It’s the first Hey You of the year, and we’re kicking it off in the best posture-surrender! Dr. Anita Phillips gives us the 3 critical steps to fully surrendering to God. If you’ve been searching for rest-this message is for you.

the New York Times bestselling author

Dr a girl and every time she see you she

be like I got to St excuse me excuse me

excuse me um yeah help us let’s go let

me tell

y’all it’s been a day of surrender so

God had me he was like you going to walk

this out a little bit just so you don’t

come in here just talking

extra can I can I pray real

quick

father you are already speaking to us

from the

worship to Mother uh Jay’s

message to what Pastor Sarah’s just

shared with us to what I believe you’ve

given me to share you’ve been speaking

to us through the women who have been so

vulnerable you’ve been speaking to us

open our ears so we don’t miss a

thing we came in the room heavy laden

but we want to leave that room

rest father anoint

us with the

determination to surrender and to remain

surrendered let Sabbath be our guide in

Jesus name amen amen so today earlier

today let me tell you guys one of the

things I actually really love

ministering I love talking I’m that

little kid that talked all the time and

so she likes talking to people it’s not

a problem I look forward to speaking I

look forward to sharing Sarah knows that

and so today I was like listening well

yesterday today I’m listening God what

do you want me to share and when I tell

you

crickets crickets and so yesterday I was

like okay and and I didn’t don’t believe

I didn’t wait till just yesterday but

yesterday I finished another two week

retreat thing so I turned my full

attention but I have been asking God and

I’m just crickets crickets Cricket I

went to sleep last night I woke up I’m

walking around in there today and I’m

like okay and now sometimes when I don’t

hear anything when I have to minister I

have another sense that God’s going to

speak prophetically so he’s not

preparing me because he’s going to speak

on the spot I did not have that sense it

was crickets and empty I mean just

nothing there I sat down for an hour no

phone in front of me just sitting there

I’m like listening for God I could some

worship I came back I walked

nothing I thought I heard of something I

thed it up it didn’t make sense my brain

it was like it wasn’t working so finally

I just said okay God I show me the

evening so I closed my eyes I saw the

room and I saw people handing out paper

and like the women were going to write

something down on paper so I’m like okay

well maybe that’s something God wants to

happen I didn’t know it was going to

happen so I finally just gave up I text

Sarah humbled

myself is there anything I’m missing

about tonight cuz I didn’t want to scare

her and be like I ain’t got no word so I

just so I just text her I was like am I

missing anything anything in your

spirites that you want to share with so

she called me on the phone and she said

well let me tell you how the service’s

gonna go so she was like we’re gonna

make sure that the women have a chance

to write this down to handle the paper

so first I got excited like okay the

Lord was giving me something but then I

was like but they were already doing

that and he done show me something was

already happening and I still don’t

know okay and so we talked and we did

find she did share some things that

moved my spirit we hung up the phone and

so I thought something was coming it’s

like I thought I saw a little light and

then it went out again so I went in the

bathroom start curling my hair and I had

this moment and I heard God speak to me

he said

surrender and I said God is it

pride because if it’s not me that you

want to speak through

tonight I will admit that name face on

the flyer and

everything and right after that I felt

this wave of peace come over me and he

said now

rest pride is a theme

tonight and I didn’t I not text that to

you Sarah I said was this was a pride

fire drill cuz that must have been what

happened and then Mama Jay walked right

in and start talking about Pride that

was one of the things you mentioned it

stuck out to me then this young sister

was talking about wanting to know things

and I thought to myself pride and then I

said well Anita you don’t know if that

was pride and she said out her mouth

Pride I said

okay and so this is not something that I

usually talk about but God told me to

call out

Pride as one of the reasons that we do

not

surrender because we’re going to figure

it out we’re going to work it out we’re

going to push it through we’re going to

make it happen we know what we know how

to do when to do if I don’t do it it

won’t get done so we don’t delegate we

intercede too short and run too fast we

talk about faith with without works is

dead but your works are dead cuz they

have no faith behind them you are moving

with

[Applause]

pride that is stopping us from

surrendering Pride fuels

anger it’s one of the reasons we get

frustrated so quickly with other people

when they don’t do things the way we

would do things when we would do things

Pride fuels

anger and it hardens

Hearts now I’m you don’t need the send

me a DM and say I tried to find pride in

my heart Dr Nita but I don’t think I had

that honey maybe you’re one of the Holy

ones in here tonight and God sent you to

intercede for the rest of

us or tuck it away for another day

Hebrews chapter 4 God sent me to this

verse Hebrews chapter 4 verse starting

with verse uh nine there remaineth

therefore a rest to the people of God

for he that is entered into his rest he

also have ceased from his own works as

God did from his verse 11 let us labor

therefore to enter into that rest lest

any man fall after the same example of

unbelief a few verses earlier it says

that we should come into the rest that

Jesus is offering us that when we are

invited to rest not to harden our hearts

but that we should labor to enter into

rest rest is important because surrender

is the beginning of the journey to

Sabbath How will I know when I’ve

surrendered when Sabbath begins to grow

in my

life How Will I Know What to Do Well if

I’m not resting that’s what Sabbath

means if I’m not resting then I have not

fully surrendered and so I want to

continue pressing my way to Sabbath rest

will be how I know that I have

arrived at surrender so we make the

decision and we begin but then it’s like

what do I do next the reason that God

gave us sleep

physically is to teach us something

about rest

spiritually what happens when you are

resting in your body what happens when

you are asleep well your hands are still

you’re not doing

nothing you are

still so in order for you to truly

surrender you are going to need to stop

doing the things that were associated

with what you are

surrendering not surrender and keep

fiddling

some of you God told me that some of you

he’s going to speak to you’re going to

go on an activity fast that is related

to the thing you

surrendered God what school should I

apply to what graduate program should I

go to 30 days no

searching look at they like wow but what

did you think surrender

means

stop see you think surrender means just

trust God instead of yourself while you

still keep doing the

stuff yeah yeah yeah yeah uhhuh see yeah

you think that that means well well I

was trying to find the mate myself I was

trying to pick out the school myself I

was trying to look for the job myself

but now I’m going to do all those same

activities knowing God’s actually doing

it through

me you don’t know the difference

yet so God said you’re going to need to

be

still that’s what happens when we’re

sleeping

we’re still ain’t nobody sleeping and

cooking nobody’s sleeping and folding

laundry nobody’s sleeping and Braiden

hair if you are they have medication for

that because when people walk around in

their sleep and do things at Sleepwalk

they wake up feeling exhausted because

they did not truly

rest and so God said you’re going to

have to

stop these unproductive activ activities

that you have already been doing

associated with the thing that you want

to surrender because the reason you’re

exhausted is because you’re doing too

much and you’re going to have to get

past the thing that says well so I just

do nothing yes that’s

surrender so stop something else that

happens in your body when you are

asleeping your heart

repairs people who don’t get enough

sleep people have insomnia It’s

associated with high blood

pressure and strokes because because the

heart needs you to be resting now it’s

still beating while you’re

sleeping but it’s not under the same

kind of

stress so you may still have emotions

when you are surrendered but it should

not be the same level of intensity that

goes with you trying to make it work

your heart literally repairs while you

rest one of the ways that happens and

surrender is you’re not staring right at

the problem

so after you stop doing the things that

have been uselessly associated with what

you surrendered the second thing you

need to do is look

away because the Temptation will be to

watch this

spot okay God I’m not doing

nothing what you

doing and you’re just staring at the

problem staring at the problem and your

heart

just but God it still looks bad but God

the child is still on drugs but God I

still didn’t hear back from anybody but

God they still in prison but God I still

don’t cuz you’re staring the

problem and so your heart’s not getting

any

rest because you’re looking at it but

when you’re

asleep your eyes are

closed so you don’t need to check every

day every

hour look away y’all taking notes number

one get your hands off number two look

away so your heart can

rest and the third thing that happens

for your body when you’re sleeping is

your brain

recovers toxins that build up in your

brain during the day from all the

thinking and the thinking and the

thinking and the thinking that you’re

doing get flushed out while you’re

sleeping so rest means get your

mind off of it

do something else think about something

else thinking is you asking questions

all day ask questions about something

else or else you just unsurrendered

it because you’re not

resting now this is hard work this sound

hard to anybody well it is hard I know

it’s hard because the Bible said it’s

hard

in verse 11 Hebrews 4:11 it says let us

labor therefore to enter into that rest

that means it’s going to be hard to get

there but it’s worth the

work because it is easy to continue to

worry and stress it’s easy to do it but

it’s hard to live with it’s hard to push

into rest but once you get there it’s

easy to live

with you’re going to strive towards

something so why not in the direction of

rest yes Ma’am why not labor for rest if

I got my hands all in the trash pile

trying to fix the situation I’m laboring

so why don’t I do the hard work

of holding my

hands if I’m thinking about this problem

247 that’s hard so why don’t I do the

labor required to shift my mind in

another Direction staring at it is hard

so why not labor to look to the hills

instead we are under the impression that

rest means suddenly I

just he laid me down he laid us down cuz

we

was some of us he got to lay us down by

the pasture and sit on

us it’s not easy right away to rest I’m

sharing that with you so you know that

you’re not doing it

wrong because we think it should be

peace and ease well I’m resting child

you might see me with a tear streaming

down my face what you doing

resting I’m right as I’m

resting Lord I’m

laboring I’m

resting but it’s going to be worth that

work

because you will get better at it you

will get better at it because when you

start seeing what it does for you you’ll

get more excited about it a year from

now y’all gonna be rest

Pros but this month you’re just going to

start get your hands off get your eyes

off get your

mind

off of the thing that you wrote down

well how do I do that child I don’t no

that’s you and your

paper it may be the things you stop

sometimes it’s the things you need to

start where’s my sister that said I I

want to surrender my

attitude now what if I said I need you

to hug no less than 100 people in the

next 30 days I just want you to start

hugging where’s she

at you like that word you like it you

like it all right good because she’s

said I am no I I’m not asking God about

I’m just going to go ahead and rest in

the new me so I’m just start throwing my

arms around people how else will she do

it if she’s sitting around like

journaling how much attitude did I have

today let me check my attitude scale on

a scale of 0 to 10 I think I had this

much forget it just start throwing your

arms around people go do something

else

labor to rest

there’s things that you can also engage

to look at your mind have your mind

another way why is this important

because there are things that God is

doing when you rest in Mark chapter 4

verse 26 I’m reading this in the ESV

version is the parable of the seed

growing y’all know there’s going to be a

seed in here

somewhere the kingdom of God is as if a

man should scatter seed on the ground he

sleeps and Rises night and day and the

seed sprouts and grows he knows not how

the Earth produces by

itself first the blade then the ear then

the full grain in the ear and when the

grain is ripe at once you will be able

to go and because your Harvest has come

but the key here is he scatters the seed

on the

ground and then he sleeps and Rises

night and day the seed sprouts and grows

he knows not how

God does things while you are

resting that you won’t know how he did

it but you have to lay down first so you

scatter the seeds that’s the word so

you’re receiving this word tonight you

were obedient to the word to write down

what you want to surrender you wrote

down the word that I’m giving you hands

off eyes off mind off you got that we’re

scattering it and then you know what

rest lay down down and it is significant

that he says that we sleep and

Rise not rise and then

sleep night and day not day and

night this Echoes back to the garden and

to Creation where God rested after he

had done all his work he rested why

because he had put a system in place

that would continue to run I don’t have

to recreate it every day all time every

week it’s done I am resting you have

done the things rest but what’s critical

here is that just as that book a parable

that Jesus told he said night and day we

know God Jesus was at creation because

he was the word that came out of God’s

mouth John 1 And1 says that and the

Bible constantly says in Genesis chapter

1 and the evening and the

morning were the first day and the

evening and the morning were the second

day the evening and the morning have you

ever wondered why it wasn’t the morning

and the evening because we conceive of a

day as morning and evening we say day

and night we said girl I’ve been working

working working day and

night that’s what we say but my Bible

says night and day that means that the

day begins with me at

rest the day begins when I lay down the

day begins when I go to sleep the night

is first when I have fully rested when I

get up God has done all the things now

the day

starts baby he didn’t make it for you to

work till you exhausted and then you lay

down he said you lay down I’ll deal with

it by the time you wake up your day is

half over all you have to do is step in

to what God did while you were sleeping

oh baby the word over 2024 is going to

be While You Were

Sleeping God did some things while I was

sleeping God worked it out as a matter

of fact I believe the first man that he

ever made and he identified the first

need that ever existed he said it’s not

good for man to be alone the man didn’t

know he had a need but God saw he had a

need he said no problem go to sleep

sleep because while you are sleeping I

will produce the thing that you need

that you didn’t even know you needed so

when you wake

up oh my God while you are

sleeping God’s going to turn it around

while you are

sleeping the need that you have is going

to be

met

woo

oh my god there was a man named Solomon

he was the wisest man that ever lived I

asked God to to give me that kind of

wisdom I said God if there was a wisest

man but you didn’t say who the wisest

woman was she me who you are teach me

who you are God loved Solomon because he

wanted to know him but do you know when

Solomon got that

request while he was

sleeping Solomon was asleep

and God came to him in a dream and said

because of the way you worship me and

served me during the day when you were

awake he came to him in a dream and said

ask me for anything and Solomon didn’t

ask Solomon didn’t ask him for riches or

for Mor while or C cities he said give

me understanding give me wisdom he was

rested so he knew what to ask for see

you so worked

up you ain’t had no rest you have not

surrendered so when God say what do you

want you ask for the wrong

thing cuz you got your eye on the

problem and so that’s what you ask about

but Solomon was sleeping so he woke up

and said what God said anything you

want and he asked for more of God and

God said because of this is what you

asked for and you did not ask for riches

and wives and cars and houses and all

the things you would ask for in 2024 I’m

going give you all that because of what

you asked

for but oh if he had not been

sleeping the desires of your heart you

were on your knees Wide Awake begging

for them but God said this year while

you

are

sleeping there’ll come a moment when he

can ask you some of you have been

through so

much you feel like you’re about to be

dead emotionally mentally maybe even

physically you don’t even have to lay

down for rest because you feel like

you’re laying down and

dying you’ve been sing down and laying

down and laying down and people are

looking at you I think she dead I think

she’s out the game I think it’s been cut

off I don’t think it’s going to work out

and you’re laying there and it looks

like you

dead but even that is going to inspire

some people they’re going to go running

to Jesus asking for his help from you

but Jesus is going to say don’t worry

about my little girl she’s not

dead she’s only sleeping and then

they’re going to follow Jesus to your

bedside and he’s going to put his hand

and he’s going to say

girl get

up get

up and you’re going to get up what

happened while you were sleeping honey

people thought I wasn’t with you while

you were sleeping they came running to

me and as a result they got to know

something about me because of the way

you laid down you’re not dead baby but

while you’re

sleeping one more

thing there was a man named

Jacob and Jacob had got himself in some

trouble listening to his mama tell him

to do something he shouldn’t have did

and a grown man took his mother did what

his mama told him there a whole lot of

emotional mental stuff messed up in this

family line and he got him in trouble

and you know the story Esau Esau is mad

and now Jacob got to make a run for it

because he knows he’s going to get

killed and he runs on and he stops on

his way and lays

down on the

ground he makes a pillow out of a rock

baby that rest ain’t even got to be

comfortable just lay

down just lay down let the tears stream

down your face but lay down feel your

heart pounding with the strength but lay

down he laid down and he went to sleep

and while he was

sleeping a dreamy vision of a ladder

that went from the heavens down to the

ground let me tell you something there

is only one organ in our entire body

body that looks like a ladder

DNA DNA is a twisted ladder when you

untwisted it’s a ladder and he laid down

there and God looked at him and said the

fathers the I am the god of your

fathers and he watched Angels going up

and down the ladder the generational

work that they tried to

accomplish started happening while he

was

sleeping generational curses being

broken generational blessings being

brought down those angels went up and

down the ladder of his DNA the line

behind the people to come in the front

you are working so hard trying to be the

generational curse breaker baby let me

tell you something stop where you are

and lay down this year while you are

sleeping God is going to come and he’s

going to run through that family line

and he’s breaking physical diseases and

mental issues and addictions and

marriage issues parenting problems God

is breaking it he’s traveling up and

down and he’s going to get it

done my

God and when is he going to do

it while you are

[Applause]

sleeping if you just

surrender that means lay down the thing

and start fighting your way to Sabbath

start laboring your way to rest baby

it’s not easy always to get to rest if

you got to walk around your house saying

in the name of Jesus the blood the blood

of Jesus hallelujah hallelujah

hallelujah if you got to walk around

singing your worship off key it don’t

make no difference if you got to write

it down throw it away put your hands in

your pockets to keep from making the

phone call walk till you get some

rest I promise

you before this year is

out you will have this

testimony that while you were

sleeping he worked it out

Hallelujah that’s all he told me to tell

y’all that’s all he told me to tell you

while you’re sleeping needs will be met

while you are sleeping desires will be

uttered while you are sleeping what

looks dead in your life will get up

while you are

sleeping generational

curses spiritual

stuff

breaking in the name of Jesus do you

receive that word over your life I

received it over mine I’m going to do a

lot more resting this year I’m going to

declare what happened while I was

sleeping I do promise you

that and so knowing

that did you write down on all you

needed to

write cuz you still got

time grab your paper grab your thing and

here’s something I want everyone to make

sure they write

down

surrender the insatiable

thing I heard God say that today be sure

to surrender that insatiable thing the

fear that just never seems to

resolve put it

down that no matter how many times God

shows up it’s still you still worry

about this

area being alone starting new

things the insatiable thing it’s

underneath what you may have written

down like you may have written down

talking of that you have a fear of

rejection but does that also mean that

you need to surrender the belief that

you’re actually just not very

good and that is why you fear your

rejection you know what I mean dig down

there what’s the insatiable

thing put that down maybe you have

struggled so much to recover from an

abuse but it just won’t seem to release

you you’re still having the nightmares

you’re still having the flashbacks now

you know what I say there’s nothing

wrong won’t you to go to therapy take

your medication do the things that we

have that we have to do but but but

do not leave the spirit

out this is a spiritual

moment and sometimes we have gotten so

equipped that we

forget that we have the privilege as

Disciples of Jesus we have the privilege

as vessels of the Holy

Ghost to first and foremost move in

spirit