"The Ultimate Relationship Killer" - Modern Church Pt 2 | Stephanie Ike

hey family i'm pt pastor toray roberts i'm the lead pastor of the potter's house at 1la and denver and on behalf of my wife pastor sarah and myself we want to welcome you to our channel and to this word i cannot wait for you to hear what god has for you in this message i want to tell you a few things really quickly subscribe if you're not already subscribed to this channel subscribe so that you can be made aware of all of the word that's coming at you week in and week out and also turn on your notifications so you don't miss a morsel that comes forth we're also grateful for you and your partnership if you are so uh it compelled we invite you to support what we're doing not just our church but what our church is doing there are a number of outreaches a number of things critical necessary things that we support and we're able to do it because of your generosity so without further ado let's get right into this word god bless you i'll see you soon hallelujah family you know i'm so excited to be with you all on a sunday you know pastor started this series on modern church and i'm so excited to be here to continue that in his you know for on his behalf rather and so greetings from our pastors pastor terrain roberts and pastor sarah jakes roberts this is always an honor just to represent and stand and speak what the lord is saying it's always an incredible honor so this is exciting you know what i've been loving so much about this series is that it's not telling us that modern is new right it's not the new way of doing church but it's a way of doing church that is relevant and current to the times that we are in you know in the book of proverbs it tells us that he who wins souls is wise and i love that word so much because wisdom here gives us this idea of strategy that there's a strategy to winning souls and you cannot win souls outside of flowing with god you cannot win souls outside of moving step by step with god in alignment with how god understands the people in the times and what they need you know just the other day i was listening to some of the evangelists of old and i was watching their crusades and literally some people would just stand up there and they're like repent you know if you don't repent you're going to hell i said you know this don't work for me today and literally people would be coming to the altar in authenticity and they're sobbing and so there was something about the people that god recognized that their hearts were filled with so much that just that word repent it ministered to them they didn't eat that they didn't even need too much they were like look we are at the altar and we are crying one of the things that i recognize about our generation is the need for authenticity right there were times where you never knew a pastor's life you didn't know what was going on in your home you knew nothing but in this generation in the wisdom of god he recognizes that in order for people to connect and see themselves in you we have to bear our scars we hear these messages but if you go back 20 you know 11 20 maybe 50 70 years ago and you're looking at these old messages you these people were mysteries you had no clue we had to read books about them to understand you know people that i love like kathryn kuhlman i had to read books about her you didn't know their lives on stage but they were exactly what their culture needed in the time that they were born and so when we talk about this i bring this up to say the modern church just like our pastor said is a current church god what are you saying in these times and how are you doing it right so last week our pastor taught on get with the flow i loved that message so much and one of my key takeaways was when he talked about the difference between said and saying right that many times a lot of people can live in the realm of what god said but if you don't flow in what he is saying you can miss him you can miss the movement of god you can miss being in alignment with god and i loved how he used the example of abraham right because you see that abraham was a man that god said to him hey get out of your hometown your father's town right and go to a land that i would show you that's what god said to him but when you see the flow of god you see this pattern where you know god is like hey abraham now this is where you're going to go and there's all this this moment right when the lord tells him sacrifice isaac and the same lord says don't sacrifice isaac you'd be like lord you're confused what is it that you want from me but it's a flow with god because god knows exactly what he's pulling out of you as we're walking step by step with him and so i think about even not just abraham a man named david right david was a man who was known to to be after the heart of god and david every time david would make a decision he will see god there's a scripture i want to share with you all it's in second samuel two verse one and this is so beautiful it says it happened after this now this is not our message virginia's gonna leave that for birds okay so it happened it happened after this that david inquired of the lord saying i love that he inquired of the lord saying shall i go up to any of the cities of judah and the lord said to him go up david said where shall i go up he didn't stop simply at the first thing god said he said god i need your word now you're telling me to go about where exactly should i go and then the lord says go to hebron right we don't i'm not here to unpack that scripture but it's to give you an example that there is a flow with god right there is a flow with god where it's not just about god what is it you're telling me what did you tell me to do yesterday but god what are you telling me to do today what are you saying in this time of my life and when i thought about this idea of there's a flow with god it made me realize that everything about god has a flow that the sabbath for example is a flow because the sabbath speaks to the order of god because prior to the sabbath is work so it's not just a sabbath to say look he's a sabbath you know i'm off but the sabbath comes to the place of agreement with god's order because even for the lord even when he before he could even have the seventh day of rest the scripture tells us that after the work was completed then on the seventh day he rested and he marked it as holy but he rested because there was the completion of an assignment so even the sabbath is a flow with god's order of work that when you have executed the assignment i've given you you come into a season of rest and then you go back again right and so even when you think about it faith is a flow because the bible tells us faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god there is a flow you don't just wake up into faith something happens you begin to hear the word of god and faith is activated in you you know i thought about trust trust is also a flow right because in order for you to come into that place where you established and trust you have acknowledged the consistency of god there are certain things that you have seen about god that you have acknowledged that god you are indeed faithful you are indeed true and when you acknowledge that it is easy for you to be rooted in trust and so i love this so much because as i began to understand and unpack this that everything about the lord has this flow right if you haven't watched the message our pastor preached last sunday you definitely need that message and so in in regards to that you know one of the key things i just want to touch on lightly is that he talked about how do we access that flow right he talked about belief and that continually being in prayer and what that highlighted to me is relationship you cannot believe and continually be in prayer without the intimacy of relationship with the lord and as i began to think about god what is it that you want me to say to your people today and the lord began to highlight to me what breaks the flow because you see when you're in flow with god you hear him you know his voice you're in tune with his steps you're in alignment with him but there is one thing that is an ultimate relationship killer and that is what we're going to unpack today because this one thing if you have the ability not even just you your partnership with god if it is dead in your life there is nothing that can stop you in growing and developing intimacy with the lord and this one thing the lord began to highlight to me is pride and we're going to talk about that today and so if you're taking notes my message is the ultimate relationship killer because in relationship with god you would have access to his voice when you grow in intimacy with god you see everything we got is a process right so even if we tell you an abc without the going through the process it will not be activated because every single thing you go through a process with god i've shared this you know uh about me like a year ago i remember sharing how you know when the lord when i wanted to i wanted to just experience god in a new way and the lord said to me you know what meet me at this time every day and every day i was showing up and it was so boring it was so dry i felt like i lived in the desert waking up at that time right because i was just like god where are you this is just i don't understand it took months and on a particular day the presence of god filled the room in a way that was undeniable and the lord began to talk to me stephanie i've always been here i was just watching right and so even though i did what he said i had to keep showing up the showing up was my process to come into that place where he was like stephanie i was always here but there is a process to seek in me there's a process to to coming into that place into the secret place of the lord it's a process and so the one thing i really want to press on today is what brings in hindrance to actually walking and activating intimacy with god and that is pride you know i was reading i read this quote i didn't see who who you know who was behind the quote but he said this or she said this that pride will always be the longest distance between two people pride will always be the longest distance now when you think about it satan he wasn't created to be satan he was created as lucifer lucifer doesn't actually mean a bad thing lucifer means the morning star the light bearer the one who carries light this was who he was created to be but it was pride that got him cast out of heaven and casting not was not doesn't mean that he you know he can't visit once a while because we see him there you know in the book of job we saw you you know say and we saw you [Laughter] so he's there but cast out means he lost his place he lost his position with god he lost the authority that was given to him by the lord he lost fellowship with god it was broken pride turned someone who was known as the one who carries light to become the prince of darkness that was not how he was created pride the moment pride entered him everything changed it changed his identity and ultimately it broke fellowship with him and the lord because in the reality of life any time that we are not walking in the authenticity of who god has called us to be something in our fellowship with the lord is broken because when you see god right and you're walking with him it causes you to see yourself right and so when we look at him it's like you were created to glorify the king but now you became the opposite of your makeup because pride entered his heart you see there are layers to your identity and who god has called you to be that unless you are walking in relationship with him we can never realize and that's what we see with satan that the truth of his identity could never be realized any longer because he not only the pride come into him he became it he took he took it on as his identity he took it on as his nature and so even when we have these questions like i i know for me as a kid i used to have that question i was like god you know can't you can you save him you know you saved us right some of us have those questions we just don't say it out loud you know when someone else says we're like a girl you should know better but then loki you're like i hope somebody answers the question right i used to have that question as a kid i said but but god what happened and he said no he took on its nature he became it and as a re so then and so that's why even when the lord is describing those that are disobedient he talks about how the father of pride being satan because he took it on he embraced it and so i want to unpack what actually is pride right because pride is a word we hear often you know i know for me um i would always hear pride that's like don't think too high of yourself right but what does that mean because i'm a child of god so i'm bomb right you know actually i should be thinking a little higher myself but what does pride really mean and so when i'm trying to examine it i'm first thinking about what is what what is pride not right and so you know clearly when we think about what's the opposite of pride we think about humility so we know that pride is not humility and humility does not mean dumbing down that's not it humility is not for you to shrink yourself because you are a child of god your father is the creator of all things you have access in heavenly places you know sometimes my mom always laughs about this when there's something that i need to deal with i don't deal with it in regards to i'm not you know i'm not the one first of all i'm not really a fighter the first time i tried to fight was in high school and you know this girl said something to me and i was like you know i was trying to like you know boss up you know and i went up to her and i was like how dare you you know and she was big you know she picked me up i said put me down put me down now and she put me down and i walked away talking you know what you know the people that were walking away talking smack that was me because i'm not a fighter right but when i need to deal with something i i i go in the spirit because i allow god to deal with it so there are times that my mom would tell me something i said mom we just need to take this in prayer we don't have to deal with it let god deal with it so there's a confidence that you should have in the lord so humility is not about dumbing down but humility is about recognizing that although i am created in the image of god and although i am a child of god i am not god you see humanity because of who we are created the likeness of who we are created in it is easy sometimes to think we're not thinking it consciously but our lifestyles reveal what is in our mind because because you're created in his image and you move in his nature so your creativity your excellence your approach it's easy to start confusing yourself and the maker but you have to recognize even though i might look like you i am not you and that is where humility speaks that god there is still someone who is greater than i there is still someone who i must rely on that it doesn't matter the things i have access to other things that i can do it came from somewhere the ability to be excellent comes from the spirit of excellence which is the spirit of god that is why a certain man in the bible daniel it was said of him that an excellent spirit is in him it was not about daniel being lifted up it says no we recognize the spirit that he carries that's humility and so when i thought about that pride to me is the root it's the root thank you jesus is the root of anything that rises or promotes self above god anything because a lot of times we're looking at the things that is the result of it but pride is the root of anything in our lives that exalts us before the lord promotes us before the lord and i'm going to unpack it because you know it's crazy sometimes we can even find pride in our spiritual disciplines because have you ever thought i remember i met this young lady and she shared with me how she ran away from the lord for such a long time and she ran away from the lord because of the testimonies that she heard and i was i was very like perplexed by this and then i realized the testimonies that she heard came from people that exalted themselves over god so they're talking about their walk with god how they pray how they fast how they do it right all the things they have the ability to do because they're pursuing god and she felt like yo this is too much i i i don't even know if i have the ability to do any of this and so what was communicated as a testimony pulled her away from god because the people who shared it were exalting their flesh over the one who gave them the grace to do it because sometimes you can be like oh child you know i pray three hours a day and i'm like oh fire and i'm telling people you know you just have to be there just go and pray or three hours just just keep going somebody will be like what but when you tell them about your story about your journey when you become aware of where god found you that where god met me i did not even want to pray two seconds but there was something that was cultivated you are not judgmental about people's process you say look god found me in mess and he cultivated me but god did that god gave me the ability to do this have you ever tried fasting when it's not the spirit that led you i literally i met the pandemic you know it was a time of fasting and eating and i remember i came out of a fast i was feeling myself you know i said look at that 30 days my god you know and then something else happened somebody was telling me something going on in their lives i said i'm about to go on another fast for a year i think all the weight i lost in that 30 days i gained at times two in the next 30 days [Laughter] and i believe the lord was trying to make a point he did because i saw the point you know i saw it on my body [Laughter] and this is the reality because i thought oh my gosh i just came out of this fast it was easy breezy cover girl you know and and then i'm about to go on another fast my crave was heightened i could not it was not about there are some things that it wasn't even about stephanie discipline yourself no no because sometimes even this idea of i should discipline myself i need to rely on the strength of god god i need you this is this is an area i'm trying to work out teach me what steps should i go that is why even when you you know even working out for example when you're working out with a trainer they're not just going to rush you into the big things they go they're going to take you through a process and so discipline also has a process but sometimes we think that the idea of discipline is a switch you can just turn on and today i could cut out everything it doesn't work like that every single thing in life has a process and so what i thought was like man i did that thing i kid this it sounds funny but it's the truth you know i saw where i went to and literally i started craving food so much and it was a reminder stephanie the only way that you fasted was because of a grace that came upon you and you responded to the grace that because you know how sometimes there are times in life where you're like i think i should be fasting right now because literally even though you know you can eat you're not hungry you wanna you you just feel this need to spend more time in the presence of god you're like i don't really want to watch anything like i'm i'm eating but i'm not tasting the food and it's food that when you're eating before your taste in all this glory right and then you're like wow i think i should be fasting it's a grace that comes upon you and when you respond to it and say actually i'm gonna step into this then you're in partnership with what god wants to do through your life in that moment in that season and so even through our spiritual disciplines we cannot find pride in that we cannot come and tell people when we're sharing our testimonies you have to hear yourself when i'm sharing something what am i exalting am i exalting god's grace or am i exalting my strength right and so there are a couple of things that i began to write down in just in sitting with the lord that what does this actually look like how do we begin to discover when we are walking in pride because the truth of the matter is that there's a scripture that talks about humble yourselves and if the word of god tells us to humble ourselves then there is a world we must play it is not just about there's a partnership with god and i love it because i'm going to read a scripture first in second corinthians 12 from verse 6 to 9 and this is the apostle paul speaking it says this if i wanted to boast i would be no fool in doing so because i would be telling the truth i love him he said look you know i'm just over here speaking facts you know um the apostle paul's on instagram you know the 100 that'll be him right there but he says but i won't do it because i don't want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hearing my message even though i have received such wonderful revelations from god the apostle paul moved in in the mysteries of who god is he flowed that's why there are times that he would describe himself as one who relays the mysteries of god right and so he says though i have received such wonderful revelations from god to keep me from becoming proud i was given a thorn in my flesh a messenger from satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud three different times i begged the lord to take it away each time he said my grace is all you need my power works best in weakness so now i am glad to boast about my weakness so that the power of christ can work through me now it's so interesting because when we read about paul we never know what the struggle was and i believe that we don't know what it was because so we don't have the the sickness of comparison right because sometimes when you're aware of something then you start trying to measure it against yours well lord mine is much bigger than paul's and so that information is disclosed because the lord is like there are some things i leave in your life and it's not because i can't take it away but it's to remind you that who you are is because of my grace now the lord did not leave the thorn so that the phone would destroy paul paul was very effective in ministry we never hear about this thorn again the thorn never stopped him from doing what the lord said so the thorn was not a weakness in the in the essence of it being a destruction but the thorn was a weakness to remind him the source of his strength because sometimes you know the bible even tells us that knowledge it puffs up one of the key things even with um people who are called in the office of a prophet there are things that sometimes the lord would allow because you're walking in the office of knowledge and knowledge can make you feel like you know what it's because of me i am the i'm the reason the lord is speaking you know is the lord saying anything to you no and so there are times in life right where when god is doing almighty work there's sometimes that he will leave certain things that's why we all have struggles whether known or unknown everyone has a hidden thing that without god your life would be a mess i was telling a friend the other day i said i need god not not just for my destiny and for my identity you don't want to know who i am outside of him i've seen that person for a snapshot and it was not pretty you know the kindness the sweetness that was not her i am not she and so in order for me to stay rooted in who god knows me to be i have to be connected to who the source is i know what my weaknesses are i know the things that without him i would be a complete mess and so there's sometimes you see many times we feel like a struggle is a sign that we haven't gotten it right that god why am i still struggling with this why is this appetite still here and he's like no my grace is enough for you if you stop being self-conscious and god conscious you will find out how you can operate and not be limited by it because when god you see a lot of times especially if if you're overly creative if you're someone who pays a lot of attention to detail you like to move in excellence if you're a hard worker and you see the fruits of your hard work there are certain things in your life that god has to put a struggle in your life because you will start to think that the image is you you you lose sight that i am not the person i look like you start to think that oh i i look like god i must be him you don't say it but you live like it because all of a sudden you're like look at my work oh that's excellent you know just give me five minutes and a pen i will come up with a solution you stop because and this is the thing we were created in his nature so we're supposed to flow like that but then pride says i am the image no i am not the image the image is my source the image is what gives me the ability to express this and so i want to talk about what are the signs of pride especially in the culture that we are in you see one of the things that breaks my heart is this whole notion of cancer culture because cancer culture at the root is pride and when i say this i acknowledge that there is a difference right between cancellation and accountability right accountability says i'm canceling the behavior this behavior is wrong jesus also does that he's like look sin no more right but go ahead you know have a fight you know he would heal somebody and he would tell them but sin no more he says there's a behavior that brought you to this level but i am ex my healing is an expression of my love i love you but don't continue in the pattern that brought you here but cancellation says oh this person could never so you identify a person by their mistake and then in your mind because of what they did there's no way that god could use them there's no way that god could have a calling on their lives you see the crazy thing is that even today many people who who identify as christians and they read you know second corinthians first corinthians philippians they're reading the books of paul but they would not have accepted paul if they lived in his time because they would have canceled paul that isn't this the same guy who persecuted us oh no canceled moving i've moved on okay can you stop posting him please i don't want to see paul on my timeline ever again and anybody who posts paul you blocked them said oh please i've canceled him and then you secretly go and check his page sometimes i said what's paul up to and after your chapter poll is up to you comment with a fake account paul i can't believe you you are a disgusting human being they would not have accepted paul the same book that they're reading and they're like oh wow god is speaking to me they would not many people would have not accepted him in our culture today because paul represents a lot of people they made some mistakes and then we think our opinions matter enough to be truth that because i think of you this way my opinion must be the truth no the word of god says that his ways are higher than our ways his thoughts are not our thoughts and so your opinion is not truth but that is the root the root of that is really pride it's to say that oh no no no no you can definitely not be that person because i feel like i'm a better person than you and absolutely i would not choose you you are not the one who formed them who called them who named them who gave them a destiny only god understands what this would lead to god sees the puzzle pieces god understands how this step connects to the next right and so let's talk about some of the signs of pride just like i said there's that scripture in matthew matthew 23 verse 12 when it says humble yourselves that whoever humbles themselves will be exalted so we see this partnership right in the scripture we read with paul we see that god allowed something in his life so that paul would would would rest under the grace of the lord and would remember that paul you're not receiving all this knowledge because you know you're just amazing it's because my hand is upon you i called you i chose you it is my grace that has given you the access to what you're receiving right and so we see that but then we also see the scripture that says humble yourselves so there is a partnership right paul had to rest on the grace of god he couldn't get he couldn't be worked up because he was still struggling with something he had to be reminded no it is the grace of god that makes me who i am and so the act of humbling yourselves is to work with grace because there can be grace on your life and you reject it but when there is a grace to do something partner with it don't let the your thoughts consume you because that's where the enemy works that's that's it that's his you know little working ground for him to make you think that oh no this is this this is the way it would always be don't allow your thoughts to define you because to the enemy it's also his opinions it's not truth opinions are not truth and so a lot of thoughts that we sometimes and especially when the thought is against you it's not yours so don't partner with what did not come from you or come from god and so work with grace that god if really your strength is made perfect in my weakness i have access to something i am not alone in this and so let's talk about the signs because this is where god helps us to see ourselves and here is the thing if there's any pla if there's anything that is as we're discussing is somewhere that you feel like the lord is speaking to you this is not about shame or guilt it's not to say oh my gosh you know i'm dealing with pride no if we have to humble ourselves we are all dealing with pride in some way shape or form at some point or season in our lives right but it's to recognize that if i can see it in myself then i can walk my way out of this with the lord that if i can see where the enemy has a stronghold then i can with the lord get out of it right that the lord can kill this in me because one i've acknowledged it and i'm not going to feed it right so the first thing is an unwillingness to change on willingness to change you see when you encounter jesus you encounter truth and the mark of receiving jesus is the willingness to unlearn the ideologies that shaped your identity jesus cannot be in your life and you expect him to keep you where you are he will meet you wherever you are but he cannot keep you there because the nature of the holy spirit the holy spirit is the holy spirit he is whole his his nature he cannot work against himself and so to receive the holy spirit the mark of receiving the holy spirit is an invitation of lord i want to be whole there are some things about me that might not be true and this is very hard because when you have been shaped by ideologies your your whole life up until the point that you encountered christ the the thought that something could be a lie could shatter you but the mark of receiving jesus is unwilling is willingness to change is willingness to say i may not be who i think i am that what i mark as my identity might not be true because we're inviting the spirit that his essence is wholeness and as the lord was showing me this he gave me i had this vision and in the vision i saw where people were lit there was some people that were in in a panic mode because you cannot deny what god has shown you about yourself you cannot deny some of the things that god has revealed to you about yourself but you're panicking because your brokenness is profiting you because your brokenness has has gotten you influence it is making you some money your brokenness is causing you to be profitable on one end and so it is almost like the encounter that jesus had with the rich young ruler when the rich young ruler came to him he was you know feeling himself he said oh lord i've done so many things for you he's like what else is needed you know name it i could buy it and jesus is like okay you know little slim biscuit jesus said sell everything you have give it to the poor follow me the man couldn't do it he said ah no no that's too costly uh you want me to do what could it be that his identity was formed around his wealth that his level of acceptance was formed around the people who catered to him because he was a wealthy man but you have to recognize the dilemma he's going through he sought after the lord because he desired to follow jesus he wasn't it wasn't a pretense he truly desired to follow jesus but david said something that that which i have desired that's which i will seek and many times what we desire we don't we we feel like now it's too costly to seek it jesus tells the man look if you want to follow me that's cool but sell everything you have because to follow me is to discover your truth in me and you cannot follow me when you're holding on to other things that shape you jesus was not trying to punish the man jesus had friends who were wealthy matter of fact the friends of god in the bible are wealthy wealth is the floor of heaven the in the revelation the streets are made of gold so wealth is the least of god's worries even satan lucifer the bible tells us that in the day that he was created that his covering was every precious stone what we are worshiping on earth is the floor of heaven is what god cast out of heaven that is what we are worshiping on earth and so it's not about the money that is where we miss it we think that to follow god means you have to be poor no oh god forbid double god forbid no that's not it but if wealth defines you then you have made no room for god because to embrace jesus is to say anything that my identity is built around i am willing to let it go for who he knows me to be and so an unwillingness to change when the lord gives you some hard instructions you're like i can't do it pride is at the root because you're like oh no no this is me this is me lord me promoting self before god you know it's so interesting just thinking about this whole wealth concept you know many times i still hear this even in my country where people are like oh you know it's so sad when you know when a person doesn't have anything they're praying every day they're fasting and then when god blesses them with much they forget him and i thought about that and i was like then they didn't have a relationship with god they had a relationship with a need it was not the lord because the truth of the matter is that you can bring anything before god right if you want god to increase you you can you can talk to him about that he's your father he's your friend he's your lord you can say lord that there's this projects i'm working on i need i need increase i need you to release supernatural provision you can do that but if that if if that is the foundation of your walk with god you have not met him because the foundation of your walk with god cannot be what man can give you because if man can give it to you it could either come from god or it could come from the enemy your foundation should be what man cannot afford my identity my destiny no human being can give that to me we even have all these sayings you know how to discover your purpose right what don't you like what do you like and it's good right many times it could help you with something but you can't tell that to jonah because jonah in the bible he did not care one day to do what the lord asked him to do matter of fact he ran away and the whale had to transport him back so you even the philosophy of man cannot give you your identity because you could not tell jonah jonah i could just imagine jonah in the room and there's somebody speaking ways to discover purpose what do you like journal would be like well long trips [Laughter] what don't you like well anything the lord tells me to go and do and jonah would have gotten up from that session say who praised the lord i found my purpose and he would have missed it and so that cannot even come from man there are things that because of the way we have been shaped and sometimes programmed who god says you are is the farthest thing from your truth from your from what you define as truth and so my identity my destiny how god has called me to be a partner in the kingdom man cannot give that to me because what happens even when a talent that you have that came from god what happens when you lose the ability to do that anymore how would you define yourself because if you rely on that you know growing up you know i just had a natural you know liking to this i was just naturally good at this and you define that as the thing what happens when you can no longer do it [Music] what happens when when the when a musician can no longer hear what happens if when the football player has an injury and he can no longer play and then we see people falling into deep depression because they identified their talents as their purpose they identified oh my talent must be the thing not recognizing it's a vehicle to something but that something can only come from the mouth of god the understanding of that cannot come from me you know my best friend was in town recently and she's extremely talented in so many things and she had this big project that she needed to do that the lord instructed her to do and i remember when we wrapped up on the project i asked her i said how do you feel and she says stephanie i'm dead to feeling about this project because it's not about the project the project was a vehicle to the people i was supposed to meet and minister to in the name of god so she's like the project is done that's amazing but i have no feelings about the project i'm not tied to its success because god used it as a vehicle for what the real purpose was that is someone connected to the ear of god you're not defining yourself based on oh you know i'm just naturally gifted at this no and the beauty is that when you begin to recognize your purpose in god you show up differently you're not just showing up for people to be moved by your gift you show up and say how can the kingdom manifest today god how would you use me in this moment you you have a different mindset that you what you could be doing in the room is just you you could even be doing the most insignificant thing in the room but you would be highlighted above everyone else david i mean david was just you know he was a a little a boy right but when david would even play the instrument david had a talent in playing the instrument but david had a consciousness that everything i do it is for the glory of god so when he played it it invited the spirit of god if david was just thinking like i'm just a talented player the moment you hear me oh my gosh you might faint you know that was not david's story he said no i carry an anointing i'm not just here to entertain you i'm here to be a vessel that god will touch you have you ever been to something that you were just like i remember one time right i went i visited this church and in the church they had someone painted while the pastor was preaching but i kid you not what ministered to me was the painting i could feel the presence of god i was looking at the painting and i was hearing the lord speak to me and the message was great you know the pastor was amazing right but in that moment what god used to minister to me was not what people would think some people might think like why is this person painting this is a distraction from the word we want to hear the word today but the person painting recognizes my gift is bigger than a gift it is a weapon in the hands of god and so when you encounter god you have to have a willingness to change right that is a sign that we're not walking in pride the second thing is prayerlessness right prayer is is a posture that expresses your humility before god because when you come before god in the beg in the start of your day or whenever you're waking up or what not you're recognizing that there is someone bigger than i am and he without him this day cannot be executed the way it's supposed to and so when we are moving in a life and we're not we we we don't have this consistency in prayer and again prayer is not about the length because one thing i believe with all my heart and i know this to be true jesus is irresistible when you meet him you want more of him and so wherever you start start right even if you're there was a time and i kid you not i used to be the person on the other side that used to be like i just love to pray i can wake up and pray pray pray and i forgot where i came from and what i'm recognizing now even if all you do is wake up and say the grace and that is really where you are in life god will meet you there if really that is where you are god will meet you there and god will begin to develop you where another day you feel like saying the grace and reading the word then you read the word and you're like oh my gosh okay okay this okay that but you should have the commitment to say god you're bigger than me that is the natural result is the organic result when you acknowledge it's just like you know when you wake up when you're a kid right and you're hungry and you can't cook right because you're your baby you cry and you go to the person where food comes from it's a natural thing when children wake up they start crying they're looking for their mom they're looking for their dad because they recognize i am helpless the whole essence of their tears even though some could be fake but the whole essence of their tears is to say i am helpless in an area and i need help and so prayer when you acknowledge and you recognize i am helpless without god it is the organic byproduct when you're not praying that means you feel that by yourself you're okay that i'm good it's so you don't you might not feel like that's how you think but that's what your actions reveal because if i need something and i can't be the one to execute it i go to who can and so if i wake up and i recognize that god i i've never been in a day like this before i need you i can't do this without you i will go to the source and so prayerlessness tells us that pride is evident right i'm gonna hit one more thing here and that is anxiety and anxiety you might feel like well we all have anxious moments right and i'm not talking about the anxiety of like you know when it's uh anxiety disorder i'm not talking about that i'm talking about what god says in philippians 4 6 when he says be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to god it's such a beautiful picture because it tells us that the answer to be anxious for nothing is connected to letting your requests be made known to god that there is a difference when you exalt god above yourself that releases you being troubled about life and it's not that we don't have our natural things right there are natural things that come up you're like god how am i going to do this but you go back to the source god i need you i need you to step in i don't want to be self-made that's i don't want that to be my testimony i want to be made i want to be god made lord what would you have me do and sometimes what i'm learning is that anxiety also comes because we don't want to hear what god has to say because whenever god speaks he calls us higher and god might reveal to you that the help you need isn't a person you don't like and you're like oh hell you know i mean hell is the location so hell no the location no you know there's a whole debate if that is a word that shouldn't be used but it's a location okay so hell the location no and so there are moments where you're like god i don't want to hear it because you want me to call someone i don't like you want me to call someone that put me down you want me to call someone that heightened my insecurities but what if god is trying to tell you that i've worked on them and i don't need you to cancel them and i need you to reveal my likeness and my nature give the person a call and so sometimes the anxiety is because we don't want to hear what god has to say because the help could be in your corner but you don't want to be the person that looks like you're needy or the person that is like oh my gosh i'm going to look weak you know i think about moses when moses when the israelites had to fight a certain battle the lord has infinite ways to bring them victory he's the lord right but in his wisdom he chose that the victory would be brought about moses holding his hand holding his hands up in this with the staff in his hand and holding his hands up in god's wisdom he assigned the victory to be something which moses would need help he understood that moses can easily just call on the lord for anything moses had a cool relationship with god but god said no for this you're going to need help i know we have our thing but you're also going to need help from other people in god's wisdom that was the way he chose to bring victory if he would do that with moses he's the same god there are certain things in your life that are purposed by god for you to need help for you to accept help for you to receive help because it is to kill any form of pride that is hidden in you because pride does not reveal itself it's a hidden destruction and so the lord does certain things to keep your heart pure and to make sure that you're not exalting self above him you see it's because of this that sometimes we even get into that place where we we start feeling entitled right god you should do it this way no god owes any nobody anything except his will god owes me nothing except his will for my life and his will is an expression of his love for me jesus died for that he died so that i can live out the fullness of who god says i am his will my will is is coded with disappointment and ego and so many things and so when i say that god owes us nothing except his will it is what is actually best for you have you ever looked back in your life and you're like god thank you for not answering that prayer like oh thank you i was going through a journal the other day i said lord if i could just do a victory dance that you said no to some of the foolishness i was praying for in this journal so his will is my truth his will calls me to be my highest self and that's what the lord owes me he doesn't owe me my way because my way would lead to destruction so i desire that the purpose of the lord is what should stand in my life and so if there's anything that hits you and maybe in that is that that that entitlement you have to check it because god you owe me nothing except your will every single day people are losing their lives do you know what it would what what some people are asking for just to have a second again with their loved one that was lost yes the lord called them home but there are people that are just like i would give anything for two minutes with a loved one and unfortunately that's why sometimes people are going to mediums asking them can you connect me with the dead and and they're connecting them with somebody else you know talk about fraud but but people would give anything to get connected and then us who have life we spend it doing what being entitled complaining no we have to check our hearts lord i want to express your nature i want to acknowledge that although i am made in your image i am not you i need you i need you in my life relationship is what where we get the flow from relationship with jesus is the source of the flow there is no flow with god if you don't know him there is no flow with god if you have not invited him into your life and so for some might be watching right now and maybe you have not said yes to jesus and maybe you're hopping around or maybe you you you're watching this first of all because the lord drew you here and maybe there was a testimony that someone shared with you and what you heard was their flesh and not the empowerment that comes to the lord and you're like this is too much work i can't do it no the spirit of the lord is called the helper he is the one to help you become who you are in christ without him you would fail the lord knows that the lord did not give us he did not even give them the law in the bible so to show them that they can do it they failed at the law the whole ten commandments they broke every one of them you know including rest how do you break having a sabbath how how you how did you miss that you know rest they broke that too why because god was showing them it was never designed for you to do it by yourself the spirit of the lord is the one who helps us and so if you want to say yes to jesus just put in the chat here i am here i am and if god has been speaking to your heart today and is showing you areas in your life where you're like god there was a there's some pride at the root of that the surface might not look like pride but pride is hidden pride is the root of many things and so when you discover that you're like god i'm not gonna feed this any longer i'm not gonna feed it it's been discovered i see it and i'm not gonna feed it i'm not going to lean into it i'm going to lean into you and i want us to pray into that and one of the things that the lord is speaking to me about right now is that there are some of you and you've lost your gratitude you've lost your gratitude and the root of that is also pride because it feels like you've allowed discouragement you've given discouragement more power than a feeling and that's all it is it's a feeling don't give it more power than it actually is discouragement is not truth because this to be discouraged means i had an expectation of god and he did not do it it's okay to make it to have the feeling of being discouraged but when you make it truth is to say god is not good because he did not do what i desired and he had the ability to and he should have he should have means that you're aware of the purpose of god the will of god and he just chose not he said not today he looked at you he said you know what not today then you're painting a picture of a god and that's not a god that is evil a god who says i know what is good for you but i will withhold it discouragement don't give it more power than it is it is a feeling leave it there walk away from it have the feeling and walk away god you you are still good for me you are your ways what how you see me your plans for me are still good this may not have happened but lord i'm grateful i'm grateful and so for that person or for how many people that could be if you feel i just keep hearing this if you feel like you have lost your gratitude i want you to take some time and begin to write down take some time in the presence of god just let surround yourself in the atmosphere of worship and begin to write what you're grateful for let things begin to come to mind and stare at it whenever you feel like god where are you remember where he's been and say god you've been good and i trust your timing i trust what you're doing in my life i trust the season i trust that when you would say yes to this it would be the perfect time for me i trust you i'm discouraged but it's only a feeling it's not my truth right heavenly father we thank you we thank you for your love we thank you for your goodness oh god we thank you for your word that has gone forth and we thank you lord jesus that you would begin to uproot the hidden nature of pride from our hearts we thank you for exposing the ways that the enemy seeks to get a stronghold or a foothold in our lives and we just thank you that you would have your way continually in and through us and i thank you lord for your sons and your daughters who are saying yes to you that jesus come into my life i've been running away from you because i didn't want to embrace that maybe i'm not who i think i am i've been running away from you because i felt like this is too much work but god i'm walk i'm gonna walk and step with you i realize that you are my helper and i'm gonna open my arms to that help i embrace that help because lord jesus you did not die on the cross for me to leave me by myself you released your spirit so that it would come in me and be my constant helper and so lord we acknowledge that yes you died on the cross but you rose up and when you rose up you rose up with all power and all authority and because you rose up lord god my truth is rising up too i thank you that i'm not bound by my weakness for my strength is in you that i recognize and anything that reveals weakness it is a it is point in me and it is an indicator of the source of my strength that yes the flesh is weak but my lord is mighty and my lord is strong and he will be my strength so we thank you lord jesus have your way in jesus mighty name amen amen

Channel: ONE | A Potter's House Church

Views: 52,287

Rating: 4.9312906 out of 5

Keywords: TPH, The Potters House, TPH LA, The Potters House LA, One LA, Toure Roberts, Sarah Jakes Roberts, tphla, LA Churches, One Church, onela, Sarah Jakes, Pastor Touré, TPH Denver, Bishop Jakes

Id: lVObYqdCboI

Length: 61min 11sec (3671 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 15 2021