarding us at the same time y'all remember being in an airplane I'll remember where we were going but I remember it was one of the scariest times I ever had on the airplane because out of nowhere it was smooth sailing people were up going to the bathroom folks were getting drinks some people were you know hanging out talking whatever normal smooth I think I was getting some work done all of a sudden that plane just dropped I don't know how far it dropped I don't know but I remember bags went flying everywhere people fell to the ground it was just this moment when you think few seconds later the pilot came on he said I want to tell you guys I'm so sorry I had to make a very very quick decision the control tower came on to let me know that we were on the same flight path as another plane and if we did not immediately drop to a different altitude obviously there was going to be a horrendous caster so I want to tell you guys I am sorry for the momentary discomfort listen I want you to know after I found out the reason for the moment discomfort you better believe that if all of us filed off that plane we looked at that pilot and said thank you thank you because that momentary discomfort saved a lot all and thank God that the pilot was not leaning to his own understanding of lifting to the control tower that had a different more broad perspective and was able to see the whole picture that is why the book of Proverbs chapter 3 verse 5 to 6 says listen don't think you so smart that you can lean to your own understanding you've got to acknowledge him in all your ways he's the one who will make the path straight he has a broader perspective a different vantage point he'd be been from the beginning more that you can ever see with your own eyes and so when there's going to be momentary discomfort you say thank you because he's shielding you and then finally I have talked so long listen just one more thing because this is too good to miss he sustains him with the brook that is a natural resource listen God did not poof create the brook and then sent Elijah to it the brook had always been there Elijah just now knew about it because he yielded to the separation can I just tell you there is some big huge amazing fabulous fantastic unbelievable blessings that are already in your life you just cannot see them you have not experienced the benefit of them because you won't and when you do you start going oh look at my husband he's actually amazing not my husband I'm saying my husband is amazing every day there are some there are some things sometimes God doesn't need to do a miracle you just need to appreciate the miracle he's like already doing for time separating opened your eyes to see the Brooks that are already around hey but then he says I'm sending Raven bread and meat in the morning bread and meat in the evening and every day y'all it seems like scholars say he was probably at this body of water for a year and a half every day for a year and a half bread and meat in the morning bread and meat in the evening Ravens are the most Restless of all bird species do you remember Noah sent one bird out from the ark a dove the Dove returned he sent the Raven out The Raven is the one that never returned that's because Ravens their species their innate sense is to never return to the same place twice they are the most greedy of all animals so greedy that of all bird species so agree that they will steal of meals from other birds in their vicinity that's where we get the term ravenous when we are that hungry it doesn't matter what kind of buffet it is you just glad it's a buffet anybody notice on now listen for me I don't have to be hungry to eat eating is a hobby can I get somebody to say Amen okay so God picks listen y'all God picks the most unlikely the most unreasonable the utmost irrational bird species if he would have sent a dove maybe we could have explained it if you want to pick the pigeon maybe we could have explained it but God said let me figure out what is the most unlikely bird that I made in my creation the one I know nobody when they're talking about this story in the Year 2015 they still will not be able to explain away no scientist no matter how brilliant they are no no person that studies birds and their their habits never will anybody ever be able to explain how a raven for more than a year came back to the same place at the same two times every day let me tell you the reason why he wants to separate you because in the place of separation not only does he sustain you and not only does he shield you but y'all it's in that place that he will just plain-old flat-out surprise you where he sets you up to be blown away at the unbelievable wave he is taking care of you and covering you and providing for you he wants to bring solutions into your life but honestly you didn't even pray for because the best request you could come up with didn't even touch the fringe of possibility of what God had in mind for this particular circumstance listen he wants to bring this kill a miracle into your life the Ephesians 3:20 variety now on to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all you can ask and if you can't ask it because your brain can't even come up with the right word to verbalize it that's okay he says just think and I can do pass back I thought he does the worst thing in the world it's trying to throw somebody a surprise party and they won't get in the car and come with you I just think that God is in the heavens going oh I have some stuff up my sleeve for you you cannot imagine in regards to your finances and in regards to your marriage and in your regards to your kids and in regard to your grandkids and your great grandkids that you don't yet know I have some surprises built up for you some stuff that I fully intend to do for you just cos you're my girl and I love you and I want to give you more because I've got plans for you but you've got to get in the car and come to the party yes and he said to send that place of separation I'll surprise you if you let me I'll blow you away at how good an amazing I am and can be in your life I have some friends a couple their daughter is my goddaughter and they recently had a lot of transition in their life they worked at a church both of them a very successful Church in Dallas still enjoyed pastoring there over adult ministries I think and that the husband felt God whisper about a year and a half ago go away from here it was going to mean a huge change for them he prayed about it for a while thought wise counsel about it my friend his wife was kind of unsteady about the whole thing before her people that this was their church this was where they not only works but where they fellowship their kids had connections there but in the youth group and this is where they've been this was a community but but he felt strongly that God was so he obeyed she did along with him very very very tough years the Lord led them to a new job at a non-profit organization where they were helping people keep their housing when they had issues financial issues and headed toward foreclosure enjoyed that job they the Lord called them to actually start a new church plant with another couple and so they're at in the forming stages of this this little church that's developing in the north side of Dallas but he said to me the last time I was over there visiting he said Priscilla this has been the toughest year and a half of our life he said because I can't afford to keep this house any more this was the house they built when they got married that their kids have been raised into cysts where they love being then they can't afford it anymore he said I know I've done what God has asked me to do but this hurts he said Purcell I got to tell you something the reason why you're here in this house today why when you came to visit us you still came to this house he said the reason why is because I called the realtor realtor and I asked her to get prepared to sell this house and then on the day she was coming to put out the sign that morning I was literally in the kitchen with a small little toothbrush sort of thing cleaning out some of the corners because I knew she'd become invited to check things out she's gonna be bringing people over and while I was down there on the kitchen floor on my knees he said I hadn't really verbalized this much but I said just between me and God God seriously this is my family we've done what you've asked us to do but this is so disappointing anybody know how that feels so he prayed and he said Lord there's any way you can help us keep this house do it it was the day that the realtor was coming to put up the line that afternoon they had a soccer game in the neighborhood their kids play on the same little league team that some other people in the neighborhood plan they were out there with all their kids there were neighbors all around because these neighbors I'm all they're all their kids played in the same Little League team he had seen lots of these people before but more not more than just waving at him and saying hello one couple one gentleman from one couple that lived a few houses down came over during the soccer game the same day he had been in the kitchen the same day that the realtor was coming up and he said hey I've noticed the realtor coming by every now and then where are you guys moving these two hadn't talked much ever really other than to say hello at the games and and my friend explains him that yeah they were going to have to move out they're going to find another place to live this gentleman who's not a not a Christian nice people but not Christian he said you know what my wife and I were talking the other day just just talking you know we we were thinking about buying another another house in our neighborhood they had their reasons I can't remember what they were but he said we're just think about buying another house in the neighborhood and you know what if you guys are going to sell your house you know don't put the sign out because we'll buy it we'll buy your house and we don't need it right now but but while it's while it's available we want to go ahead and purchase it but we'll let you guys live there for the next two years or so surprise God shows up and does the kind of stuff that when someone tries to tell you it's a coincidence you say oh no way no no no no no if I filled you in on the whole backstory leading up to here you would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a God and that you're good and that he works in our Savior until my friend has been living rent-free in the house that God bought for them can I pray for you I want to pray for anyone that right now is standing right on the edge of decision because you've heard the whisper of God say come on and you're trying to decide whether or not you're going to open I want to ask God to give you a holy courage a boldness that can only come supernaturally by God's Spirit to allow you when you leave this place tonight to not spend one more day adhered to the thing he has asked you to separate yourself and so if that's you doesn't matter if it's a person it does matter if it's a job it does matter when you had of life whatever doesn't matter what it is God is asking you to come away from something I want you to just stand to your feet if you need specific prayer for boldness to yield to the separation Lord here we are your daughter is standing and we're asking you Lord I am asking on their behalf Lord that you would make your presence known and real and felt to them caused them to be so aware of your presence that it gives them a courage they have not known before help them to know that they are never ever alone even if they make this decision that might cause them to to feel like they are lord help us to know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you are real so god I'm being bold and brave and I'm asking you that seriously in these next few days you would do something in every single life of every single woman who's standing that is so obvious for you that they will never ever doubt again that you are with them that you are for them and that you will fight on their behalf and god I'm going to pray so you would well up in their hearts a super natural courage one that they will not even understand Lord would you well up a holy boldness on the inside of them and allow them to not be comfortable even one more day staying connected to the thing you're asking them to disconnect from will you make them uneasy about it Lord caused it not to feel good anymore Lord I pray that the taste for it will leave their mouth and Jesus name I'm asking for supernatural release by your Holy Spirit Galatians 5:1 it is for freedom that you have set us free so today Lord we will stand firm and never be subject again to a yoke of slavery in Jesus name Amen you

Channel: Going Beyond Ministries with Priscilla Shirer

Views: 670,177

Keywords: priscilla shirer, priscilla shirer sermons, priscilla shirer sermon, priscilla shirer 2023, priscilla shirer sermons 2023, priscilla shirer armor of god, priscilla shirer identity in christ, priscilla shirer prayer, priscilla shirer bible study, going beyond ministries with priscilla shirer, going beyond ministries, hearing the voice of god priscilla shirer, discerning the voice of god priscilla shirer, priscilla shirer hearing the voice of god, tbn priscilla shirer, bible, jesus

Id: tTrY04glZE0

Length: 59min 38sec (3578 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 24 2017