Going Beyond Ministries with Priscilla Shirer- Identity in Christ

Priscilla Shirer (born December 31, 1974) is an American author, motivational speaker, actress, and Christian evangelist. Her father is Dallas mega-church pastor Tony Evans and her brother is Christian entertainer Anthony Evans.
The daughter of Tony Evans, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas, Texas,[1] Priscilla grew up well acquainted with the Bible. As a freshman at the University of Houston, she interned with a Christian radio station. Soon listeners were calling the station, inviting Priscilla to speak at their Bible study groups and other events. Soon she was invited to lead a weekly Bible study at the Zig Ziglar Corporation and then to join its speaker team. Priscilla has worked as an independent contractor for CBS and hosted a local television show, but recently she has focused solely on Christian ministry opportunities. She calls Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of evangelist Rev. Billy Graham, her mentor in ministry.

Together the Shirers established Going Beyond Ministries, a speaking bureau featuring Priscilla. The parents of three young boys, the Shirers share ministry and family responsibilities. While Priscilla continues to minister full-time, Jerry manages his schedule and other business aspects of Going Beyond Ministries.

Priscilla speaks around the world at churches and other events, including the LifeWay Christian Resources-sponsored Going Beyond conference and Deeper Still: The Event, where she shares the stage with Beth Moore and Kay Arthur. She has also authored several books.

Shirer graduated from Duncanville High School and Dallas Theological Seminary, earning a master’s degree from the latter in Biblical Studies.

In 1993, Shirer was a freshman at the University of Houston. Shirer was married in 1999 to Jerry Shirer, former Hilton Hotels executive. The couple has three sons.

In 2013, Shirer was a speaker at the 2013 Women of Faith conference. In 2015, Shirer made her film debut in the Kendrick Brothers film War Room. In October 2016, Shirer was recognized as one of four prominent women of faith during the 10th anniversary of God’s Leading Ladies Life Enrichment Program at The Potter’s House.[1] Shirer also featured at the 47th GMA Dove Awards.

Lord Jesus we your sons and your

daughters we are literally sitting on

the edge of our seat in anticipation of

what you came to say to us tonight

father we are so glad that each other is

here but we didn’t really come to see

each other we came to see you so speak

father we are listening in Jesus name

Amen

I will tell you that I was a little bit

of a mischievous teenager I gave my

parents of the four of us I gave my

parents a run for their money I was the

one that was always coming up with stuff

to do as a teenager and one of the

things I decided to do was my freshman

year in high school I decided that I

would change my name I came up with a

little nickname and I decided to change

my name now just to give you a little

context for that choice I went along

with my three siblings we all went to a

little private school around the corner

from my parents house the house they

still live in to this day Brook Hollow

Christian school was the name of the

school and we went there from

kindergarten to eighth grade then our

freshman year we transferred to the

neighboring public school district so

just to give you context here the

largest my class ever was in this

private school was about 20 kids at its

largest by the time I got to our eighth

grade year there were about 13 kids in

my eighth grade class ninth grade year

so I transferred to Duncanville High

School it is one of the largest school

districts in Texas actually it’s more

like a college campus really than a high

school when I transferred from 13

students at brick Hollow Christian

school to the freshman you’re at

Duncanville high school there were 753

kids in my freshman class not the high

school just the freshman class is 753

kids so it was a completely different

context for me and these were going to

be people who most of whom did not know

me I didn’t know them so I thought this

would be a fun opportunity to change my

identity entirely I would change my name

give myself a brand new name I had heard

of a student that I’d met through other

acquaintances at another school her

initials were DK and people called her

DK I thought it was clever so I adopted

this nickname my new name was DK now I

remember telling

my friend from youth group at church we

had grown up in church together she was

already in the Duncanville High School

School District so I remember telling

her about my plan she’s the only one

that knew about my little plan because I

knew she was gonna be the connective

tissue between me and most of the new

friends I was gonna be making so I said

to her listen girl when you introduce me

to people at this new school don’t

introduce me as Priscilla go ahead and

introduce me as DK she said girl what I

said yes introduced me as as DK and so I

remember showing up that very first day

of school I remember walking into this

brand-new huge new world this new campus

and I remember her introducing me to

people she would look at me

inquisitively to make sure I was still

still down with this this was still my

plan before she began to introduce me

one person after the other as DK I

introduced myself to my teachers and my

new friends as DK and to make a long

story short it caught on for the LAT for

the four years that I was in school

there was not one student there was not

one teacher there was not one school

administrator not one principal not one

athletic coach that did not refer to me

as DK most people didn’t even really

know that my name was Priscilla

everybody called me DK in fact just

anybody in that whole season of my life

so people or court coaches from other

schools where we would sort of compete

with them in different capacities they

all called me DK it was monogrammed on

all my athletic uniforms it was

monogrammed on my Letterman’s jacket

every single person in that season of my

life called me decayed in fact still to

this day if someone refers to me as DK

on social media or someone yells across

the mall hey DK or across the aisles at

the grocery store

if anybody refers to me as DK I

automatically know it’s somebody that

knew me in that season of my life

because everybody called me DK now this

didn’t bother my parents too much they

didn’t really say anything about it

until one day I remember getting sick at

school I had a fever so they had to call

my mom to come pick me up I remember

laying on that little cot behind the

curtain that they pull in the nurse’s

station and I remember hearing my mom

come up to the to the counter there at

the nurse’s station

I remember hearing her say I’m here for

Priscilla and I also remember the nurse

saying who I remember hearing them

toggle back and forth for just a few

moments before they decided that she was

here for decay slash Priscilla so my mom

took pick me up took me home she didn’t

say anything to me for the first evening

cuz I didn’t feel well nor the next day

nor the next day she waited till I was

100% until she hemmed me up in the

corner with the mama I y’all know what

I’m talking about when I say the mama I

and she said now Priscilla I want to be

clear about something me nor your father

have minded this whole little nickname

business it hasn’t bothered us at all we

know it’s just been a little high school

experiment no big deal it’s been all in

fun but she said I want to be clear

about something

graduation is coming and when graduation

comes they’re gonna have a ceremony

somebody’s gonna have a microphone in

their hand they’re going to say your

name and your name is gonna be amplified

in that room she said not only that but

they’re gonna hand you a piece of paper

and she said when they hand you that

piece of paper there better not be a D

or a cake anywhere in sight and she said

here’s the reason what she said the

reason why is because it doesn’t matter

what everybody else calls you it doesn’t

even matter what you call yourself

there’s only one or two me and your

father who have the rights and the

privilege to give you your name only the

one who gave you life has the authority

to identify you I came tonight flew over

from Dallas Texas earlier this afternoon

because I want to tonight just speak a

word of identity over you I want so much

to remind you who you are I want you to

know that it doesn’t matter what other

people have called you that it doesn’t

even matter what you’ve called yourself

there is only one who has the right and

the authority to tell you who you are

I want you to know that other people

aren’t qualified to name you and

circumstances they may have made things

difficult for you but they actually

aren’t powerful enough to define you I

want you to know that your history may

have marked you

but it is not authorised to label you I

want you to know that what your mama

called you and what your daddy did to

you it may have hurt you and it may

actually take real emotional work and

years to kind of come up out of the the

unhealth that it rooted into your life I

understand that but I want you to know

that it does not have the power to shape

the totality of who it is that you’ve

been called to be listen to me you are

not defined by your past you are not

defined by your behavior you are not

defined by your failures you are not

defined by your struggles you are not

defined by your feelings you are not

defined by your circumstances you are

not defined by the here today gone

tomorrow

false ideologies and philosophies of our

current culture you are who God says you

are Point Blank period that doesn’t

change your father has given you a name

did you know that he has said that you

are a chosen race you’re a royal

priesthood you are a person that has

been redeemed and chosen adopted and

qualified you are not a mistake you are

not an afterthought you are not a

liability you have been created in the

very image of God that means every

aspect of your physicality it means the

skin you’re in it means the hair texture

that is on your head it means the

structure of your body every unique

aspect of your physicality in my

physicality has been made in the very

image of God that means that any person

or any system that seeks to diminish the

value of the uniqueness of Who I am is

actually anti God because I’m it’s an

expression of the creative genius of God

but not only that it not only means that

physically you’re created in the image

of God but did you know that even your

personality is a unique expression of

the creative genius of God you are made

and fitted with the uniqueness of your

personality and your temperament in the

image of God you are not introverted by

mistake you are not extroverted by

mistake you are who God created you to

be

even your weaknesses aren’t a liability

they are actually a unique fitting by

God because your weaknesses just become

a platform for the strength of God to be

displayed through your life and then

when we surrender all of who we are

physically and in our personality when

we surrender all we are to God and place

faith in His Son Jesus Christ and give

him our body and our personality to be

used as tools as instruments for his

glory

well now the Holy Spirit of God takes up

residence on the inside of us so then we

are now becoming temples of the Holy

Spirit of God God’s actual presence

lives on the inside of me

that means that with this presence in me

well now I’m an overcomer is what I am

I’m an overcomer this issue of identity

y’all is so important because the enemy

wants so much to twist and turn your

identity your image of who God has

created you to be because you will

either live up to or you will live down

to whatever you believe to be true about

who you are so this issue of identity is

so critical that it is one of the

theological threads that we see threaded

all the way up throughout the pages of

scripture from the beginning of to the

end there are some theological

principles that relegate themselves to

one sliver of the Bible maybe one book

or one Testament but not identity

identity is all the way from the

beginning in Genesis you read about it

all the way to the end all the way to

the maps at the end of the book you see

this issue of identity from the very

beginning we see God call an obscure man

named Abram

pluck him up out of an obscure town and

the very first thing he does when he

finds this man is change his name he

changes his name from Abram to Abraham

and after he changes his name y’all he

changes the GPS coordinates on his

destiny because that’s what happens when

God changes your name

he changes where you’re headed he

changes where you’re going to end up he

changes Abraham’s name and he says

Abraham I am now going to create out of

you a brand new group of people they

will be mine and I will be theirs I will

set them apart they will now not be who

they used to be they will bear my name

my provision and my promises and my

blessing will be their staple they will

be mine and I will be theirs if only

they will choose to align themselves

with their new identity if only they’ll

sink in a alignment with their new

identity if only they’ll behave in

alignment with their new identity not

how they feel not according to their

circumstances not what other people are

saying about them but if they will just

act like who I’m calling them is who

they really are they will see my

blessings explode in their lives but the

children of Israel in the Old Testament

are exactly like us if you read

throughout the Old Testament you see

that over and over again y’all they’re

seduced by the idols of the culture over

and over again we see the children of

Israel running in fear from foreign

enemies over and over again we see that

they keep on and forgetting who they are

they don’t live up to the standard of

who God calls them to be they keep on

bending and bowing and settling and

living below the standard that they were

called for that they were freed from 400

years of slavery to receive the

blessings of God they don’t get to enjoy

him we literally find in these two

verses that I’m gonna read to you in

just a second we find the children of

Israel actually on the land of milk and

honey

they are on the real estate of Canaan

and can’t enjoy the blessings they’re in

the place where God’s blessings are

supposed to abound but they can’t enjoy

them simply because they didn’t get this

identity issue straight and so y’all we

live in a day and age where if you have

not noticed we’re

the enemy is running rampant with this

issue of identity we can tell this

because everything is being redefined

the things that God has already given

definitions to everybody’s trying to

redefine but you are who God says you

are you are who he has created you to be

but everything for the children of

Israel and everything for you can

completely change when God meets with

one person and reworks their view of

their identity

it’s the hinge that changes the course

of a life so in judges chapter 6 if you

have your Bible and you want to turn

with me you can tour it’ll be on the

screens judges chapter 6 I just want to

read two verses cuz these two verses

have been messin with me recently these

two verses we find God showing up and

meeting with one person do you know that

I believe the reason why you’re in this

room tonight is because he intended to

meet you’re the one person in other

words that he came to just meet with you

that if he can shift your perspective of

who you are if he can make you start

lining up your thinking your perspective

and your behavior to match up with who

he has called you to be it’s gonna

change the course of your whole life

judges chapter six let me just tell you

before I read these two verses the

children of Israel have opened

themselves up to enemy attack because of

this identity issue because they’re not

living in alignment with the truth the

enemy has kept coming for them over and

over and over again the Midianites have

ravaged them so severely for seven

consecutive years that they can’t even

enjoy their communities even anymore in

Canaan they are running in fear they

have left their homes they now live in

the caves that are on the sides of

mountains because they’re running in

fear from the enemy over this issue of

identity and in the midst of a culture a

country that is suffering because of

this misplaced identity judges chapter 6

verse 11 and 12 says this then the angel

of the Lord came and he sat down under

an oak tree that was in Oprah which

belonged to joash the abbé recite as his

son Gideon somebody said Gideon Gideon

was beating out wheat in a winepress in

order to save it from those

all gone Midianites verse 12 says the

angel of the Lord appeared to him and

said let me tell you who you are the

Lord is with you o valiant warrior these

are the two verses that are the hinge in

gideon story we know gideon you know him

he’s the guy that set the fleece out

before the lord just to make sure that

the lord knew what the lord was talking

about

you remember gideon because he’s the one

that went into battle with 300 soldiers

as the underdog and one of victory

against 140,000 Midianite enemies he is

the guy where we know the highlights of

his story but oftentimes we jump over

these two verses and this these two

verses are the hinge that shift

everything please don’t let the very

first line of these two verses roll off

of your shoulders as if they’re no big

deal the angel of the Lord came and sat

down with Gideon underneath the shade of

this oak tree the angel of the Lord came

scholars say that this was the great

presence of Israelite history in the

original Hebrew language this is

translated from Malec Yahweh is the

phrase the Malak Yahweh Yahweh you

recognize in other words this ain’t no

regular angel in other words this is the

presence of Almighty God stepping out of

the heavens and interjecting himself

onto the landscape of planet Earth this

is God Himself determining that the

situation is so dire that the situation

is so deeply in need of his presence

that this there is one individual that

is important enough and significant

enough to change the trajectory not only

of their lives but the lives of

everybody who is around them that I’m

gonna come out of the heavens and take

care of this myself the angel of the

Lord came to meet with one person who

needed a shift in their identity I can’t

get over the fact that God keeps coming

for me like that

I can’t get over the fact that the angel

of the Lord loves me that much that he

would keep coming for me and pursuing me

and

make sure he shows up to speak to me

when I most need it I want you to know

that you are never lost in the crowd

that no matter how big this gathering

becomes no matter how big the church

ever gets you need to know that you are

never lost to the sight of God that your

friend might not notice and your spouse

might not notice your employer might not

know your coworker might not be aware of

what’s happening around you but you need

to know the angel of the Lord has got

his eyes on you he knows exactly what’s

happening in your life and in your

circumstances so the angel of the Lord

comes he steps out of heaven never

should it roll off our shoulders

casually that the God of the universe

I’m talking about the God who held the

Son up in its place all day long make

sure that it did not move he is the one

that made sure that the earth spun on

its axis at just the right speed today

that you and I could sustain life here

and he’s the one that made sure it

rotated at just the right pace to make

sure that at the right moment the

sunlight was swapped for the light of

the Moon on us today he is the one that

is gonna hang every single star in its

place tonight he will not only know

their number he will know them all by

name he is the one that is controlling

the throes of the universe I’m talking

about the galaxies of the universe that

the scientists have not even yet

discovered our great God is controlling

the throws of the universe and even

while he’s taking care of all of that he

is stucked in this room tonight to come

up in here and see about you

[Applause]

never shouldn’t roll off of our

shoulders casually he loves us that much

that he keeps coming for us did you know

that that’s the story of the whole Bible

did you know that in every single book

of the Bible that’s the story that he’s

trying to get across to you he’s trying

to show you how in Genesis he came for

you and then in Exodus he came for you

and Allah vidiq as he came for you

in numbers in Deuteronomy Joshua and

judges he keeps trying to figure out

ways to come and to get you until the

Old Testament closes and for 400 years

it’s silent and it seems like there is

no hope it seems like the enemy has won

and he will not come until the new

testament opens and matthew says that

god himself put on skin basically he

said i’ma come down here and take care

of this myself he loved you that much

that he keeps on moving heaven and earth

to come after you

so in the Old Testament we keep seeing

the molecular show up it’s called the

theophany

it is the it is a God appearance in the

Old Testament

it’s the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ

stepping out of the heavens and into

time and history so we see the molecular

show up and most of the time when he

shows up in the Old Testament he is

coming to an individual that needs to be

reminded about their identity most of

the time when the molecular finds it

critical enough to show up it’s because

there’s a person who forgets who they

are it’s important to him that you

remember who you are enough that he

would wrap a whole 30 minute message

around the topic tonight so that when

you leave when I leave this place

tonight we are not the same people that

we came in here as so the molecular

weight keeps showing up he shows up in

the book of Genesis for a lady named

Hagar who was discarded and she was

misused and abused by the people who

were supposed to cover her and protect

her and loved her they discard her and

she sits out in a dusty of wilderness

feeling Forsaken and forgotten and

unknown and right there

in the middle of her loneliness and her

isolation the molecular for Hagar and

reminds her who she is

Oh Hagar if you’re in the room tonight

because the people who you were supposed

to be able to trust betrayed you the

people who were supposed to love you

that you were supposed to be able to

count on the person that walked down the

aisle and said I’d do to you that

promised a lifetime to you and yet they

have betrayed you and turned their backs

on you you need to know that in this

wilderness where you were sitting

feeling alone and forgotten you need to

know that the molecular will come and he

will find you in that wilderness Hagar

but he doesn’t just show up for Hagar

he shows up for men like Moses he shows

up for Moses when he’s out in the dry

dusty desert tending sheep a job that is

below his pay grade and below his

educational level he was raised as the

Prince of Egypt this is not the job he

anticipated being having to deal with

but for 40 long years he is in this dry

dusty barren situation and by the way

he’s there as a result of the

consequences of his own actions I wonder

if there’s anybody in the room sitting

in some dry dusty barren circumstances

but honestly when you look back on it

you realize that you did it to yourself

I wonder if there’s ever been a time in

your life where you’ve been sitting

right smack dab in the middle of some

consequences and honestly you can’t

blame nobody because when you look back

on it you realize it was a decision you

knew you shouldn’t have made it was a

relationship you knew you shouldn’t have

allowed I don’t know about y’all maybe

this doesn’t happen in Miami but listen

there are whole seasons of my life I

look back on and I don’t even recognize

that person back there can I get one

witness in the house today

there are whole seasons of my life I

look back on and I cannot believe the

decisions are made I can’t believe the

relationships I allowed I can’t believe

the paths that I walk down I can’t

believe the influences that I let into

my sphere and into my space when I look

back on it all I can be is grateful for

the delivering power of Almighty God so

maybe you were sitting right smack dab

in the middle of the consequences that

are of your own doing I’ve got good news

for you Moses bushes burn in deserts

like that and when this bush burns I

want to tell you this ain’t no regular

fire this is the molecular up to remind

you who you are but Hagar he doesn’t

just show up for you and Moses he

doesn’t just show up for you he also

shows up for you if you’re the Hebrew

boys standing in the middle of fire I

mean there’s trials all around you life

is just hot right now once you get

through one thing there’s another thing

and once you get through this thing

there’s another thing life just feels

like a fiery furnace the Hebrew boys can

testify to the fact that sometimes when

you’re in the fire he doesn’t take you

out of it the molecular weight just

meets you in it so that you will know

what it feels like so that you’ll have a

testimony of what it’s like to have the

presence of God covering you so

comprehensively and so completely that

you can emerge from a season of life

that’s just like a furnace and not even

have the smell of smoke on you that’s

the protective care of the molecular

this is what God does he protects and he

keeps and he keeps on showing up

reminding us who we are even when we’re

in the consequences of our own sin even

when we’ve been abused and misused by

other people even were in the midst of

trial and circumstances in our life he

keeps on coming and he keeps on coming

because you mean that much to him he

cares that deeply about you the future

and the trajectory of your

entire life hinges on whether or not

we’ll believe that we are who God says

we are and we can do exactly what God

says that we can do oh I’m so grateful

I remember watching The Today Show

several years ago this is when Campbell

Brown was the main reporter on The Today

Show the boys were little I have three

sons they were little and I remember

sitting on the edge of the bed folding a

load of laundry and I was watching The

Today Show every day that week Campbell

Brown was doing a report on religions of

the world every day was a different

religion that day that I caught it they

were doing a story on the Buddhist faith

and I remember I didn’t know much about

Buddhism so I thought I’m just gonna

watch for a little while they had

traveled halfway across the world she

and her camera crew so that they could

not only travel halfway across the world

she described but then ride down a

winding road for hours so that they

could get to the side of a mountain

where they climbed up 268 stairs so that

she and the camera crew could be beside

one of the five Buddha statues that

stands in and around the area so she did

the story from there we could see the

statue behind her as she described the

Buddhist faith there are many layers of

thought that I had while she was

discussing Buddhism but one of the

things that she said I can’t forget she

said that people that subscribe to that

faith that the goal of at least one time

in their life is to save up enough money

to be able to travel halfway across the

world so that they can drive for hours

down this winding road climb up 268

stairs so that they could get to this

position on the side of the mountain so

that at least one in there one time in

their life they could pray to their God

little G so I’m watching this and I’m

thinking to myself if I had to save up

all that money and fly halfway across

the world and drive down that winding

road for hours and climb up 268 stairs

to pray I would never pray can I get one

witness in the house today

[Applause]

ain’t nobody got time for that but while

they are climbing up to talk to their

God little genie our God the one true

God y’all he comes down to talk to us oh

it’s good news it’s good news it’s the

message of the gospel

[Applause]

amen I can’t get over the fact he keeps

on coming down I can’t get over the fact

he keeps on condescending for me and he

loves me that much said he would keep on

coming for me so we keeps on coming and

he keeps on coming and he doesn’t just

come for a moment judges chapter 6 verse

11 says the angel of the Lord came and

sat down meaning he nestled himself

underneath the shade of the same tree

that Gideon was under the media nights

right outside his window and the angel

of the Lord didn’t just come and give a

little wink and a nod and go on about

his day no he came and made himself at

home in the situation with Gideon this

is what the New Testament writer John

would say in John chapter 1 verse 14 he

said the word would become flesh and he

dwelt among I want you to hear the shock

in John’s voice the word became flesh

and dwelt among us and we got to behold

the glory of God the Father

John y’all couldn’t believe he got to my

eyes on the holy one Eugene Peterson of

the message Bible would put that same

verse this way

the word became flesh and moved into the

neighborhood this is the beautiful thing

about our God he keeps putting on flesh

and moving into the neighborhood that

means he is fully engaged and aware of

what’s going on in your marriage he

knows what’s going on in the recesses of

your heart I want you to know he knows

the details of your financial dilemma I

want you to know that he is fully

engaged he doesn’t just sit on high and

look down low and give a wink and a nod

mm-hmm

he’s all up in the business of what’s

going on in your relationship I want you

to know he is fully aware of what’s

going on between you and your mom are

you and your dad he’s fully aware of

what’s happening in that pool of friends

where you’re having a little betrayal

and strife he is fully aware of what’s

happening

in your ministry on your job he knows

what’s up with your teenager or your

young adult daughter you need to know

that your God sees you and he’s fully

immerged

and and and he fully engages with the

details of what’s going on in your life

I want you to know there’s not one tear

that you were crying that is getting

lost in the carpet fibers of your

bedroom floor every single one of those

tears is being captured in the palm of

Almighty God he sees you and his eyes

are on you there is not one night that

you are spending awake wrestling over

what you gonna do with that issue the

hours you’re spending awake and your

spouse is asleep they don’t even know

how your heart is in turmoil and how you

can’t sleep at night because of that

issue you were facing you need to know

that your spouse might not know what God

sees see see he comes and he sits down

under the shade of that oak tree he is

immersed and engaged with Gideon and I

want to make sure you’re aware of the

fact that verse 11 says he came verse 12

says he appeared to Gideon verse 11 he’s

there but Gideon doesn’t know it it’s

not until verse 12 that there is some

sort of supernatural unveiling of the

eyes of Gideon so that he becomes aware

of the presence of God near we don’t

know if 20 minutes passed or whether it

was 48 hours we don’t know how long but

there is a lapse in time here where

Gideon is completely unaware of the

presence of God there but that does not

make God any less there just because

he’s not aware of it God is fully

immersed underneath the shade in the

shadow of that difficult situation in

that circumstance and he is studying

Gideon even though Gideon is unaware of

his presence which means he sees the

lines of worry and frustration on

Gideon’s forehead he’s fully aware of

the fear and the skittishness that

Gideon would have had while he hides out

from the Midianites he is fully aware of

everything that is happening

as he watches Gideon go over and over

again about the threshing of the wheat

the mundane tedious job that Gideon

would have been engaged in he’s fully

aware of all those details

even though Gideon is unaware of his

presence that means that it is possible

and it is so that God is near and

hovering and presiding and aware of

everything that is happening in your

life even when you’re unaware of him

when you cannot trace his hand trust his

heart he’s there he’s there and by the

way can I just tell you that threshing

wheat was usually an open-air activity

threshing floors were on the top of

hillsides the reason why they were on

the top of Hill size is because that’s

where the wind blew and the goal of

threshing wheat of beating the wheat was

to dish dislodge the nutrient less chaff

from the wheat and when they were in in

an open-air setting when the chap was

dislodged the wind would drive the chaff

away you’ve read that poetic phrase all

throughout the Old Testament the wind

driving the chaff away that’s why

threshing would normally take place in

an open-air setting on the top of a hill

but where we see Gideon here in verse 11

and 12 is not in an open-air setting

he’s in a wine press a wine press was

the opposite of where a threshing floor

would be it was usually in the deep

concave depression at the base of a rock

so he is in a place of hiding the reason

why is because if the wind carried the

chaff away the scent of it might reach

the Midianites and if the Midianites

became aware that there was another

harvest they would come back to pillage

the Israelites again so when we meet

Gideon in these two verses y’all he is

hiding he is afraid he is trying to keep

his harvest from being discovered when

we see Gideon in this passage he’s

trying not to be found and in the place

where he’s trying not to be found the

angel of the Lord finds him let me tell

you why this is good news this is good

news for any of you who have family

members or loved ones or children and

they’re trying not to be found they have

dug their heels into the ground they

were

fuse to respond to the gospel of Jesus

Christ no no matter how much you share

with them no matter how much you pray

and ask the Lord it seems like they are

on the run from God and that they will

never be found I want you to know there

is a Hound of heaven that will find them

wherever they are

there ain’t no hiding from the Almighty

God he will find you he sees you even

when you have turned your back on him he

still does not turn his back on you

Isaiah 65 he says I allowed myself to be

found by people who weren’t even looking

for me hello I wonder if we had listened

I think if I took this microphone and we

just started right here on this very

front row and went all the way around

this entire room we would be here well

into 2020 giving testimony of the people

who were found when they weren’t even

looking for a relationship with God

so finally Gideon’s eyes are open he

becomes aware he becomes aware that God

is near this is one of the consistent

prayers of my life open up my eyes it’s

what the Apostle Paul prayed and

Ephesians chapter one I praying that the

eyes of your heart would be open so that

you would know some stuff you can’t know

unless he opens up your eyes so that you

would know what is the hope of his

calling and choosing you so that you

would know what are the riches of the

glory of the inheritance of the saints

that had been dispensed upon you sons

and daughters so that you would come to

a full awareness of the presence of God

I don’t know if there’s ever been a

greater thrill in my life if you’ve

experienced you’ll know what I’m talking

about a greater thrill than when your

eyes are open and you start detecting

the fingerprints of God in your

circumstances sometimes it’s the gift of

hindsight it’s when you get to a certain

stage and you look back and go oh God

was all up in that right there guy was

he was doing all that it’s when you

recognize that what somebody else is

calling coincidence is actually the

sovereign hand of God working stuff out

in your favor it’s a thrill right when

you look back and you see God’s

fingerprints and his footprints and you

realize that it wasn’t happenstance that

you just happened to be there at the

right time to meet the right person to

be in position for that place it just so

happened that it all was put together it

wasn’t the stars that aligned in your

favor it was the maker of the Stars

orchestrating the details of your life

the sovereignty of God at work it’s the

manifest presence of God I appreciate

his omnipresence I’m grateful for his

omnipresence omnipresence means that God

is everywhere at once

omnipresence means that when I get on a

plane and fly back to Dallas God ain’t

just going with me and he won’t still be

here with y’all that’s omnipresence

omnipresence means he’s just as much in

my house as he is at Joe house that’s

omnipresent and while I’m grateful for

his omnipresence what I’m after

is his manifest presence I don’t want to

just know he’s there in theory I want to

see him at work

Oh churchgoer aren’t you just tired of

hearing about what he did in the Old

Testament aren’t you tired of hearing

about how he raised Lazarus from the

dead in the New Testament and caused the

walls of Jericho to come tumbling down

in the Old Testament aren’t you grateful

for the testimony but doesn’t it whet

your appetite to want to see it for

yourself I used when our church was

smaller Mary and Martha have both been

to our church they they can attest the

fact that it’s a large Church like your

church is when it was smaller we used to

have testimony service I don’t know if

any of you have ever gone to the kind of

church where they have old school

testimony service I’m talking about

where the mother of the church comes up

to tell you what the Lord has done for

her when I say the mother of the church

some of you don’t know what I mean

I mean back in the day when they would

not dare dream of wearing skinny jeans

into the house of God there would never

be tennis shoes in the house of the

Living God so the mother of the church

would come in and she would come in with

a suit I’m talk about a whole suit where

the skirt actually came with the jacket

she bought them together it was a whole

suit right and she didn’t just have the

jacket she didn’t just have the skirt

she had the shoes that match the skirt

that matched the jacket probably in

patent leather and then she wore

pantyhose because she wouldn’t dare not

wear pantyhose into the house of God

remember you could hear them when your

mother walked down the hall and then she

would not only have the clutch that

would match the jacket that would match

this the skirt that would match the

shoes but no church mother outfit was

complete without the

oh yeah yeah y’all went to the same kind

of church I went to but it was never

ever ever just a regular hat ever there

was always some sort of situation that

was on the hat I mean it was something

on the hat and I remember that she would

come up to the front she would grab the

microphone and first giving honor to God

who is the head of my life she would go

through all the details and then she

would give a testimony of what the Lord

had done on her behalf

and I remember sitting on the front row

piano side and I remember watching the

feather and y’all I would ask just

honestly at 10 years old I remember

thinking man if that thing would fly off

we’ll have a real good service today but

I would listen to the testimonies of

what God had done and I remember with my

church celebrating what God had done and

I remember how old I was but I remember

there being a switch to where I listened

to the testimony and I still celebrated

but really it whet my appetite it was

now the testimonies were like divine

antagonists stirring up my soul I wanted

to hear the voice of God like that I

wanted to experience God like that if he

was still doing that kind of stuff I

wanted to know what it was like to not

just celebrate him in other people’s

lives but expect that he could move in

my life as well and at a gathering like

this one where you are for these few

days this is the kind of setting where

every now and then what he does is just

use it to to stir up your soul to mess

with you so that you’re just not

satisfied with being a Christian in name

only just come into church just reading

a verse a day to keep the devil away

that’s not your goal anymore

now you want to hear from God you want

to see God you want to experience God

and let me tell you something once you

start to experience god you are ruined

for church as usual it ruins you because

what you’re after is what Gideon had an

opportunity for your eyes to be open and

for you to see what you’ve been reading

about your whole life

so once Gideon’s eyes are open

God says two things he says let me tell

you who I am and let me tell you who you

are

he says Gideon he says brother sister

that’s why I came tonight I came to tell

you two things this is who I am and this

is who you are

I know the Midianites are right outside

your window I know your marriage is in

trouble I know the bank accounts low I

know the struggle on your job is hard I

know the ministry is foundering I know

you’re struggling in your parenting I

know you’ve got unrest in your heart and

mine I know things are tough right now

but even with those Midianites right

outside your window I came to remind you

that I am who I said I am

and I can still do everything that I

said I can do he looks at Gideon in the

midst of the turmoil while he’s

currently hiding out in fear and

trembling and he says the Lord is with

you just like I said I always would be

we know that Gideon didn’t believe him

because he spends the next verse

disputing what it is that God said he

says if the Lord is with us why has all

this happened to us in other words I

don’t believe you but God says your

beliefs don’t shift the truth the way

you feel doesn’t change who I am your

circumstances don’t determine whether or

not they do not govern who I am I am

still seated on the throne I am still

God I still made the confident and I

will still follow through so God comes

and tells him the word he says this does

not change even with your circumstances

do this doesn’t shift I am still on the

throne okay let me tell you why this is

important at all because we live in a

day where everybody’s being told you

have your truth you have your truth you

have your truth and I have my truth

here’s a little truth there’s a little

truth everywhere you look there’s a

little truth truth we’re being told that

there is no standard anymore however you

feel is true for you but there is a

standard that is unchanging it is the

same yesterday today and forever more it

does not change and it does not shift he

is still the one true God he is still

seated on the throne and whether or not

it is politically correct to say it

there is still only one way to have a

relationship with God and that is

through Jesus Christ

[Applause]

so he comes to Gideon he says I’m gonna

remind you of this truth cuz just truth

is gonna change everything get in I

still am who I said I am but he said I

didn’t just come Gideon to tell you who

I am I came to tell you the truth about

who you are remember Gideon is currently

operating in fear and insecurity and he

speaks to a person who is currently

behaving in a way that is out of

alignment with the truth he comes to him

in the midst of that lapse in behavior

and integrity and he says to him even

though I see you right now

oppan operating in a way that is totally

in congruent with my truth I have come

to remind you who you are that you are

not your behavior you are not your

feelings your circumstances do not

dictate and change the intrinsic value

of who you are as a son or a daughter of

the Most High God I have come to remind

you that you still are who I said you

are and you can still do everything I

said you can do get in even right now

while you’re operating in fear and

insecurity I came to tell you that you

are a mighty valiant warrior and if

Gideon I can get you to come up out from

underneath these shadows if I can get

you to start acting and behaving and

thinking in a way that is congruent with

the truth it’s gonna change the course

of your life Gideon you have no way of

knowing that in the year 2019 they’re

gonna be a bunch of people gathered in

Miami that will be reading Judges

chapter 6 and chapter 7 Gideon you could

never know there would be chapters of

the Bible the very word of God that are

gonna be written about you you have no

way of knowing Gideon that if you will

come out from underneath these shadows

and stop operating according to the way

you feel stop operating in accordance

with your circumstances stop letting the

enemy dictate the way you behave you

don’t even know Gideon you’re about to

come out from the shadows of this tree

and you’re going to go straight to

your house that’s what judges six says

you’re gonna go to your house and you’re

gonna break the idols that are

indicative of your entire family line

for years y’all been worshipping Idol

but you’re gonna break the curse of

idolatry over your home if you believe

what I’ve declared to be true about you

do you understand that your whole family

is dependent on you do you understand

that your sons and your daughters your

grandsons and your granddaughters our

great-grandchildren that we may never

actually lay eyes on do you realize that

they are counting on you rising up and

being who God has called you to be do

you know that their whole generational

curses that can be broken if you get a

handle on your identity but not just

that Gideon you have no way of knowing

that not only is there a judges chapter

six but Gideon there’s gonna be a judges

chapter seven because you’re gonna roll

up out of your house and you can go

straight into battle against the

Midianites and with 300 soldiers as the

underdog against 140,000 Midianite

enemies you are gonna win a battle for

the entire nation a whole nation is

going to be changed because one man gets

a handle on his identity do you know

what would happen if the men and women

of God that are in the House today get a

handle on who they are do you realize

how the entire nation will be

transformed when God’s people just

recognize who they are all the enemies

don’t doesn’t want you to know who you

are oh he’s just trying to get you to

believe that you are the way you feel

that you are the way you behaved that

you are your past that you are your

circumstances that you are what other

people have called you or you are what

you have even labeled yourself as long

as you won’t rise up and be who God has

called you to be you are not a threat to

the kingdom of darkness

but once the sons and daughters start

stepping into fully that I am who God

said I am I can do what God says I can

do I will behave in alignment with the

truth of God then everything begins to

shift and everything begins to change

the enemy is cow

thing on you not getting this message

tonight cuz he knows if we roll up out

of here and do right

our whole family line will be changed in

Jesus name

he knows that not only will our whole

family line be changed but he knows

there’s an entire nation that will be

completely transformed once the people

of God discover who they are and Gideon

you don’t even know that there’s a new

testament coming Gideon you have no way

of knowing that in the new testament

there will be a book called hebrews

Gideon you can’t even recognize the fact

that there’s going to be a great hall of

faith in the book of Hebrews and that

the writer is gonna need a way to close

the chapter you cannot even imagine

Gideon that when the writers sitting

back trying to figure out how do I close

the Great Hall of faith that the writer

is going to conclude the chapter by

saying I don’t even have time to tell

you everything about Gideon

he’s gonna say that this is a man who by

faith conquered kingdoms and performed

acts of righteousness and obtained

promises and shut the mouths of lions

and quenched the power of the fire and

escaped the edge of the sword from

witness he was made strong he became a

mighty man of war and put foreign armies

to flight simply because he got a hold

of who he really was

[Applause]

so if you don’t mind as the ban comes I

thought there would be no better way to

close tonight than by simply reminding

you who you are a child of God you have

peace with God the Holy Spirit lives on

the inside of you you have access to

God’s wisdom you are reconciled to God

you are not condemned by God you have

been justified

you have Christ’s righteousness you are

Christ and masseter you are completely

forgiven and you are tenderly loved you

are a sweet fragrance of Christ to God

you are a temple in which God dwells you

are blameless and you are beyond

reproach you are the salt of the earth

you are the light of the world you are

chosen by Christ to bear fruit you are a

joint heir with Christ you share in his

inheritance with him you are united to

the Lord one spirit with him you are a

member of the body of Christ

you are a saint you are hidden with

Christ and God you are chosen by God you

are a child of light you are holy and

you share in God’s heavenly calling you

are sanctified you are one of God’s

living stones being built up in Christ

as a spiritual house you are a member of

a chosen race you are a royal priesthood

you are a holy nation you are a people

for God’s own possessions created to

sing the praises of God you are firmly

rooted and built up in Christ you are

born of God and even when he cannot

touch you you have the mind of Christ

you can approach God with boldness

freedom and confidence you have been

rescued from Satan’s domain and you have

been transferred into the kingdom of

Christ you have been made complete in

Christ you have not been given a spirit

of fear but of power oh your needs

they’re met by God you are royalty in

God’s kingdom you have been bought with

a price and you belong to God you have

been adopted as God’s child you have

direct access to God through the Holy

Spirit you can be assured that all

things work together for the good of

them who lap him and other called

according to His purposes you are free

somebody needs to hear that today you’re

free from any condemning charges that

are against you nothing and I do mean

nothing can separate you from the love

of God in Christ Jesus

you have been established anointed and

sealed by God you can be confident in

this very thing

that the good work God has started in

you he will be faithful to bring it all

the way to completion you are a personal

witness of Christ you are a citizen of

heaven you are God’s co-worker you are

seated with Christ in heavenly places

you are God’s workmanship and you can do

all things through Christ amen if you

are in this room and you have not been

living in alignment with the truth you

know you have been living in a way that

is congruent with the way you feel or

with what you’ve been told or the lies

the enemy has been feeding you

you are like Gideon operating in fear

and insecurity instead of an alignment

with who God has called you to be if you

want to break free from that miss shapen

identity today and leave this room with

your identity in Christ intact so you

can change the course of your life if

you know this word was from you don’t

even think twice just run forward I

cannot wait to pray with you that today

will be the day of the rest of your life

come on

[Music]

not against me I am who you say I am I

am chosen bacon I am

[Music]

again

me I am

[Music]

I am

you are

[Music]

I am

[Music]

I am Lord I pray over my brothers and

sisters right now in Jesus name I pray

father against every scheme of the enemy

to deceive every scheme of the enemy to

distract every scheme of the enemy to

discourage I pray right now in the

matchless name of Jesus Christ that you

would stave off every scheme of the

enemy Lord I pray that these believers

would be fitted with the mind of Christ

I pray a helmet of salvation over their

heads in Jesus name

so that would broaden out the schemes of

the enemy Lord if there’s any scheme any

battle any heads any curse of the enemy

I pray that it would be destroyed right

now in Jesus name and my his fraud that

has been shed on Calvary

father I pray for supernatural courage

by the Holy Spirit that beginning today

she and he will be able to walk in

alignment with your truth we say no more

to the enemies that passes against us

Lord no more to being played for the

fool no more to being taken advantage of

we are walking in freedom and wholeness

and health starting right now in G

the snake right now in Jesus name Lord I

lift discouragement on their lives in

Jesus name

would you blanket them with courage in

Jesus name a holy boldness in Jesus name

to walk in authority you are who God

says you are you are chosen you are free

walking freedom you are victorious walk

in victory

you are his my God’s child

he will empower you by his Spirit so

father I pray right now in Jesus name

that your spirit would rise up in your

people father make it so that they

cannot live in a way that is incongruent

with the truth anymore I’m saying make

them so uncomfortable make it so uneasy

for us to not live in alignment with you

that we just can’t do it no more

Lord disrupt our sleep at night make it

an easy for us to not honor you with our

lives father for everyone that is

walking with shackles on their lives in

some area I pray right now in Jesus name

you loosen those shackles on their lives

father pray for freedom in Jesus name

Lord I pray you would take the taste for

the drug out of somebody’s mouth take

the taste for the alcohol out of

somebody’s mouth take the desire for the

immoral relationship out of somebody’s

mouth like me now in Jesus name change

their desire Lord heal a marriage right

now in Jesus name as they unify

underneath the umbrella of who you’ve

called them to be do it today in Jesus

name father a speak victory over your

sons and daughters victory in

Jesus name we give ourselves to you Lord

we honor you in this more moment we

thank you in advance for what you’re

gonna do for how you’re gonna free us

and set us free and change our life and

wipe the tears from our eyes he’s got

your back

he has got your back he is on your side

look at me look at me this is what you

do now this is what you do are you ready

before you make that choice again you

pause the Holy Spirit’s gonna give you a

holy pause before you make that decision

again there’s gonna be a holy pause

where for just a second you can take a

breath and ask yourself is this decision

in alignment with who God says I am or

not if you find that you’re about to do

the thing you always do and you see that

it’s from a place of insecurity or fear

or lack something that does not line up

with truth then that’s the moment where

you say Lord by your spirit restrain me

from doing what I always do and help me

to live differently and then whether you

feel it or not you start acting like you

are God who God says you are I’m not

gonna tweet that I’m not gonna Instagram

that I’m not gonna say yes to that

relationship I’m not gonna go on this

date I’m not gonna do this person this

way I’m not gonna respond this way I’m

not gonna react this way I’m not gonna

go down the same way because I’m not who

I used to be I am now who God has called

me to be

in Jesus name in Jesus

[Applause]