Don’t forget to share this message “Be the Bridge” by Pastor Stephanie Ike with a friend and be sure to subscribe for ongoing inspiration and encouragement.
hey family i’m pastor torre
i’m pastor sarah and listen you’re
getting ready to hear an incredible word
for the lord i believe it’s going to
bless you
i believe it’s going to be timely do me
a favor
share the message if it moves you share
the message and then also you have an
opportunity to be a part of
not only helping to spread this message
but to be a part of our outreaches
we’re doing a lot of practical things to
be a blessing to someone so feel free if
god so moves you
to use the information here in the video
to support what we’re doing we’re being
a blessing not just people spiritually
we’re being blessed to be practically we
love you get into this message gonna
change your life
[Music]
hallelujah family is such a pleasure to
be with you today
you see for the past two sundays our
pastors started a series on
bridges and breakthrough and today i’m
going to be speaking to you about
being the bridge be the bridge be the
bridge be the bridge just put that in
the comments be
the bridge you see i believe that the
word that god has
for you today is so unique and is
certainly just for
you watching on the other side of this
you know to even come to this moment to
be able to share the word there were so
many things that had to take place in
very extreme measures
but before we get started let’s just say
a word of prayer together
heavenly father we thank you we thank
you lord god for your word we thank you
for who you
are we thank you lord god that you have
you are meeting us right here in this
moment
the lord everyone that is watching on
the other side of this the lord you are
in their home with them
we thank you for your presence o god it
is your presence that guarantees
that we would be everything that you
have called us to be
and to holy spirit have your way in
jesus mighty name amen
amen you know family something very
unique happened while i was preparing
for this word and i’m going to share
with you
so i started studying you know and i’m
like god what is it that you have to say
to your people
because one thing if you have been
connected to this house for
any amount of time you would know that
we don’t just like
pick any just do like a you know any
money more with the bible and say
boom i’m going to talk about that we
really it’s it’s very
it’s a very serious thing to us about no
what is god saying
for right now what what is the word that
he wants you to listen to
because i recognize that you can be
distracted by so many things in this
world
so any moment that you would want to
tune into
a sermon or a message that it would be a
word that god has for you right where
you are
and right now and so i was just before
the lord and i’m asking them like god
was it what is it that you want to say
to your people and
it was just all this like you know
puzzle pieces like maybe 10
of the puzzle and so i’m like you know
what let me just step back let me step
away let me take a break
you know so i step away and i’m like
okay let me just chill out
and then right when i make a decision
i’m like okay lord i’m coming back in
what are you saying the whole power goes
out in my in my
in my apartment so i called a friend of
mine who lives in the same building and
i’m just trying to make sure it’s not my
bill
because it’s supposed to not be my bill
so i’m like yo is the power out and so
she’s like no the whole the
the whole building the power is out and
some of the buildings next to us
and so at first i just felt like oh now
look at the devil
right now the power is out i was about
to go study now i can’t
so at first i’m just like waiting i’m
like okay lord when the power comes back
i’m gonna
get right back to it but there was a
moment something hit me and i’m like
wait i don’t
first of all i’m from nigeria you know
we didn’t always have constant power
but something hit me and i kept feeling
like god there is something that you’re
trying to communicate to me with this
power outage
i’m not sure what it is but the power
outage doesn’t stop me from
studying it doesn’t stop me from asking
you questions it was like for a moment
in time
i thought that the darkness that i’m
experiencing in the home
that it meant that everything had to be
stopped that there was no room for
progress in that moment but i’m like no
lord
i mean we can still talk about the
message we need to talk about sunday
what are you talking about for the
people
and then all of a sudden he brings this
scripture to mind and it’s a
it’s something that david shared it’s in
psalms 139 verse 12 and it’s a
i’m gonna read it with you right now it
says but even darkness
is not dark for you and the night is as
bright as the day
darkness and light are the same to you
and the lord tells me write this down
and he said as you write it down the
power would come back
and so i write it down on a piece of
paper i’m like okay i was like the dark
is not dark to you
and i’m like okay this is what god wants
you know this is connected to sunday
before i could even write sunday the
power comes back on
so i called my friend again i said oh my
gosh look at what the lord is doing here
and i had to take a moment i said god
there’s something about this scripture
that is so critical to your people that
you will cause a whole power outage
just for me to understand the weight of
what you want to say
and so i began to seek the lord lord
what is it about what is it about the
the the even the dark is not dark to you
and so slowly but surely the lord began
to show me
you see darkness sometimes we find
ourselves feeling like we’re in a dark
space
or we feel like you know what based on
the circumstances of life i just feel
like this is just you know this is
this is not good for me but darkness in
itself
you know you may have heard about this
that darkness is not really a thing
right that darkness is the absence of
light
so darkness is about something being
absent
so for example we all know that 2020 has
been quite the year
and there are many people that have felt
this weight of either hopelessness
anxiety depression because they felt as
though
2020 brought them into this dark space
we find ourselves we know when you
experience something like loss you feel
like you’re in this
dark space because there is an absence
of something
when you experience the death of a loved
one you feel like it puts you in a dark
space because there is the absence of
that person
anytime we we find ourselves feeling
anything close to darkness there is an
absence of something but the truth is
that when you
look at it from the perspective of god
for example the death of a loved one
we know that even though they are not
absent in the body they are present with
the lord
and if i am with the lord if i am always
in the presence of god then i am close
to my loved ones
when we think about the loss of maybe
your job many have experienced that in
this season that we’re in right now
many will find themselves in this dark
place because they’re like man i just
lost this job but it’s the absence of
the knowledge of what god has for you
the absence of his promises concerning
your life
so you may feel like this placed me in a
dark place but god is like no no no
no you see darkness is not dark to the
lord because he is light
and whenever light shows up darkness is
expelled
so he doesn’t see things the way that we
may see things sometimes because he’s
like no i understand how all of this
serves you
and so as i began to look into this i
said god but what is this connected to
what exactly do you want me to
communicate to your people
you see like i said we’ve been talking
about being a bridge builder
and one of the things that our pastor
talked about about what it means to be a
bridge is that bridges are created to
solve
problems and as we’re looking into a new
year
2021 the truth is i can’t really tell
you that 2021 is going to be
a year that makes you think that 2020
was just an accident it was a mistake a
fluke
something has started something has
shifted
and the circumstances of life i don’t i
can’t tell you that it may
it may get better the way that you the
idea that you have of better
i’m not going to be here and tell you
that you know what wow
everything is just going to stop or
whatever i’m not here to tell you that i
don’t have the authority to say that
but the one thing that the lord began to
show me was connected to your calling
you see that in order to be the bridge
in order to be the bridge that he has
called you to be
that there are things in your life there
are certain obstacles there are certain
circumstances that you may feel like
this cannot allow me to go forward there
are certainly things that may look like
darkness but the ultimate light
is to know that the presence of god is
with you
you see when the lord was speaking to me
in my home because funny enough i had
put the candles on
and he told me to blow it out and i’m
like okay lord this actually just
creates
a darker space in my home he began to
talk to me about his presence he said
stephanie i am right here with you
i am with you i was with you when the
lights were on
and i am with you when the lights are
out you don’t need the lights to study
you don’t need the lights to call upon
me there was something about that that
he was not trying to communicate to me
and understanding
not just about the natural darkness
but when sometimes in life you feel like
there’s an opposition against you
to recognize that because the presence
of god is with you
that you have nothing to fear and in a
very unique way he started
talking to me about certain people in
the bible
you see when we think of someone like
elijah we would be reminded about how
sometimes
jesus would talk about the spirit of
elijah
because there are anointings behind
people
so it’s not about the person but it’s
about the anointing that they carry to
fulfill the very purpose of god on the
earth
and the lord showed me there were eight
key people that i want to talk to you
about from the bible
because this eight people actually would
represent a lot of you if not all of you
some of you may identify yourself with
one of them or maybe two of them
and i’m going to talk to you about the
very things that could be an obstacle in
your in
there were obstacles in their lives but
in recognizing that the presence of god
is with you
you would know that i can overcome this
too
there is a demand that god has placed
upon your life for the earth
in 2021 he’s asking he’s saying hey hey
what i invested in you it needs to come
out
what i invested in you it’s time for it
to come out
and i’m going to take you on a journey
here and i’m going to start with a man
that is not
unfamiliar to many a man named jeremiah
you see jeremiah was a man who he was
young when he was called by god
but jeremiah actually represents change
agents
you see when the lord encountered
jeremiah jeremiah’s like no lord i am i
am young i’m not the one i
i don’t even know how to talk but let me
read something about their
their interaction here in jeremiah
chapter one from verse four to ten
it says then the word of the lord came
to me saying
before i formed you i knew you
and before you were born i sanctified
you
i ordained you a prophet to the nations
then said i ah lord god behold i cannot
speak
for i am only by the youth but the lord
said to me do not say i am a youth for
you shall go to whom i send you
and whatever i command you you shall
speak do not be afraid of their faces
for i am with you to deliver you says
the lord
then the lord put forth his hand and
touched my mouth and the lord said to me
behold i have put my words in your mouth
see
i have this day set you over the nations
and over the kingdoms
to root out and to pull down to destroy
and to throw down to build and to plant
when the lord showed me about jeremiah
he began talking to me about this notion
of change
agents you see what the enemy wants you
to believe is that because you are young
and young doesn’t have to it’s not just
about age it also has to do with
experience
that sometimes there are places that the
lord will send you to their fields their
industries that the lord will call you
to
and you have no experience in those
fields
but yet god has called you to that place
so when he when when he talks about only
your youth it’s not just about the age
there’s some of you that you feel
you will connect with the story of
jeremiah and you could be in your 50s
because it also speaks to experience but
the lord showed me this notion of change
agents you see when god is calling you
to be a changed agent he doesn’t need
you to be experienced in the old
he doesn’t need you to be experiencing
the very thing that he’s calling to be
uprooted
but what the enemy does is to give you
this idea that who do you think you are
to just come into this industry with big
ideas and big goals and big visions
where did you come from
do you even know our lingo do you know
the language of this industry do you
know the language of this people
who do you think you are and god says
that is the advantage
because i don’t need you to know their
language
i’m calling you to change it so jeremiah
is thinking that hey i am only but a kid
i have no experience in this place
and god says that is the advantage
because many
many of the people that have had an
experience
of what they thought was my word that
maybe they started holding it
that i would tell them to do certain
things and they will start questioning
me
maybe they had they had things that was
based on the generational way of doing
things
you see right now we’re in a pandemic
right and one of the hardest things
to pivot even as a the not our church
but the big church
is this idea from going into from you
know gathering
as as a family to going online
there was so much debate about it no
this is the devil the devil is trying to
shut down the church
but you know the people that we’re not
debating the people that don’t even have
an experience of what we’re talking
about
they said don’t know we’re we’re ready
let’s go online this is going to be
graceless i’m on fire for
god the people that were debating about
this
and it’s not to say that there is that
the lord is not in the gathering that’s
not what i’m talking about
but i’m saying that one of the biggest
obstacles to growth
is what you knew before one of the
biggest obstacles to growth is on
learning
when we have an experience of certain
things all of a sudden that becomes the
obstacle for what god is saying is next
because we’re like god no it can’t be
this is what we’ve always known this is
what we’ve always done
it is the reason why even the israelites
when moses
went came to set them free it wasn’t the
very same people that moses set free
that got into the promised land
it was a new generation that was born in
the wilderness
because the people that moses set free
they had the experience of bondage
they didn’t know what it meant to just
to go and be warriors they were in
bondage for over like for about 400
years that is what they’ve known
but the next generation the generation
that joshua led
they didn’t know that they only knew it
based on stories
they didn’t have the experience of that
so a man named joshua would have the
boldness
to command the son to stand still for
the war to continue
because this he he wasn’t he wasn’t
bound
by the experience of bondage
the point of this is that when god is
calling you
into a new space a new field the
jeremiah’s the change
agents do not take on the narrative of
the enemy
that says who do you think you are
you you don’t know this space and you
have to look you have to look in the
mirror and say
exactly i am god’s advantage
in this very field he needs me here
because of this very thing that you
think is actually working against you
you see my brother for example when my
mother was pregnant with my brother my
older brother
first of all he didn’t want to come out
[Music]
my mother
mentioned how she she carried him for 11
months i mean that is you know it’s
pretty long
i don’t know how possible that is but my
mother got to a point right
where she was exhausted she said this
child needs to come out right now about
today so she goes to the she calls her
pastor
you know she said if anyone can bring
out this baby
it’s going to be the lord she calls her
pastor she says hey
this child needs to come out of me she
goes to her pastor
the pastor anoints her belly and starts
praying for her
and when when he was praying for her he
said something to my mother funny enough
he she
actually gave birth that day but she
said something to my mother and you’re
like that this child you’re karen this
was my brother right
you’re like he is going to be a minister
of the lord
and he’s going to have a sister and
they’re going to do ministry together
she gives birth to him after him you
know my mother gets pregnant and here i
am
but my brother is not in ministry not
yet
but my brother is not also someone who
is really concerned about the church and
anything he’s just like hey you know
what me and jesus were cool like you
know
but because he doesn’t have any like he
has never cared about church culture
none of that i grew up i encountered god
early so i was always excited to just
go to church and understand what’s going
on but when i would have conversations
with him because when i talk to him i’m
like you know i’ll call him apostle even
though he can’t stand it
but we would talk about god and we will
talk about jesus and we’ll talk about
church and all kinds of things
there is a perspective that he has that
i am so inspired by
we would have conversations and his
insight would actually give me a
perspective that i’m like wow this is
god
but it’s a perspective that comes from
the advantage of fresh
eyes he doesn’t have the experience of
okay what is church culture what is this
what is that he doesn’t have any of that
so he has a way of seeing things that
the lord says okay there is something
unique i can do with you
that you don’t even understand yet we
were talking one time and he was like
you know what if
he started telling me about what would
happen if he ever opens a church but
he’s like but that’s not me now i’m not
really a church guy i said that’s
that’s exactly is the point if god calls
you to do that
and you feel like you know what this is
not my thing it is because you have the
advantage of fresh
eyes are you a jeremiah listening to
this
are you called as a change agent i want
you to understand that
your inexperience is not your darkness
it is actually your light
god is with you in that thing and he
looks at you
as his advantage the second person that
the lord
um just had me look at was
elijah you see elijah
points to the reformers and the
activists
elijah was a man i want you to read this
story if you’re if you feel connected to
this
in first kings 18 and 19 read both
chapters
elijah was a man that killed the
prophets of baal
now his story i find very fascinating
because when elijah when it when it came
down to like you know shutting the
you know elijah prayed the bible tells
us about how he prayed and there was no
rain
and when he was trying to show the
people that you know the lord is
god and all that stuff how god sent fire
from heaven
so there are all these things that god
does but when it came down to
executing the prophets god could have
literally just sent fire
from heaven to kill the prophets of
bowel but elijah himself took on that
notion
took on that that calling to kill the
prophets of bow now the prophets of bow
they represent spiritual injustice
and spiritual injustice any type of
injustice always starts in the spirit
realm
so when we’re talking about spiritual
injustice it’s not just spiritual but
it’s natural
because the prophets of baal these were
the people that were leading israel
astray
they were leading them to do things that
were against the call of god on their
lives and even against their own selves
because baal was that was a god that was
worship it’s a it’s a false god but it’s
a principality at the same time
so elijah the anointing on elijah’s life
is to bring an
end to injustice whether natural or
spiritual you may feel this call of god
in your life to be an
activist to be a reformer
and sometimes you may feel this
opposition you see the
the interesting thing about elijah’s
story there’s a woman named jezebel
elijah does all this stuff right when
you read the when you read
these two chapters and probably just
read first kings they will bless your
life
elijah does all this stuff jezebel hears
about it and jezebel is like you know
she’s the person in charge behind the
scenes jezebel hears about this
and jezebel threatens elijah’s life
and she’s telling him you know what if i
don’t kill you by this time tomorrow
she even puts a time to it all of a
sudden the threat on elijah
causes him to run away you see being an
activist is not an easy thing there is
always the threat that your life might
be at danger
because there are things that god has
put in your heart to go against he’s
he’s put things in your heart to bring
an end to
but the truth of the matter is that no
matter the threats of jezebel it was not
going to work because god was with
elijah her threat was only going to
reveal to elijah that you have
allies in other places you see when
elijah ran away the lord encountered him
and when the lord encountered him he
gave him strategy
he tells him to anoint a king a certain
king named jehu
he tells him to anoint someone that
would be his kind of like
his spiritual son actually his spiritual
son named elisha
and he says to elijah what you don’t
kill jehu will kill
and what jehu doesn’t kill elisha would
kill it was a legacy
it was that you elisha elijah rather you
have help in places that you do not even
know
of there are people that have been
preparing behind the scenes
that whenever you need help that they
would be ready to accompany you
you see there is going to be some
resistance that you’re going to
experience in 2021
there’s going to be some resistance
you’re going to experience for the very
things that god has put in your heart to
do as an activist
but i want to encourage you right now
let me
send this word into your future that for
those watching this
and in your heart even as i’m speaking
my prayer was that
every time i would talk about somebody
that if it is for you that you will just
feel this
fire on your chest that you would know
that lord
something is i feel i feel a bit
restless because god is trying to
communicate something to you
this word is a word i’m sending now but
it’s going into your future
the ones that god has anointed as
activists there are some things that are
going to come against you but this is to
remind you
that god is with you the opposition is
not going to bring you to a dark place
because the lord
is with you and be a person of prayer
because every injustice starts in the
spiritual realm
you see this woman jezebel that caused
elijah to panic a little bit
her background is very interesting
because first of all jezebel by herself
we see her name
coming up in different places in the
bible jezebel
is a person in the old testament but
then in the new testament we hear about
jezebel
i mean in the new testament in
revelation we hear about jezebel again
we hear about the lord telling a certain
church that they need to cast
out jezebel and you’re like which
jezebel is this
because it’s not about the person it was
about the spirit behind her
you see jezebel had a father his name
was very very unique and interesting to
me his name was ethbau
and it meant like unto bow his very name
pointed to the god that he worshipped
and so when if he would name if his
parents would name him
according to their god then it made me
understand that even jezebel was named
according to something
according to a certain principality
and so when you are someone that god has
anointed
to bring an end to injustice
you have to be a person of prayer just
like elijah
there are things that you have to
understand that you have to war in the
spirit
and show up in the natural you can’t be
lacks about your spiritual life
there are things that you have to
because you see it was words
that caused elijah to run but what
happens in prayer
we are also declaring words
there are things that you can declare to
bring down the very principalities and
powers
that are causing that are behind the
systems and structures
that are causing injustice in our world
today
maybe that’s you maybe you’re the one
that god has called as a reformer as an
activist and this is to remind you
that whatever comes against you whatever
threat upon your life
to know that god is with you and there
is
help in places that you know not of you
have help in places of influence and
places of authority
you have help in places that are hidden
but known to god
and all you ever have to do in that time
would be to call on the name of the lord
lord this is what you have assigned me
to do
and i need you to send whoever are my
helpers send them
make them known to me oh god do not
panic and do not be in fear
now the third person or the third group
now this i found very interesting the
lord highlighted shadrach
meshach and i’m not gonna do it a bad
some people say a bad negro i did it
okay so shadrach meshach and abednego
now these three people are very
fascinating because
when we when we when we hear about their
stories we
always hear about them you know as a as
a group
and the lord began to show me that these
are seeds of movements
you know one of the things that he
highlighted was like the metoo movement
you see shadrach meshach and abednego
there was something so interesting that
happened i want you to study
this if this you if you connect with
this study daniel chapter two to chapter
three
there was a moment that the very king
they were
they were they served a king rather you
know they had been taken into captivity
by this king but
they served under this king
nebuchadnezzar
and when they served under this king
what was so interesting is that one
moment he promotes them
as a result of you know a dream being
revealed that’s another story
he promotes them but the very same king
that promoted them
in one moment the next moment he says he
has a statue made of himself in gold
and he makes a command right that
everyone who sees this should bow down
and all this stuff there’s this whole
thing
read this we don’t read the whole bible
but read daniel two to three
but shadrach meshach and abednego they
were like no we’re not gonna bow down to
your statute because we only
bow down to the lord when the king heard
about this he was like
okay what are y’all talking about and
they told him to his face we’re not
gonna do it we only serve the lord and
the king was like let me know which god
will deliver you
from what i’m about to do to you so he
tells his servants to heat up this
furnace
like to just you know go crazy with it
and to put shadrach meshach
and abednego in the furnace and they
were like look
our god is able to deliver us but even
if he doesn’t that’s why we will still
not serve your god
they throw them in the furnace all
together as a group
and all of a sudden the king notices he
says wait
well first of all the people that threw
them in the furnace died
and they were in the furnace having a
party because all of a sudden the king
says there’s someone else in the fire
with them
and it was the presence of god he says
there’s a fourth person in the fire
and the people are not bound anymore
they’re walking around they’re having a
good time
and as i saw this i’m like god what are
you showing me you see as a result of
what took place in this story
first of all the king tells them hey
bring them out and he honors he says you
know what your
god is truly god and i want you to see
something he said before i explained
this
in your own terms in daniel 3 from verse
28 to 30
it says nebuchadnezzar spoke saying
blessed be the god of shadrach meshach
and abednego
who sent his angel and delivered his
servants who trusted in him
and they and they have frustrated the
king’s word he’s talking about himself
and you they’re their bodies that they
should not serve
nor worship any god except their own god
therefore i make a decree that any
people
nation or language this is the king this
is very fascinating to me
i make a decree that any people national
language
which speaks anything amiss against the
god he doesn’t even serve their god
anyone who speaks against the god of
shadrach meshach and abednego shall be
cut
in pieces and their houses shall be made
an ash heap because there is no other
god who can deliver
like this and then the king who promoted
them
then demoted them all of a sudden then
the king
promoted shadrach meshach and abednego
once more
now here is what it looks like for you
there are people the lord began to show
me
industries and there’s some of you that
you
you have like almost like you work you
have like your friends and you guys come
together and they’re things that you
discuss about the certain injustice
that takes place within your industry
and just like the metoo movement that
happened with a group of women
that are now that started speaking up
and they were speaking up about the very
industry that opened doors for them
but they opened doors for them with
conditions
you see the open doors that were
conditional to you being subject of
whatever happens to you
being subject of of being violated being
subject
of an injustice the very thing with
shadrach meshach and abednego yes they
were promoted by the king
but they were their promotion is
conditional as long as you do the things
that are that i require even though it’s
against
what you believe in you will keep your
promotion but shedrick said look first
of all
all authority comes from the lord so you
can have your promotion if you want to
throw us in the fire we are not
worshiping your god
there are some of you the very industry
that opened doors for you
the very industry that puts you on a
platform
and it is not for you to turn a blind
eye to the things that you know that are
happening
there are some of you that you feel that
there’s a weight that god is calling you
the things that he has called you to
speak about
and your fear is that if i speak about
this this is going to throw me
in the fire in our own you know in
society we call we call it canceled
culture whatever
but people think i’m crazy would this
burn me in the end
because there are things that you’re
called to speak about that goes against
the very place that you have been
established
in because the lord is saying look i’m
not done with exposing
i’m not our pastor called this year
the year of revealing and when he said
that he said look this message
about the year of revealing could be for
a year it could be for a decade
there are many things that the lord is
not finished with
but there are people assigned to that
and some of you you feel a resistance
and the lord drew you to this message
there are things that you have seen and
you know and you have been a victim of
and he says my son and my daughter you
have a group
there there you you you have people that
you work with and and all of you have
been talking about this very same thing
and he said this is the seeds of
movements
just like shadrach meshach and abednego
you all are gonna come together
and you’re gonna say you know what we’re
gonna stand for what’s right that’s what
they did
they stood for their faith and they said
if we go down then so be it
they didn’t care that yes king you open
the door for us but you can have it if
you think you’re the one who has the
authority to promote us
all of a sudden when they threw them in
the fire
the fire was actually the very thing
that caused
everyone around them to know who their
god truly is
and not just the people around them to
the point that the king
who did not even serve their god makes a
decree
that anyone that speaks against the god
of
shadrach meshach and abednego they
should be cut in pieces i mean that is a
bit extreme but
the point of the point of this is that
the fear that you have that you feel
like no this is going to put me in a
dark place
this is going to oh my gosh this is
going to end my career
god says i would be with you in the fire
the fire is not going to consume you
because god
is known as the all-consuming fire he
would consume whatever tries to consume
you
he says i would be with you yes they’re
going to throw you in
but i will be the one to restore you and
i will be the one to make it known
that i am the one who validates you and
i will confirm the very things i’ve
called you to do
do not be afraid about what god has
called you to do in
in your industry because just like
shadrach meshach and abednego no
he’s gonna be with you now the next
the next person that the lord showed me
was david david
and this actually speaks to the
influencers
that’s a very popular term in culture
you see david was a man
it’s so interesting because david was
king right
but david really embodied what in
revelation there’s a
there’s a scripture that talks about how
the lord has made us
you know um king and priest unto the
father
right i’m paraphrasing but basically it
says that we have been made as
king and priest there’s another version
in the old testament that talks about
a kingdom of priests but um there are
multiple versions
that gives us this idea that we are
called as kings and priests
so your kingship has to do with your
natural
position of dominion but your priesthood
has to do with your spiritual position
of authority
now david is one that was called by god
to be
king over the people in israel david you
know god gives the anointing all of this
stuff david used to be a shepherd boy
and all of a sudden now and he was not
just one that was a king he had the
influ he had influence amongst the
people
because even before he became a king
they were singing songs about him
they were singing songs in a manner that
praised him above the current king
because there was a favor on his life
that caused an attraction that caused
him to
to reign even before he started reigning
so david becomes king but david is also
one who
functions in his priesthood david
never played about the presence of god
when you read the psalms that he wrote
he always talks about the one thing that
i will seek after
is to be in the house of the lord and
there was not that there was actually
a structure of the structure or a temple
he was talking about the presence of god
david understood that the everything
what makes me who i
am it is my access to god’s presence
that is priesthood he understood that
the authority that i even have what
people are looking at
is as a result of my anointing so david
lived in this balance of kingship
and priesthood but there was a certain
time that something happened
right david’s men go out to war
and david is on his balcony and he sees
a woman that he
you know he admired i guess and he calls
for her
he sleeps with her she gets pregnant
when the news came to david that this
woman is pregnant
he plans how her husband who is in his
army should be killed
now i really i asked the lord about i
was like okay what
is it you’re showing me about this you
see when david
killed this man because i’m like why is
he killing the man you know maybe he
could just take the woman as his wife
all of it is wrong
first of all you know not co-signing
anything
but the fact that david will kill this
man you see this was an
honorable man in david’s army and i
begin to wonder could it be
that david in trying to protect his
kingship
does not want to make himself look
dishonorable even though he just
committed something that was of dishonor
you slept with a man in your army his
wife
now she’s pregnant is it that david was
was so concerned about
losing the influence of the people that
what will be said about him david you
got this
you got her pregnant come on man you the
husband is someone who is for you
could it be that david was so concerned
about losing influence with the people
because you can have authority and you
and the people may not like you
could it be that david was so concerned
that he’s like okay how do i cover this
up
and then he kills the man and he’s going
about his business
no conviction nothing then the lord
sends
a certain prophet named nathan to
rebuke david basically to show david
to show him himself when that happened
the next thing that david says he has
this whole
psalms where it’s literally like a
prayer of repentance
but there was something in that
particular psalm and this is in psalm
51.
now in verse 11 he says something he
says
do not cast me away from your presence
and do not take your holy spirit from me
david in this moment realized i have
put my kingship above my priesthood
i was so concerned about protecting my
influence
that i was actually living in a manner
that is not worthy of who you’ve called
me to be as a priest
we are all called as kings and priests
but the mistake of culture because right
now everybody’s so concerned with the
following
with influencing with with all these
things with numbers all this stuff it’s
data
all of this but we’re so concerned about
it how many people watch my story today
how many people liked it how many people
watched the video how many people said
something
was so concerned about having
like uh having influence amongst the
people in culture
that are we putting our kingship
above our priesthood
because the moment we begin to put
kingship above priesthood we are walking
in darkness
and calling it light
because the very reason that god will
give you a platform
it’s not because of your it’s not for us
there is a purpose we are called to
serve
the platform serves as a vehicle
the platform is not the reward it is a
vehicle
to do the very thing that god has called
you to do
and sometimes there are things that may
feel like hey
you know what it could cost you the
platform but
as long as the presence of god is with
you whatever he needs you to be on
platforms can come and platforms can go
whatever it is that god has assigned for
you
he knows how to get it to you and i’m
saying this not just to influence us but
in particular there are mistakes and
there are things that you have been
your there is a depression i i saw you
so clearly
you see yourself as an influencer but
there are things about your life
that you are covering up and it’s
killing you
there are things you have done there are
mistakes you have made and
and every single time all you’re so
concerned about
is how to cover up the cover-up and it’s
killing you and the only reason it’s
killing you is because you are so
scared of what the truth will do
when david got bathsheba pregnant
there was no need he he never intended
to
have bathsheba because that’s why it was
never when he saw her if it was about
making bad she bought his wife
that could have been a that could have
been a discussion in the beginning
it was never the intention of bathsheba
to be his wife it was just to satisfy
his flesh
but when bathsheba was pregnant the
fruit of his sin was revealed
david’s concern was now how do i cover
it
up how how do i hide this
and in trying to hide it it was costing
him his priesthood
all to keep his influence you see there
are many of you and you’re watching this
and the lord is saying the truth is what
will set you free
it’s not you trying to hide the truth
will set you free i gave you the
platform i’m not saying me stephanie you
know
i’m not that important the lord gave you
the platform
the lord said something to david in the
scripture he said david
i am the one who took you from being a
shepherd boy
to being king over my people it was a
reminder that david
this was not because of your good looks
it was not because of the things you did
it’s not because you’re a man of war
because all of this is actually by my
grace
and there are many of you and you have
forgotten how you got to where you are
and you got there because of the hand of
god
upon your life and it is your priesthood
that actually keeps you there
and if you keep trying to cover things
up because
especially now in a coveted
life where everything is online you’re
like oh
dead people have so much time on their
hands what are they going to do with
this information
but the lord is saying to you that the
truth will set
you free the truth will set
you free stop trying to hide it
because nothing stays hidden for two for
too long
and the cost of you trying to hide it
actually the the consequence is much
greater
because you see as a result of david
killing this man
the the consequence was that the the
child that she was pregnant with would
die
and now this is known to everyone so
what you’ve been trying to hide all
along
is still known but now it comes at a
heavier price
are you the davids and for some of you
maybe you haven’t there there are so
many things that you may have not even
made a mistake yet
but i want to encourage you we’re all
we’re we i mean we
error is is is a given okay
whatever mistakes you make in your life
whatever mistakes you have made or might
make in your life
don’t be so consumed with trying to hide
it
that it ends up costing you everything
the truth is what will set you free it
is your priesthood
that actually keeps your kingship
your kingship should serve your
priesthood not the other way around
let’s not be so distracted with
influence that we forget the very
purpose of it
the next thing i want to talk about the
next person i want to talk about
is a woman named esther and just for
clarity
this is not about sex it’s not about
male or female
when i’m saying david’s again it’s about
an anointing it’s about a grace it’s
about a calling
you could be i’m i could be talking
about david and as a woman you’re
connecting to that
i could talk about esther and as a man
you’re connecting to that
and so esther’s first of all you know
you want to read the whole book
of esther it’s amazing to really
understand
and and really the the weight of her
story but you see esther
is is this almost like this hidden
hidden
power because esther she came from
nowhere
to now you are the the wife of the king
esther’s are the people that have the
ear of the king
they have the ear of the ceos they have
the ear to the executives they have the
ear
they’re the people that influence behind
the scene
and what the lord began to show me
because when you studied the book of
esther
esther was someone that when when she
got the ear to the king
he was ready he said you know what babe
what do you want you want the kingdom
i got you you having the ear
to those in authority the mistake
is to cause it to serve you
is to make it about you what can this
person do
for me there are certain relationships
that god has placed in your life
there’s a certain type of favor that you
have in your work environment
and it’s not about you but it’s about
the things that is connected to you
and what i mean is it’s not about your
selfish you know ambition or whatever
but what is connected to you in regards
to the kingdom of god
the things that god wants to establish
through you
but it is going to be through you as a
result of the relationships that he has
placed in your life
because you see there are certain people
that they don’t have an ear to god
but they they will listen to you
they don’t have a personal relationship
with god
but they look at you and they’re like
you know whatever whatever you tell me
there’s a
there’s an influence you have on their
lives that can cause them to do the very
things that god is trying to get to
their attention but they cannot perceive
it
if god could get the king’s attention
because it’s never about if
god spoke if god didn’t speak there’s a
word when the lord said behold i do a
new thing do you not perceive it
so god is always trying to communicate
something
but the problem is our ability or
inability to perceive
so there are some relationships that god
has placed in your life
and there are certain things that the
lord will require you to to ask of
and it has nothing to do with you and
your hesitation
is ah i don’t know what this is gonna
look like ah
you know maybe this could actually cost
me the relationship
because if esther said the wrong thing
maybe the king would have treated her
like he did his ex-wife like you know
what you are banished from this kingdom
and esther is like look i came up you
know i was
an orphan now i’m queen like i’m just
trying to keep you know keep the good
life here
maybe she didn’t say it like that but
the point
is the reason that of your relationships
is that god is trying to get a word
out and if they would not perceive it
from him directly
then they will perceive it from you
it’s not just about you it’s not about
you saying this is who i know and
and oh have you seen my contact list
there is a purpose
for those relationships there is a
strategy behind the relationship
and if you see it right then you will
walk and manifest the very thing
connected to your call
as i’m speaking whenever you feel
connected to whoever just put that in
the chat right now
if you feel like god you have positioned
you like an esther
put her name in the chat if you feel
like god has positioned you like a david
i’m so intrigued i want to know what god
is also speaking to you
relationships you have but those
relationships they have a strategy of
god and you have to
see it right you see we have entered
a new era and
there is something that will be
discussed at a different on a different
time but
the lord showed me something about this
year that is very fascinating not even
just this year
almost this season in the book of
revelation this is not even in my notes
but i feel led to share this in the book
of revelation
there’s a moment where it talks about
different seals
there are seven seals and each one being
broken
one at a time the first seal that was
broken had to do with
the lord conquering and the other seals
uh some of them are a bit extreme but we
are in um we there’s something has
started
something has and i mean it’s not even
about like
don’t miss it you know making it about
conspiracy theories and covert and other
stuff
something has started that is going to
cause the lord to establish his kingdom
and he establishes his kingdom the the
lord that reveals himself as the one who
conquers
he does it through you
and so when god is positioning you in
certain places and positioning with
certain people
there is a strategy behind it
and if you see it right then you’re
going to walk
in the very manner that god has called
you to
now the next one there’s just two more i
want to just briefly talk about
is job now this is a difficult one
because this has to do there is an
anointing for affliction unfortunately
because you see with job you know many
of you
may have lost a lot of people not just
this year i’m talking about back to back
to back to back
it almost feels like every year you’re
burying somebody
it almost feels like it’s one thing
after the other one lost
after the other you see with job he
couldn’t understand it it was just
back to back to back and we don’t really
understand even the
the time span it just happened like one
two three
and for some of you that may have felt
like this past seven years
the past 10 years it just feels like if
it’s not this
is the next thing and it’s that thing
and it’s this then it’s that thing
but you see the interesting thing about
job you want to study the whole book of
job i’m sure you’re aware
about his story because job was the one
who the enemy was like hey
first of all the enemy is having a party
walking around the earth he comes
he comes to the father and the lord is
like hey you know satan you know where
have you been and satan is like i’ve
been you know checking out the earth
looking for who to
devour you know like he satan is but
that just offended me but the lord
literally god himself appoints he he
he’s over here nominating job he’s like
have you have you seen my servant job
have you seen job
if you’re looking for somebody check job
he will prove me to be true
but basically job suffers one loss after
the other
another and another and then another one
if another one
from dj khaled couldn’t sound more
horrible it happened in the life of joe
he’s like i don’t want to hear dj khaled
ever
in my life if dj khaled existed in the
time of job
but back to the focus but the thing
about job is
the bible tells us that job was a man of
influence
and the story of job has such an
emphasis on his friends
that his friends or this whole thing
about you know his friends being around
the friends talking
the literally the book of job you have
job talking you have god talking you
have his friends talking
there was such an emphasis and the lord
showed me something i never paid
attention to until today
that when it came to job’s friends it
was not just about
these particular friends it was about
the fact that job was a man of influence
like the bible tells us
and so it was about what the people were
watching
you see the anointing of job it’s a it’s
a heavy one it’s when the lord can trust
you with a burden
we always want the lord to trust us with
a blessing
but the lord can is also looking for
those he can trust with a burden
because when we talk about the scripture
that says you know um
we overcome by the word of our testimony
but before the testimony is a burden
and so the anointing of job comes from
the place of
when god first of all because there’s
something in it for you
it is first attracted to when god wants
to reveal to you
who he truly is outside of the things
that he does for humanity
but who he is the person of jesus the
person that is a comforter
the person that is a friend the person
that is for you because at the end of
the day family
everything we have in life we are not
owners of
we are only stewards our relationships
our businesses our children whatever
it is we don’t own anything we are only
stewards over it so whenever god wants
to call it back
he has the right to but god
wants to reveal himself in a way because
many many people that that
even this thing about job it is drawn to
those who
have a fake relationship with god and
what i mean by that
is your relationship with god is by the
way of what you’ve heard
it’s by the way of your pastor your
grandmother your mother
this minister is by the way of your
neighbor but you’ve never
met the lord so all you know about god
is what others have said
and when it doesn’t look like what
others said you begin to question
does god really exist and so all of a
sudden
when god begins to strip you of the
things that other people said that this
is what it looks like to walk with god
he says because it’s not about the
things you don’t even own it
my relationship with you is personal to
you that is why the very the only thing
that the lord said to satan do not touch
his life
because this is where me and him connect
it’s not
i don’t reveal myself just because of
how i bless you
i reveal myself to you that my person
is the gift what i give to you
is just you know the extras
so when god wants to reveal the
authentic nature of his relationship
and that through you others will be
inspired
about who who is god for real
it is a heavy burden but i want to
encourage you
some of you even feel like is it
witchcraft what is happening in my
family
because i’m sure job would have thought
the same thing that was this witchcraft
what is this but it was god approved it
we’re only stewards and there is an
authentic relationship that god desires
to have with you
he would restore you he would establish
you just like he did for job
but through your relationship with god
it’s going to also there are people
watching you
and that is the bridge you’re building
because there were people
watching job there were people around
him
that could testify to the way he acted
the words he spoke
there were people that were looking at
him and there are many people
that unknown to you are going to be
inspired by your story
and so don’t give up don’t think that
because this is happening the lord is
not with me no
the lord is actually with you and lastly
i’m going to talk about
abraham you see the lord began to show
me those that have been building they
have built
empires and there is this attack on your
mind
that makes you feel as though it’s not
worth it
because i don’t even have the person
that is going to take over this when i
die
your mind is already going that i’m
getting older
and i don’t see who is going to be my
heir to this empire that i have built
but you see abraham it was not just
about him having an
air and the lord told me that there he
would there are things you don’t even
have to worry about
but keep building don’t stop building
now don’t feel like you want to pull
back because now you’re wondering what
who’s going to take after this keep
building
because abraham’s life was not just
about his
his um his natural son the bible tells
us
that because of abraham in abraham all
the nations of the world will be blessed
based on what the lineage of abraham
produced which also involves our lord
jesus
all the nations will be blessed the
bridge you’re building
is for generational it’s generations to
come
they’re things that people would be able
to do easier in their calling because of
what you built
god would establish the the worries you
have he’s going to take care of that
but you have to understand that what god
is calling you to build is beyond your
family name
it’s beyond a child of yours being able
to take over it
it is that you’re establishing something
on the earth
that generations down the line would
acknowledge and honor who you are
that because of you what god also called
me to do was made easy
you see family
i believe that there are many things
that god is doing in this time
but one thing that i know for a fact is
that he’s established in his kingdom
and the only thing that would slow you
down is this idea that he is not with
you
is this idea that when calamity hits
when it feels like there’s a
circumstance when it feels like there is
darkness
that he is not with you because in his
presence
we are we have the validation that we
are going to see the other side of
it moses said to the lord when when the
lord instructed him to take the people
into the promised land he said we’re not
going anywhere unless your presence goes
with us
if you are with me then i am fine
and i am here to tell you that even in
what would look like darkness that god
is with you
that you are not alone in this this is a
word that i want that you would
end up coming back to it is a word that
has been
sent into your future and into your now
because there are things that the lord
is going to require of you
and there are things that will stand as
an opposition to it but you have to
remember these very words
and the things that the lord will reveal
to you in your quiet time in your
devotional time
the presence of god is with you and he
is with you to establish what he has
called you to do
you see family maybe you’re even
watching this and you feel
drawn to some of the people that i have
mentioned but you have not yet given
your life to the one whose presence you
need
and if you want to open up your heart to
jesus today
just put in the comments here i am here
i am
here i am what is coming family
the only way that we would thrive
the only way that we would have joy the
only way with that we would know
freedom and liberty is to know the
presence of god
and to know that his presence is with us
and so for those of you that are saying
jesus i want to know you
i want you to just say this prayer with
me heavenly father
come into my heart and make
my heart your home lord jesus
i confess with my mouth as i have
received in my heart
that you are my savior you are my
lord and you are god
you died on the cross for my sins
and when you were raised up i was raised
up to
i was raised up free with power
and with authority lord have your way in
me
i want to be everything you’ve called me
to be
and on this day i surrender my life to
you
thank you jesus family we love you
there’s many things to unpack through
this message but take it
and spend some personal time with the
lord
whatever spoke to you study about it
because it will be an anchor in times to
come
god bless you
you
Hey there! Quick question that’s entirely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My web site looks weird when viewing from my iphone. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to fix this problem. If you have any suggestions, please share. Cheers!